Indian Culture MCQs

Notes:
The Bhimbetka rock shelters are an archaeological site of the Palaeolithic, exhibiting the earliest traces of human life on the Indian Subcontinent. It is located in the Raisen District in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, near Abdullaganj town and inside the Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary.

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

Notes:
The Dilwara temples are located at Mount Abu in Rajasthan. These temples appear simple from outside but the interior showcase the extraordinary work of human craftsmanship. These Jain temples were built by Vimal Shah and designed by Vastupala, Jain minister of Dholka.

Notes:
Shiva Tandava Stotra is sung by Ravana in Ramayana. It is a Sanskrit sloka. Ravana is king of Lanka.

Notes:
Khudabaksh Oriental Library – Patna,
Library of Tibetan Works and Archives-Dharamsala,
Indira Gandhi Rastriya Manav sangrahalaya – Bhopal

Notes:
The Dalai Lama is considered a reincarnation of Avalokiteśvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. Avalokiteśvara is the patron saint of Tibet and embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dalai Lama is Tenzin Gyatso, who lives in exile in India.
According to Tibetan Buddhism, the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth is a key belief. When a Dalai Lama dies, they believe that their spirit is reincarnated in the body of their successor, who is born at the moment of their death. Search parties are sent across Tibet to find children who are “special” and born within a year of the Dalai Lama’s death.

Notes:
Lal Ded (Lalleswari) was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva and a revered Kashmiri saint. Born in 1320 AD near Pampore, Kashmir, she was a daughter of a Kashmiri Brahman named Cheta Bhat. Lal Ded played a significant role in the history of Kashmir, notably for her profound spiritual poems and public discourses, contributing vastly to the development of the Kashmiri language and literature.

Notes:
There are nine substances viz. prithvi (earth), ap (water), tejas (fire), vayu (air), akasha (ether), kala (time), dik (space), atman (self) and manas (mind). The first five are called bhutas (Panchabhutas) the substances having some specific qualities so that they could be perceived by one or the other external senses.

Notes:
Bharatnatyam is a major genre of Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu temples of Tamil Nadu and neighbouring regions. Today this dance form is very much popular in South Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Notes:
Kuchipudi is a classical dance form, exclusive to the South-East Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It originated in a village of Krishna district in modern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It derives its name from this village. It is a dance-drama performance art, with its roots in the ancient Hindu Sanskrit text of Natya Shastra. Like all major classical dances of India, it was also developed as a religious art linked to travelling bards, temples and spiritual beliefs. The Kuchipudi style was conceived by Siddhendra Yogi, a talented Vaishnava poet of 17th century. It begins with an invocation to Lord Ganesha followed by Nritta (non-narrative and abstract dancing); shabdam (narrative dancing) and natya. The dance is accompanied by song which is typically Carnatic music. The singer is accompanied by musical instruments like Mridangam, violin, flute and tambura. Like other classical dances, Kuchipudi also comprises pure dance, mime and histrionics but it is the use of speech that distinguishes Kuchipudi’s presentation as dance drama.