Daily UPSC Prelims Current Affairs – December 20, 2022 [Mock Test]
December 24, 2022 December 24, 2022
1. Which of the following is/are the salient features of Hoysala style of architecture?
- It is based on panchayatan plan.
- The temples were built on an upraised platform known as Jagati.
- Soft soapstone was the main building material.
Choose the correct answer using the codes given below:
[A] Only 2
[B] Only 1 & 3
[C] Only 2 & 3
[D] 1, 2 & 3
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Only 2 & 3]
Notes:- Multiple shrines of different deities were built around a central pillared hall.
- Stellate plan: These shrines are established intricately in the design of a star.
- Soft soapstone was the main building material.
- Massive emphasis was laid on the decoration of the temple through sculptures.
- Both the interior and exterior walls, even the pieces of jewellery worn by the deities were intricately carved.
- The temples were built on an upraised platform known as Jagati.
- The walls and stairs of the temple followed a zigzag pattern.
- Hoysala temples are sometimes called hybrid or vesara as their unique style seems neither completely Dravida nor Nagara, but somewhere in between.
- However, the major difference between the Nagara & Dravidian architecture and Hoysala architecture is that the temple premise of former was laid out in the panchayatan style (principal temple and four subsidiary shrines), whereas the latter is based on stellate plan (star shape layout of the temple).
2. Which of the following is/are the examples of Hoysala temple architecture?
- Chennakesava Temple at Belur
- Kesava Temple at Somanathapura
- Viranarayana temple at Belavadi
Choose the correct answer using the codes given below:
[A] Only 1
[B] Only 2 & 3
[C] Only 1 & 3
[D] 1, 2 & 3
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [1, 2 & 3]
Notes:- Hoysala architecture is the Hindu temple architecture which got developed in the region of Karnataka near Mysore. It developed in the period from 1050-1300 A.D with the prominent seats being Belur, Halebid and Sringeri.
- Examples of the Hoysala architectural style, includes the Chennakesava Temple at Belur, the Hoysaleswara Templeat Halebidu, and the Kesava Temple at Somanathapura.
- The Veera Narayana temple, also referred to as the Viranarayana temple of Belavadi.
- The Amruteshvara temple at Chikmagalur.
- Karanataka, the Nageshvara-Chennakeshava temple complex at Mosale near Hassan city, Karnataka.
- The Lakshmi Narasimha temple at Nuggehalli.
3. Consider the following statements:
- Gulf of Gdańsk is a bay of the Caspian Sea.
- Strait of Pilawa is located in Kaliningrad Oblast, Ukraine.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
[A] Only 1
[B] Only 2
[C] Both 1 & 2
[D] Neither 1 nor 2
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Neither 1 nor 2]
Notes:- Poland has opened a new sea waterway to enable ships to sail from the Baltic Sea and the Bay of Gdansk to ports of Vistula lagoon without relying on Strait of Pilawa in Russia.
- Strait of Baltiysk or Strait of Pilawa is located in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. It enables passage from the Baltic Sea into the freshwater Vistula Lagoon – a brackish water lagoon separated from the Gdansk Bay by the Vistula Spit.
- Gdańsk Bay or the Gulf of Gdańsk is a southeastern bay of the Baltic Sea.
