1. Which among the following ancient authors has complained of the drain of gold to India (due to trade hegemony of ancient India)?
[A] Ptolemy
[B] Nero
[C] Strabo
[D] Pliny
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Pliny]
Notes:
The lamentation of the Roman writer Pliny in the 1st century A.D refers to heavy drain of Gold from Roman into India in payment of her imports from India. He writes that the drain of Gold is in return for unproductive luxuries. The Roman gold and silver were steadily drained into South India in exchange not only for spices, but also muslin, silk and other costly luxuries.
2. Which among the following are the earliest examples of Rock Cut architecture in Ancient India?
[A] Barbara Caves
[B] Elephanta caves
[C] Kanheri Caves
[D] Ajanta Caves
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Barbara Caves]
Notes:
The Barabar Hill Caves are the oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India. It is located in Bihar.
3. ‘BHAGORIA’ is the traditional folk dance of which tribe?
[A] Bhil
[B] Gond
[C] Korku
[D] Baiga
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Bhil]
Notes:
Tribal dance forms are Karma and Saili (Gonds), Bhagoria (Bhils), Lehangi (Saharias) and Thaapti (Kokru), Pardhauni (Baiga).
4. Kathasaritsagar was composed by whom?
[A] Somodeva
[B] Dandin
[C] Jayadeva
[D] Vakpatiraj
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Somodeva]
Notes:
The Kathasaritsagar ( or Ocean of the Streams of Stories) is a famous 11th-century collection of Indian legends, fairy tales and folk tales as retold in Sanskrit by Somadeva, a Shaiva Brahmin.
5. Who was the founder of Radha Swami Satsang in Agra?
[A] Radha Kant Dev
[B] Baba Ram Singh
[C] Keshab Chandra Sen
[D] Shiv Dayal Sahib
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Shiv Dayal Sahib]
Notes:
The Radhasoami Satsang was founded in Agra in 1861 by Shiv Dayal Sahib. The sole purpose of this satsang is to experience the divinity of God who resides in all of us. To realize the truth of the concept that there is only one God and we are all expressions of his love.
6. Which of the following Raj Kapoor starrers was also released as The Vagabond?
[A] Awara
[B] Shri 420
[C] Barsaat
[D] None of the above
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Awara]
Notes:
Awaara which is known in overseas as The Vagabond is a 1951 Indian film, produced and directed by Raj Kapoor, and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. It stars Raj Kapoor, Nargis, Raj’s real-life father Prithviraj Kapoor, Leela Chitnis, and K. N. Singh.
7. Which of the following temples is named after the craftsman who built it?
[A] Lepakshi Temple, Andhra Pradesh
[B] Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangapatna, Karnataka
[C] Ramappa Temple, Telangana
[D] Mukteshwar Temple, Odisha
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Ramappa Temple, Telangana]
Notes:
Ramappa Temple is also known as the Ramalingeswara temple. The temple is named after the sculptor Ramappa, who built it and is perhaps the only temple in India to be named after a craftsman who built it rather than the king who commissioned it or its presiding deity. The temple is located in a valley at Palampet village,near Warangal, Telangana. An inscription in the temple dates it to the year 1213 AD, during the period of the Kakatiya Dynasty rule.
8. The dance form Garba is associated with which of the following states?
[A] Gujarat
[B] Maharashtra
[C] Bihar
[D] Himachal Pradesh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Gujarat]
Notes:
Garba is a form of dance which originated in the state of Gujarat in India. The name is derived from the Sanskrit term Garbha and Deep. Many traditional garbas are performed around centrally lit lamp or a picture or statue of the Goddess Shakti.
9. Which of the following are the contents of Rigveda, the oldest of the Vedas? (UPSC Prelims 1984)
[A] Collection of hymns to gods
[B] Methods of Vedic yagnas
[C] Early Aryan culture
[D] Origin and works of Hindu gods
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Collection of hymns to gods]
Notes:
The core text, known as the Rigveda Samhita, is a collection of 1,028 hymns in about 10,600 verses organized into ten books (maṇḍalas). In the eight books that were composed the earliest, the hymns are mostly praise of specific deities.
10. Which of the following instituted “Moortidevi Sahitya Puraskar”? (UPSC Prelims 1985)
[A] Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
[B] Bhartiya Jnanpith
[C] Ministry of Education, Government of India
[D] Sahitya Akademi
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Bhartiya Jnanpith]
Notes:
Bharatiya Jnanpith a literary and research organization, based in New Delhi, India, was founded on February 18, 1944 by Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain. The “Moortidevi Sahitya Puraskar” is instituted by Bhartiya Jnanpith.
