PYQ Bank — UPSC Civil Services

Dharmashastras like Manusmriti served as normative texts providing guidelines for conduct, governance, and legal matters, but archaeological and epigraphic evidence shows that actual social practices varied considerably based on regional, temporal, and local contexts.

The texts represented idealized frameworks rather than descriptive accounts of what was universally practiced.

Options A, C, and D misrepresent the nature and scope of these foundational texts.

Statement 2 is correct—the Bhakti Movement fundamentally emphasized direct devotional relationship with the divine, reducing the role of Brahmanical ritualism and priestly intermediaries.

Statement 1 is incorrect as many Bhakti teachers engaged with Vedic traditions selectively rather than uniformly rejecting them.

Statement 3 is incorrect because Bhakti movements actively attracted lower-caste and marginalized communities, as evidenced by saints like Ravidas and Kabir, making it socially more inclusive than brahminical orthodoxy.

The movement's democratic spiritual approach was indeed revolutionary for medieval society.