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With reference to Manipuri Sankirtana, consider the following statements : 1. It is a song and dance performance. 2. Cymbals are the only musical instruments used in the performance. 3. It is performed to narrate the life and deeds of Lord Krishna. Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
Explanation
The correct answer is option B (statements 1 and 3 only).
Manipuri Sankirtana is a performing art form involving ritual singing, drumming and dancing performed in temples and domestic spaces in Manipur[1], confirming that statement 1 is correct as it combines both song and dance.
Statement 2 is incorrect because cymbals are not the only instruments used. Instruments used in Manipuri dance performances include the pung (barrel drum), pena (bowed string instrument), kartal (small cymbals), and flute[2]. Other common instruments are the harmonium, pena, bansuri, shankh (conch), and esraj[3]. Thus, multiple instruments accompany the performance, not just cymbals.
Statement 3 is correct as Sankirtana practices centre on the temple, where performers narrate the lives and deeds of Krishna through song and dance[4]. The performances are specifically dedicated to depicting stories of Lord Krishna.
Therefore, only statements 1 and 3 are correct, making option B the right answer.
Sources- [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meitei_Sankirtana
- [2] https://www.britannica.com/art/manipuri
- [4] https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/sankirtana-ritual-singing-drumming-and-dancing-of-manipur-00843
PROVENANCE & STUDY PATTERN
Guest previewThis question is a classic 'UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage' pick. While Sankirtana was inscribed in 2013, UPSC cycles through this list frequently. The phrasing is lifted directly from the UNESCO citation ('Ritual singing, drumming and dancing'). If you memorize the UNESCO list, you must read the 3-line official description for each entry.
This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.
Web source
Presence: 5/5
"a performing art form, involving ritual singing, [drumming] and dancing performed in the temples and domestic spaces in [Manipur] in India."
Why this source?
- Explicitly describes Meitei/Manipuri Sankirtana as a performing art that involves multiple performance modes together.
- Specifically lists 'ritual singing' and 'dancing' as components performed in its practice.
Web source
Presence: 5/5
"inscribed "Sankirtana: Ritual singing, drumming and dancing of Manipur" in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity."
Why this source?
- Mentions the UNESCO inscription that names the element using the exact combined terms.
- Labels the practice with the phrase linking singing and dancing together as part of the tradition.
Web source
Presence: 5/5
"Sankirtana, ritual singing, drumming and dancing of Manipur"
Why this source?
- The UNESCO page title for the element uses 'ritual singing, drumming and dancing', confirming the combined nature of the practice.
- An official heritage entry framing Sankirtana with both singing and dancing.
- Explicitly describes Meitei/Manipuri Sankirtana as a performing art that involves multiple performance modes together.
- Specifically lists 'ritual singing' and 'dancing' as components performed in its practice.
- Mentions the UNESCO inscription that names the element using the exact combined terms.
- Labels the practice with the phrase linking singing and dancing together as part of the tradition.
- The UNESCO page title for the element uses 'ritual singing, drumming and dancing', confirming the combined nature of the practice.
- An official heritage entry framing Sankirtana with both singing and dancing.
History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 13: Cultural Syncretism: Bhakti Movement in India > Chaitanya (1485-1533) > p. 194
Strength: 5/5
“Instead, they emphasized devotion to Krishna. Chaitanya, however, made disciples from all classes. He popularized the practice of group devotional singing accompanied by ecstatic dancing. His movement became popular in Bengal and Orissa.”
Why relevant
Describes a bhakti leader (Chaitanya) who popularised group devotional singing accompanied by ecstatic dancing — a model where singing and dancing are combined in religious performance.
How to extend
A student could note this bhakti pattern (combined singing+dancing) and check whether Manipuri Sankirtana, as a bhakti/ritual performance from the northeast, follows the same combined pattern.
History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 11: Later Cholas and Pandyas > Religion > p. 162
Strength: 4/5
“These hymns sang the praise of Siva and extolled the deeds of god. The Saiva canon, the Thirumurai, was codified after it was recovered by Nambi Andar Nambi. Oduvars and Padikam Paduvars were appointed to sing in the temples to recite Thirumurai daily in the temple premises. The singers of hymns were known as vinnappamseivar. The players of percussion instruments also were appointed. Girls were dedicated for the service of god. Musicians and dance masters also were appointed to train them. A highly evolved philosophical system called Saiva Siddhanta was founded during this period. The foundational text of this philosophy, Sivagnana Bodham, was composed by Meikandar.”
