Ajanta Quiz

Notes:
Ajanta is a place where several caves were hollowed out of the hills over centuries. Most of these were monasteries for Buddhist monks, and some of them were decorated with paintings. As the caves are dark inside, most of these paintings were done in the light of torches. The colours, which are vivid even after 1500 years, were made of plants and minerals. The artists who created these splendid works of art remain unknown.

Notes:
The Ajanta Caves are about 29 rock-cut Buddhist monumental caves located in Maharashtra, India, dating back to the 2nd century BC. Here excellent specimens of depiction and craftsmanship related to Buddhism are found. Along with these, live depictions are also found. These caves are located near a village called Ajanta, which is in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra. The Ajanta Caves have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983.

Notes:
Ajanta and Ellora caves are located in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra. The Ajanta Caves are about 29 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments which date from the 2nd century BCE to about 480 or 650. The Ellora caves are a group of caves featuring Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monuments, and artwork, dating from the 600-1000 CE. Both sites are UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Notes:
The Ajanta Caves in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, India are 30 rock-cut cave monuments which date from the 2nd century BCE to the 600 CE. The caves include paintings and sculptures considered to be masterpieces of Buddhist religious art (which depict the Jataka tales) as well as frescos which are reminiscent of the Sigiriya paintings in Sri Lanka. The Ajanta cave paintings depict the life of Gautam Buddha.

Notes:
The Ajanta Caves in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra are about 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments which date from the 2nd century BC to about 480 or 650 CE. The caves include paintings and rock cut sculptures described as among the finest surviving examples of ancient Indian art, particularly expressive painting that present emotion through gesture, pose and form. Flora and fauna are depicted on the ceilings of the caves.

Notes:
The Ajanta Caves, comprising rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments, are located in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra. Ellora caves, one of the largest rockcut monastery-temple caves complexes in the world, are also located near Aurangabad. Ajanta and Ellora caves form one of the major tourist attractions in Marathwada region of Maharashtra.

Notes:
The Ajanta Caves in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, are about 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments. They are universally regarded as masterpieces of Buddhist religious art. The caves were built in two phases, the first starting around the 2nd century BCE and the second occurring from 400 to 650 CE. The murals in these caves reflect the artistic influence of the Gupta period, but differing opinions says it was probably built under the patronage of the Hindu Satavahana dynasty (230 BCE – c. 220 CE) who ruled the region. The site is a protected monument in the care of the Archaeological Survey of India, and since 1983, the Ajanta Caves have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Notes:
This kind of the questions can be solved by common sense about the geography of our country. The given sites belong to Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana respectively.  Thus, Kumbhalgarh will be northernmost and Golconda will be southernmost. Then, though some parts of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh share same latitudes, still, you must have seen Bhopal (which is near to Sanchi) relatively upper side than Aurangabad in India’s maps.
So, the correct order shall be Kumbhalgarh, Sanchi, Ajanta and Golconda.

Now, to verify these coordinates sourced from Wikipedia are given below:

• Kumbhalgarh Fort – 25°8′56″N 73°34′49″E
• Sanchi Stupa – 23.479223°N 77.739683°E
• Ajanta Caves – 20°33′12″N 75°42′01″E
• Golconda Fort – 17°22′59″N 78°24′04″E

UPSC would not want you to mug up coordinates but to have common sense about location of various important places. Kindly search for swachh iconic sites, world heritage sites of India and get a good sense about their location in map.

Context:

Swachh Iconic Places is an initiative of Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation under Swachh Bharat Mission- Grameen. It aims to take iconic places and their surroundings to higher standards of Swachhata, so that all visitors benefit and also take away home the message of cleanliness. It is a collaborative project with three other central Ministries: Urban Development, Culture, Tourism; all levels in the concerned States and more importantly, Public Sector and Private Companies as partners. In first week of March, the 12 iconic sites are selected under Swachh Iconic Places are as follows:

1. Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra
2. Sanchi Stupa, Madhya Pradesh
3. Kumbhalgarh Fort, Rajasthan
4. Jaisalmer Fort, Rajasthan
5. Ramdevra, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan
6. Golconda Fort, Hyderabad, Telangana
7. Sun Temple, Konark, Odisha
8. Rock Garden, Chandigarh
9. Dal Lake, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir
10. Banke Bihari Temple, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh
11. Agra Fort, Agra, Uttar Pradesh
12. Kalighat Temple, West Bengal

 

Notes:
Starting from the North, the correct order of the mountain ranges is the Aravalli Range, followed by the Vindhyan Range, Satpura Range, and finally the Ajanta Range in the South.

Notes:
Vindhyashakti I is considered as the founder of the Vakataka dynasty. The Ajanta Inscriptions which was constructed during the time of Harisena describes him as a dvija and praises him for his military achievements.