UPSC – CSE Prelims 2024
MEDIUM
HISTORY – ANCIENT – JAINISM & BUDDHISM
1. With reference to ancient India, Gautama Buddha was generally known by which of the following epithets?
- Nayaputta
- Shakyamuni
- Tathagata
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1, 2 and 3
(d) None of the above are epithets of Gautama Buddha
Ans. (b)
Surviving early Jain and Buddhist literature uses several names (or epithets) for Mahavira, including Nayaputta, Muni, Samana, Nigantha, Brahman, and Bhagavan.
Epithets for Buddha include Shakyamuni and Tathagata
Tathagata (“the perfect one”), lit. the one who has “thus gone”, or “thus come”, is an epithet of the Buddha used by him when speaking of himself.
DIFFICULT
HISTORY – ANCIENT – JAINISM & BUDDHISM
2. Sanghabhuti, an Indian Buddhist monk, who travelled to China at the end of the fourth century AD, was the author of a commentary on:
(a) Prajnaparamita Sutra
(b) Visuddhimagga
(c) Sarvastivada Vinaya
(d) Lalitavistara
Ans. (c)
UPSC – CSE Prelims 2018
HISTORY – ANCIENT – JAINISM & BUDDHISM
1. With reference to the religious practices in India, the “Sthanakvasi” sect belongs to
(a) Buddhism
(b) Jainism
(c) Vaishnavism
(d) Shaivism
Ans: (b)
Sthanakavasi
- It is a sect of Svetambara Jainism founded by a merchant named Lavaji in 1653 AD.
- It believes that idol worship is not essential in the path of soul purification and attainment of Nirvana/Moksha.
- The sect is essentially a reformation of the one founded on teachings of Lonka, a fifteenth-century Jain reformer.
- Sthanakavasins accept thirty-two of the Jain Agamas, the Svetambara canon.
- Śvetambarins who are not Sthanakavasins are mostly part of the Murtipujaka sect.
HISTORY – ANCIENT – JAINISM & BUDDHISM
2. With reference to Indian history, who among the following is a future Buddha, yet to come to save the world?
(a) Avalokiteshvara
(b) Lokesvara
(c) Maitreya
(d) Padmapani
Ans:(c)
Avalokiteshvara
- Avalokiteshvara is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas.
- This bodhisattva is variably depicted, described and is portrayed in different cultures as either female or male.
- Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who are destined to become Buddhas but postpone that final state in order to help humanity.
- Avalokiteshvara is also referred to as Padmapani (“Holder of the Lotus”) or Lokeshvara (“Lord of the World”).
- The most famous painting on the walls of the Ajanta caves is that of the Bodhisattva Padmapani.
Maitreya
- According to Buddhist tradition, Maitreya is a bodhisattva who will appear on Earth in the future, achieve complete enlightenment, and teach the pure dharma.
- According to scriptures, Maitreya will be a successor to the present Buddha, Gautama Buddha.
UPSC – CSE Prelims 2016
HISTORY – ANCIENT – JAINISM & BUDDHISM
1. With reference to the religious history of India, consider the following statements
- The concept of Bodhisattva is central to Hinayana sect of Buddhism.
- Bodhisattva is a compassionate one on his way to enlightenment.
- Bodhisattva delays achieving his own salvation to help all sentient beings on their path to it.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 2 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Ans: (b)
The concept of Bodhisattva is central to Mahayana sect of Buddhism. It is a term for anyone who, motivated by great compassion, has generated bodhicitta, which is a spontaneous wish to attain buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings.
HISTORY – ANCIENT – JAINISM & BUDDHISM
2. With reference to the cultural history of India, the memorizing of chronicles, dynastic histories and epic tales was the profession of who of the following?
(a) Shramana
(b) Parivraajaka
(c) Agrahaarika
(d) Maagadha
Ans: (d)
Sramaṇa means “seeker, one who performs acts of austerity, ascetic”. The term refers to several Indian religious movements parallel to but separate from the historical Vedic religion. The Śramaṇa tradition includes Jainism of 9th-century BCE, Buddhism of 6th-century BCE, and others such as Ājīvika, Ajñana and Cārvāka.
Parivraajaka means sanyasin, a Hindu religious mendicant (beggar).
Agrahaarika: is one who appropriates to himself an Agrahāra or an endowment of lands or villages conferred upon Brāhmans.
Maagadha is a courtier, an attendant at the court of a sovereign.