Indian Culture MCQs

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The sermon Buddha gave to the five monks was his first sermon, called the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta. The Seated Buddha from Gandhara is an early statue of the Buddha made in Gandhara, in modern Pakistan, in the 2nd or 3rd century The pose, which was to become one of a number of standard ones, shows Buddha as a teacher setting the wheel of Dharma in motion (Dharmachakra Mudra). Buddha did this following his enlightenment and after delivering his first sermon at the deer park at Sarnath near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.

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The Mahabharata was translated into Persian at Akbar’s orders, by Faizi and `Abd al-Qadir Bada’uni (c. 1540 – 1615) and named Razmnameh.

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The Rumi Darwaza was built under the patronage of Nawab Asaf-Ud-daula in 1784 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. It is an example of Awadhi architecture.

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Shintoism is a Japanese religion that originated in prehistoric times. The word “Shinto” literally means “the way of the gods”. Shinto is Japan’s indigenous belief system and predates historical records. The practices, attitudes, and institutions that make up Shinto revolve around the Japanese land and seasons and their relation with the human inhabitants. Shinto is classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion. Its practitioners often regard it as Japan’s indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Shinto has occupied an important national position for long periods in the history of Japan, particularly in recent times. As Japan expanded and became an empire in the 1900s, Shinto also became an important spiritual support mechanism for justifying Japanese expansion.

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Correct sequence of the months is as follows:

1. Chaitra
2. Vaisakha
3. Jyestha
4. Ashadha
5. Shravana
6. Bhadrapada
7. Ashvina
8. Kartika
9. Margashirsha
10. Pausha
11. Magha
12. Phalguna

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The mosque is also called Jhulta Minar or Shaking Minarets.

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Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library is India’s first library to computerize its hand written collection to disseminate through internet. It was opened in 1891 in Kolkata.

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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.

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Panchavadyam, a rhythmic orchestra, that may feature more than 100 artists, playing five (pancha) different kind of instruments, is one of the major ingredients of the Pooram festivals. The term panchavadyam literally means an orchestra of five instruments. It is basically a temple art form that has evolved in Kerala. Of the five instruments, four — timila, maddalam, ilathalam and idakka — belong to the percussion category, while the fifth, the kombu, is a wind instrument. (PIB Features)

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The doctrine of Advaita, or non-dualism, was advocated by Adi Shankaracharya. The doctrine states that there is no difference between the individual soul and Brahman, or the Supreme God. Shankara believed that the soul merges with Brahman and that liberation is achieved through self-realization.
Shankara was born in Kerala in the eighth century. He was a prominent Hindu philosopher who started a Hindu revivalist movement in the ninth century. However, his doctrines were too abstract for the general public to understand.
Advaita is a school of Hinduism. All Vedanta schools state that Brahman is both the efficient and material cause of all existence.