Describe the factors responsible for the rise of composite culture.

The factors responsible for the rise of composite culture are:

1. Alvars and Nayanars: The Bhakti Movement began in Tamil Nadu (7th-12th centuries) with the Alvars (devoted to Vishnu) and Nayanars (devoted to Shiva). These saint-poets traveled, composing emotional hymns of love, devotion, and surrender, challenging priestly authority and ritualism. The movement later spread northward.
2. Reaction Against Orthodox Ritualism: The complexity and rigidity of religious rituals, along with Brahmanical dominance, created a demand for a more accessible, emotionally fulfilling spiritual path.
3. Decline of Buddhism and Jainism: The decline of Buddhism due to internal weaknesses and invasions, along with the waning influence of Jainism, created a religious vacuum that allowed the Bhakti Movement to rise as an alternative spiritual path.
4. Socio-Political Conditions: Turkish invasions and non-Hindu rule in the north led to social turmoil, prompting people to seek solace in a more personal form of worship.
5. Influence of Sufi Mysticism: Sufism's emphasis on love and personal union with God deeply influenced the Bhakti Movement, promoting a similar devotional approach within Hinduism.
6. Sankaracharya and his Teachings: Sankaracharya (788-820 CE) revived Hinduism by reinterpreting the Upanishads, emphasizing knowledge as the path to salvation, and laying the foundation for Bhakti culture.
7. Rigidity of the Caste System: The Bhakti reformers attracted the lower castes, offering an egalitarian approach that welcomed all people, regardless of caste or wealth, into the path of devotion.