Which was the language adopted by the Bhakti saints to preach their ideas to the masses?

The correct answer is D. Regional vernacular languages.

The Bhakti movement was a Hindu devotional movement that originated in South India in the 7th century CE and spread to North India in the 12th century CE. The Bhakti saints were poets and mystics who used the vernacular languages of the people to preach their ideas of love and devotion to God. They rejected the caste system and the authority of the Brahmin priests, and they emphasized the importance of personal experience of God.

The Bhakti movement had a profound impact on Indian society and culture. It helped to spread the message of Hinduism to the masses, and it also led to the development of new forms of literature, music, and art.

Here is a brief explanation of each option:

• Hindi: Hindi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by about 500 million people in India and Nepal. It is the official language of India and is also spoken in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Hindi is a descendant of Sanskrit, and it is closely related to other Indo-Aryan languages such as Punjabi, Bengali, and Marathi.
• Sanskrit: Sanskrit is an ancient Indo-Aryan language that is considered to be the sacred language of Hinduism. It is the language of the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism. Sanskrit is also the language of many Hindu philosophical texts, such as the Upanishads.
• Ardh-Magadhi: Ardh-Magadhi is a Prakrit language that was spoken in ancient India. It is the language of the Jataka tales, a collection of stories about the Buddha’s previous lives. Ardh-Magadhi is also the language of some of the earliest Buddhist texts.
• Regional vernacular languages: Regional vernacular languages are the languages spoken in different regions of India. These languages are not mutually intelligible, and they are often very different from Sanskrit and Hindi. The Bhakti saints used the regional vernacular languages to preach their ideas to the masses because these languages were more accessible to the people.