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The Veerashaivas (Lingayats) traditionally follow five religious seats founded, according to tradition, by five great teachers. These are called:
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Answer: Option C — Pancha Peethas
Detailed Solution
The Veerashaivas (Lingayats) traditionally follow five religious seats called the "Pancha Peethas" (five seats), believed to have been founded by five great teachers (the "Pancha Acharyas").
The Pancha Peethas:
- Rambhapuri Peetha at Balehonnur (Chikkamagaluru district, Karnataka).
- Ujjaini Peetha at Ujjaini (Ballari district, Karnataka).
- Kedar Peetha at Kedarnath (Uttarakhand).
- Srishaila Peetha at Srisailam (Andhra Pradesh).
- Kashi (Jangamwadi) Peetha at Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh).
The Pancha Acharyas:
- According to Veerashaiva tradition, five teachers (Renukacharya, Darukacharya, Ekoramacharya, Panditaradhya and Vishweshwaracharya) emerged from five lingas, and founded these peethas.
- The head of each peetha is called a "Jagadguru".
Veerashaivas and Lingayats:
- The terms "Veerashaiva" and "Lingayat" are often used interchangeably, though some scholars and groups make a distinction.
- Some Lingayats regard Basavanna (12th century) as the founder of their faith, while the Veerashaiva tradition traces it to the Pancha Acharyas, who are believed to have existed before him.
- This difference has been part of a debate about whether Lingayatism is a separate religion.
Beliefs:
- Followers worship Shiva in the form of the "ishtalinga", a small linga worn on the body.
- They emphasise devotion, equality, and rejection of caste and rituals (especially in Basavanna's teachings).
- Important concepts include "Ashtavarana" (eight coverings), "Panchachara" (five codes of conduct) and "Shatsthala" (six stages of spiritual progress).
Other terms:
- "Char Dham": four pilgrimage centres (Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri and Rameswaram).
- "Shakti Peethas": shrines of the goddess, believed to mark the places where parts of Sati's body fell.
- "Jyotirlingas": twelve shrines of Shiva.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Char Dham, Shakti Peethas and Jyotirlingas are other groups of sacred places.
Quick tip
Remember: Pancha Peethas = five seats of the Veerashaivas (Rambhapuri, Ujjaini, Kedar, Srishaila, Kashi); heads called Jagadguru; ishtalinga worn on the body.
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This question tests your understanding of Bhakti & Sufi Movements, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
The Bhakti and Sufi movements emphasised personal devotion to God over ritual and caste. This topic covers Bhakti saints such as Ramanuja, Kabir, Guru Nanak, Mirabai, Tulsidas, Surdas, Chaitanya, Namdev and Tukaram, and the Sufi orders (silsilas) such as the Chishti and Suhrawardi orders and their saints. Questions usually link a saint to their region, language, teacher or ideas, or ask which Sufi order a saint belonged to. For example, Moinuddin Chishti brought the Chishti order to Ajmer, and Kabir was a disciple of Ramananda. A table of saint, region and key teaching makes these questions easy. Practise the Bhakti and Sufi movements questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.