Why relevant
Reports that temples appointed singers, percussionists, musicians and dance masters, implying religious performances often integrated song, music and dance.
How to extend
Use this rule that temple ritual arts fuse music and dance to investigate if Manipuri Sankirtana, linked to temple/bhakti contexts, similarly combines both elements.
THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 5: Through the Eyes of Travellers > Music in the market > p. 128
Strength: 4/5
“The female singers come in successive crowds, sing before him and dance until dusk after which he withdraws. In this bazaar there are mosques for offering prayers ... One of the Hindu rulers ... alighted at the cupola every time he passed by this market place, and the female singers would sing before him. Even some Muslim rulers did the same.”
Why relevant
Provides an example where female singers 'sing before him and dance until dusk', showing in practice that performers both sing and dance in the same event.
How to extend
A student can generalise from such market/religious performance examples to hypothesise Manipuri Sankirtana may also be a combined singing+dancing performance and then verify with region-specific sources.
History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 9: Cultural Development in South India > Bhakti and the Arts > p. 130
Strength: 3/5
“Originating with folk dancing, the choreography of temple dancing became highly sophisticated and complex renderings.
130 | Cultural Development in South India
of religious themes as apparent in the final form. From the Pallava period onwards, trained groups of dancers were maintained by more prosperous temples. Classic scenes from puranas and itihasas were sculpted on the walls of the temples, in bronze and stone. Subsequently, artists were attached to the temples with state patronage in order to promote the fine arts like music, dance and others.”
Why relevant
Notes that temple choreography originated in folk dancing and that trained dancers were maintained by temples, indicating a tradition where narrative/religious themes are rendered through dance together with music.
How to extend
Apply this pattern of temple-sponsored dance+music to test whether Manipuri Sankirtana, if performed in temple/bhakti contexts, uses both song and dance together.
THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART I, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 2: Kings, Farmers and Towns > The Pandya chief Senguttuvan visits the forest > p. 36
Strength: 3/5
“This is an excerpt from the Silappadikaram, an epic written in Tamil: (When he visited the forest) people came down the mountain, singing and dancing … just as the defeated show respect to the victorious king, so did they bring gifts – ivory, fragrant wood, fans made of the hair of deer, honey, sandalwood, red ochre, antimony, turmeric, cardamom, pepper, etc. ... they brought coconuts, mangoes, medicinal plants, fruits, onions, sugarcane, flowers, areca nut, bananas, baby tigers, lions, elephants, monkeys, bear, deer, musk deer, fox, peacocks, musk cat, wild cocks, speaking parrots, etc. … Ü Why did people bring these gifts?”
Why relevant
Literary example (Silappadikaram) records people 'singing and dancing' together when honouring a visitor, showing longstanding cultural pairing of song and dance in ritual/social events.
How to extend
A student might use this general cultural pattern of joint singing+dancing to consider whether a named regional ritual (Manipuri Sankirtana) fits that broader practice and seek confirmation.
Describes a bhakti leader (Chaitanya) who popularised group devotional singing accompanied by ecstatic dancing — a model where singing and dancing are combined in religious performance.
A student could note this bhakti pattern (combined singing+dancing) and check whether Manipuri Sankirtana, as a bhakti/ritual performance from the northeast, follows the same combined pattern.
Reports that temples appointed singers, percussionists, musicians and dance masters, implying religious performances often integrated song, music and dance.
Use this rule that temple ritual arts fuse music and dance to investigate if Manipuri Sankirtana, linked to temple/bhakti contexts, similarly combines both elements.
Provides an example where female singers 'sing before him and dance until dusk', showing in practice that performers both sing and dance in the same event.
A student can generalise from such market/religious performance examples to hypothesise Manipuri Sankirtana may also be a combined singing+dancing performance and then verify with region-specific sources.
Notes that temple choreography originated in folk dancing and that trained dancers were maintained by temples, indicating a tradition where narrative/religious themes are rendered through dance together with music.
Apply this pattern of temple-sponsored dance+music to test whether Manipuri Sankirtana, if performed in temple/bhakti contexts, uses both song and dance together.
Literary example (Silappadikaram) records people 'singing and dancing' together when honouring a visitor, showing longstanding cultural pairing of song and dance in ritual/social events.
A student might use this general cultural pattern of joint singing+dancing to consider whether a named regional ritual (Manipuri Sankirtana) fits that broader practice and seek confirmation.
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