Prelims 2013 · archive
EasyConsider the following Bhakti Saints:
- 1.Dadu Dayal
- 2.Guru Nanak
- 3.Tyagaraja
Who among the above was/were preaching when the Lodi dynasty fell and Babur took over?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) 2 only
The Lodi dynasty fell at Panipat in 1526. Guru Nanak (1469-1539) was alive and preaching then. Dadu Dayal (born 1544) and Tyagaraja (born 1767) lived much later.
- ✗ 1. Dadu Dayal was born in 1544, after Babur's victory of 1526 and nearly two decades after Babur's death in 1530.
- ✓ 2. Baba Guru Nanak lived from 1469 to 1539, so he was in his late fifties and active in 1526.
- ✗ 3. Tyagaraja (1767-1847) was a Carnatic composer of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Remember · 1526: Babur defeats Ibrahim Lodi. Guru Nanak (1469-1539) was a contemporary; Dadu (16th-century) and Tyagaraja (c. 1800) came later.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part II, Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part II, Ch 4 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part II, Chapter 2 “Baba Guru Nanak (1469-1539) was born in a Hindu merchant family in a village called Nankana Sahib near the river Ravi”
- NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part II, Chapter 4 “1526 Babur defeats Ibrahim Lodi, the Delhi Sultan, at Panipat, becomes the first Mughal emperor”
Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2013, General Studies paper. UPSC did not publish an answer key for 2013: the answer shown is the one the sources above support. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 24 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·