Indian Culture MCQs

Notes:
The location of the five Takhts is as follows: Akal Takht, at Amritsar, Keshgar Sahib, at Anandpur Sahib, Punjab, Patna Sahib, at Patna, Hazur Sahib, at Nanded and Damdama Sahib, at Talwandi Sabo, Bhatinda or Bathinda.

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.

Notes:
The Yājñavalkya Smrti is a Dharma-related texts of Hinduism composed in Sanskrit. It is dated to between the 3rd to 5th-century CE, and belongs to the Gupta period.

Notes:
All the above places are correctly matched.

Notes:
The 5th guru of Sikhs, Guru Arjun Dev ji built the Swarna Mandir (or Golden temple) in Amritsar and compiled Adigranth, the holy scripture of Sikhism. He was executed by Mughal emperor Jahangir on charges of helping his rebel son, Prince Khurram with money and prayer.

Notes:
The Pallava architecture shows the transition from the Rock Cut Architecture to the Stone built temples. § The earliest examples of the Pallava art are the rock cut temples of the 7th century AD, while the later examples are of structural temples built in 8th and 9th century. § The rock cut reliefs of the Pallavas are the earliest surviving royal portraits after the Kushana images. § At the end of 6th century, King Harsha ruled in the North and he patronized the Buddhist Institutions. In South, Pallavas expanded themselves from the much of the Andhra Pradesh of today to much of Tamil Nadu. The Pallava Kings are known to be one of the greatest patrons of the art, music, architecture, dance and literature. King Mahendravarman was a poet and a playwright who wrote a satire on contemporary life titled “Mattavilasa Prahasana”. Another King of Pallava Dynasty named Rajsimha (Narsimhamvaraman) was such a great lover of art that he used the title “Kalasamudra” for himself.

Notes:
Jamini Roy was an Indian painter best known for combining traditional Indian and Western art styles to create unique, complex works. After graduating, Roy adopted the simple forms, flat colors, and humble paints of Bengali folk artists.

Notes:
The national song is called “Vande Mataram…”. The first Political occasion when it was sung was the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress. It was written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.

Notes:
• Ab’ul Hasan Yamin ud-Din Khusrau is better known as Amir Khusrow Dehlavi. He was a Sufi musician, poet and scholar from India.
• Kabir was a 15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint, whose writings, according to some scholars, influenced Hinduism’s Bhakti movement.
• Shaikh Abu al-Fazal ibn Mubarak is also known as Abul Fazal. It was the Grand vizier of the Mughal emperor Akbar and author of the Akbarnama.
• Tukaram is also referred to as Sant Tukaram. He was a 17th-century Hindu poet and sant of the Bhakti movement in Maharashtra.

Notes:
Gunas theory of Yoga-Samkhya School  states that three gunas (innate tendency, attributes) are present in all beings. These three are sattva guna (goodness, constructive, harmonious), rajas guna (passion, active, confused), and tamas guna (darkness, destructive, chaotic).