1. Saraswati Samman is conferred by which among the following?
[A] K K Birla Foundation
[B] Sahitya Akademi
[C] Indian Council of Cultural Relations
[D] Sangeet Kala Akademi
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [K K Birla Foundation]
Notes:
The Saraswati Samman is an annual award for outstanding prose or poetry literary works in any Indian language listed in Schedule VIII of the Constitution of India. It is named after an Indian goddess of learning and is considered to be among the highest literary awards in India.
The Saraswati Samman was instituted in 1991 by the K. K. Birla Foundation. Candidates are selected from literary works published in the previous ten years by a panel that included scholars and former award winner
2. Adya Dhara niradhara, niralamba Saraswati, thus lamented a poet at the demise of which among the following Kings?
[A] Chahmana Visaladeva
[B] Chandela Kirtivarma
[C] Mihira Bhoja
[D] Bhoja Paramara
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Bhoja Paramara]
Notes:
Raja Bhoja Of Dhar was a philosopher king and polymath of medieval India. He was from the Paramara dynasty of Arya, who ruled the kingdom of Malwa in Centra India from about 1010 to 1060. On his demise, a poet lamented “Adya Dhara niradhara, niralamba Saraswati Panditah khanditah sarve Bhojraje divam gate”. This means that Saraswati is now helpless, ll learned people have scattered, because the support of Dhara (Kingdom) Raja Bhoj has gone”.
3. 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.
4. Which among the following is the hallmark feature of the Dravida style of temple architecture?
[A] Shikara
[B] Gopura
[C] Vimana
[D] Mandapa
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Vimana]
Notes:
Vimana is a term for the tower above the Garbhagriha or Sanctum sanctorum in a Hindu temple in Dravidian style.
5. Which among the following is known as the earliest example of Panchayatana style of temple?
[A] Dashavatara temple at Deogarh
[B] Temple at Pathari
[C] Shatrughneshwara temple at Bhubaneshwar
[D] Lakshmana temple at Sirpur
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Dashavatara temple at Deogarh]
Notes:
The Dashavatara Temple or Vishnu Temple also called Gupta temple at Deogarh. It was built in the Gupta Period (320 to c. 600 AD ). Archaeologists have inferred that it is the earliest known Panchayatana temple in North India. A hindu temple is a Panchayatana one when the main shrine is surrounded by four subsidiary shrines.
6. The annual “Royal Kathina Ceremony” is associated with which of the following religions?
[A] Jainism
[B] Buddhim
[C] Parsi
[D] Sikhism
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Buddhim]
Notes:
The Royal Kathina Ceremony is observed every year by Buddhist. It is observed in only one Buddhist temple outside Thailand and this year the Namphake Buddhist temple of Assam was selected. Kathina offering is an ancient Buddhist Tradition of offering special robe and other necessities to monks who maintain strict discipline of retreat during the rainy season. The main purpose of the ceremony is not merely for religious belief but also to strengthen the relationship between Thailand and other countries.
7. In which city is the dargah (tomb) of sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti located ?
[A] Delhi
[B] Ghaziabad
[C] Ajmer
[D] Gwalior
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Ajmer]
Notes:
Ajmer Sharif Dargah is a sufi shrine of the sufi saint, Moinuddin Chishti, located at Ajmer, Rajasthan. He was born in Sanjar. He is considered as the founder of the Chisti order of Sufism.
8. The best known of the compilations of the compositions of Kabir are known as ?
[A] Shatapadi
[B] Dohavali
[C] Bijak
[D] Kavitavali
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Bijak]
Notes:
Bijak is the compilations of the compositions of Kabir. Kabir Das was a 15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint, whose writings influenced Hinduism’s Bhakti movement and his verses are found in Sikhism’s scripture Guru Granth Sahib.
9. Which of the following celebration is observed by worshipping tools?
[A] Mahatma Jyotoiba Phule Jayanati
[B] Vishwakarma Jayanti
[C] Parashurama Jayanti
[D] Prajapati Jayanti
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Vishwakarma Jayanti]
Notes:
Vishwakarma Jayanti marks birth day of Vishwakarma, the divine architect.
10. Rumtek Monastery is lcoated in which state?
[A] Arunachal Pradesh
[B] Himachal Pradesh
[C] Jammu and Kashmir
[D] Sikkim
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Sikkim]
Notes:
Rumtek Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery located in the Indian state of Sikkim, near the capital city of Gangtok. It is the largest monastery in Sikkim and one of the most important centers of the Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism. The monastery is known for its traditional Tibetan architecture and art, and for its collection of sacred texts and artifacts. It is also the seat of the Gyalwa Karmapa, the head of the Kagyu sect.
