The kubelet is the primary node-level agent in Kubernetes and plays a critical role in ensuring that workloads run correctly on each worker node. Its main responsibility is to ensure that the containers described in Pod specifications are running and remain healthy on that node, which makes option C the correct answer.

Once the Kubernetes scheduler assigns a Pod to a node, the kubelet on that node takes over execution responsibilities. It watches the API server for Pod specifications that are scheduled to its node and then interacts with the container runtime to start, stop, and manage the containers defined in those Pods. The kubelet continuously monitors container health and reports Pod and node status back to the API server, enabling Kubernetes to make informed decisions about restarts, rescheduling, or remediation.

Health checks are another key responsibility of the kubelet. It executes liveness, readiness, and startup probes as defined in the Pod specification. Based on probe results, the kubelet may restart containers or update Pod status to reflect whether the application is ready to receive traffic. This behavior directly supports Kubernetes’ self-healing capabilities.

Option A is incorrect because persistent storage allocation and data replication are handled by storage systems, CSI drivers, and controllers—not by the kubelet itself. Option B is incorrect because cluster state management and scheduling decisions are the responsibility of control plane components such as the API server, controller manager, and kube-scheduler. Option D is incorrect because DNS resolution and service traffic routing are handled by components like CoreDNS and kube-proxy.

In summary, the kubelet acts as the “node supervisor” for Kubernetes workloads. By ensuring containers are running as specified and continuously reporting their status, the kubelet forms the essential link between the Kubernetes control plane and the actual execution of applications on worker nodes. This clearly aligns with Option C as the correct and verified answer.