Ans: D

Exp:

A Western Indian School that depicts Jain themes and manuscripts is known as the Jain School of Painting. Among the most widely illustrated canonical text in the Jain tradition is Kalpasutra. It has a section, reciting events from the lives of the 24 Tirthankaras — from their births to salvation — that provides a biographical narrative for artists to paint. Early Jain paintings were traditionally done on palm leaves before paper was introduced in the fourteenth century, and the earliest surviving palm leaf manuscript from the western part of India dates back to the eleventh century.

The paintings often displayed male figures and goddesses of the Tirthankara. Also, the goddesses shown in the paintings were often heavily ornamented. These paintings began to decline during the late 16th century. Some of the exclusive features of the Jaina school of miniature paintings include the portrayal of enlarged eyes, square-shaped hands and portrayal of stylish figures. The colours used were often vibrant.

Ans: C

Exp:

Ajanta and Ellora caves are present in Maharashtra state of India. Ajanta has excavated double-storeyed caves but at Ellora, the triple-storey is a unique achievement. All the caves were plastered and painted but nothing visible is left. Ajanta caves have paintings based on the Mahayana Buddhist theme. In Ellora caves, Buddhist, Jain and Hindu gods are prominently represented.

Ans: A

Exp:

Statement 1 is correct: Stupa, vihara and chaitya are part of Buddhist and Jaina monastic complexes, but the largest number belongs to the Buddhist religion.

Statement 2 is incorrect: One of the examples of the structure of a stupa in the third century BCE is at Bairat in Rajasthan. The great stupa at Sanchi was built with bricks during the time of Ashoka, and later it was covered with stone, and many new additions were made.

Ans:B

Exp:

Due to the popularity of Buddhism and Jainism, stupas and viharas were constructed on a large scale. However, there are also examples of a few Brahmanical gods in the sculptural representations.

Pair 1 and pair 3 are correctly matched and pair 2 is incorrectly matched:

It is important to note that the stupas were constructed over the relics of the Buddha at Rajagraha, Vaishali, Vethadipa and Pava in Bihar, Kapilavastu, Allakappa and Ramagrama in Nepal, Kushinagar and Pippalvina in Uttar Pradesh. The textual tradition also mentions the construction of various other stupas on the relics of the Buddha at several places, including Avanti and Gandhara, which are outside the Gangetic Valley.

Ans: B

Exp:

Vajrayana Buddhism (Tantric Buddhism): This school of Buddhism developed in medieval India and spread to Tibet, Nepal, other Himalayan states, East Asia, and Mongolia. It developed as a result of royal courts sponsoring both Buddhism and Shaivism, i.e., they say, it was influenced by Hinduism. The main deity is Tara (a lady). It involved combining Brahmanical (Veda-based) rituals with Buddhist philosophies. Vajrayana is based on Mahayana Buddhist philosophy. This school believes in Tantra’s, Mantras and Yantra’s superiority as being a faster vehicle to liberation containing many skillful methods of tantric ritual.