Indian Culture MCQs

Notes:
The Aihole temples were built in the late 7th century by the dynasty of the Chalukyas. It is the largest of a group of over 120 temples at Aihole. The architecture of the temple is predominantly Dravida with Nagara style also is used in certain areas.

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:
The Chola emperor Rajaraja Chola I built Brihadeshwar temple at Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. The presiding deity is Lord Shiva in the form of a Lingam called Peruvudaiya, Rasjarajeshwaramudvya.

Notes:
Kolayat fair is annually held on Kartik Purnima tithi, or the full moon day, in Kartik month as per traditional Hindu lunar calendar in Rajasthan. The fair is held on the banks of a lake located at Kolayat near Bikaner in Rajasthan. 

Notes:
1. In this school of art the life size statues of Gautama Buddha were carved. Until then, the Buddhist existence was shown in the form of symbols like lotus, umbrella etc.
2. While carving the statues utmost care was given to the symmetry of the body including the muscles and moustaches which were shown in a natural setting.
3. In the specimens of the craftsmanship of this art-the folds and turns of the clothes were exhibited with minute care and skill.
4. In this art the ornaments that were carved on the statues received much attention which added to the physical beauty of the statue.
5. Polishing the statues is an important feature of this art.
6. The specimens were mostly prepared in stone, terracotta and clay.
7. The technique used in making the statues was Greek but, the idea, inspiration and personality all were Indian.

Notes:
All the pairs are correctly matched. The Shore temple is a complex of temples and shrines located in Mahabalipuram and was built by the Pallava Dynasty. The Kailasa temple, considered one of the most remarkable cave temples in India because of its size, architecture and sculptural treatment, is one of the 34 monasteries and temples, extending over more than 2 km, that were dug side by side in the wall of a high basalt cliff in the complex located at Ellora, Maharashtra. It was built by the Rashtrakuta Dynasty. The Khajuraho group of monuments is a group of Hindu temples and Jain temples in Chhatarpur district, Madhya Pradesh, India, about 175 kilometres southeast of Jhansi, and were built by the Chandela Dynasty.

Notes:
Kabir is widely believed to have become the first disciple of the Bhakti poet-saint Swami Ramananda in Varanasi. He was known for devotional Vaishnavism with a strong bent to monist Advaita philosophy teaching that God was inside every person, everything. Sant Kabir was known as a Nirguna saint and reformer.

Notes:
The ?amokara mantra is the quintessential prayer of the Jainism faith, practiced universally by its adherents. It encapsulates the Jain principle of “Parasparopagraho Jivanam,” meaning all life is bound together by mutual support and interdependence. This illustrates the core Jain belief in non-violence and respect to all living entities, signifying its underlying ethical and moral framework. It’s commonly recited during ceremonies and on personal reflection periods, deepening the spiritual connection and reminding the practitioners of the path to liberation.

Notes:
Nyaya school Hindu philosophy accepts four out of six Pramanas as reliable means of gaining knowledge – Pratyaksha (perception), Anumana (inference), Upamana (comparison and analogy) and Sabda (word, testimony of past or present reliable experts).

Notes:
In the foundational concepts of Yoga school of Hindu philosophy include two realities: Purusha and Prakriti. The Purusha is defined as pure consciousness and is devoid of thoughts or qualities whereas Prakriti is the phenomenal reality with matter, mind, sensory organs and the sense of identity (self, soul).