UPSC Ancient India – Chapter 9: Buddhism – Councils, Schools and Spread (27 MCQs)

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UPSC Ancient India – Chapter 9: Buddhism – Councils, Schools and Spread (27 MCQs) – 27 questions, subject: History. Every question has the correct answer with a one-line explanation; tap "Show Answer". Free practice for TNPSC, UPSC, SSC, Bank and RRB exams – Shanmugam IAS Academy, Coimbatore.

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1.  

The Third Buddhist Council was held at Pataliputra under:

Correct Answer: A [Ashoka]

Explanation:

Ashoka patronised the Third Council at Pataliputra, presided over by Moggaliputta Tissa, c. 250 BCE.

2.  

The Vinaya Pitaka deals with:

Correct Answer: C [rules for monks and nuns]

Explanation:

The Vinaya Pitaka, recited by Upali at the First Council, contains the rules of discipline for monks and nuns.

3.  

The Milindapanha records a dialogue between Nagasena and:

Correct Answer: D [Menander]

Explanation:

The Milindapanha records the questions of the Indo-Greek king Menander (Milinda) to the monk Nagasena.

4.  

The Madhyamika school of Buddhist philosophy was founded by:

Correct Answer: B [Nagarjuna]

Explanation:

Nagarjuna, c. second century CE, founded the Madhyamika school and taught shunyata, or emptiness.

5.  

The Bodhisattva of compassion, also called Padmapani, is:

Correct Answer: A [Avalokiteshvara]

Explanation:

Avalokiteshvara, also called Padmapani or Lokeshvara, is the Bodhisattva of compassion and holds a lotus.

6.  

Vikramashila was founded by the Pala king:

Correct Answer: B [Dharmapala]

Explanation:

The Pala king Dharmapala founded Vikramashila in Bihar around 800 CE.

7.  

Ashoka sent Mahinda and Sanghamitta to:

Correct Answer: C [Sri Lanka]

Explanation:

Ashoka sent his son Mahinda and daughter Sanghamitta to Sri Lanka, where they spread Theravada Buddhism.

8.  

The female deity Tara is especially associated with:

Correct Answer: B [Vajrayana]

Explanation:

Vajrayana used tantric rituals, mantras and mandalas and worshipped female deities such as Tara.

9.  

The language of the Theravada canon is:

Correct Answer: A [Pali]

Explanation:

The Theravada Tipitaka is preserved in Pali, while Mahayana texts used Sanskrit.

10.  

Consider the following statements:

1. The Fourth Buddhist Council was held in Kashmir.
2. Kanishka was the patron of the Fourth Council.
3. The Fourth Council was presided over by Moggaliputta Tissa.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Correct Answer: B [1 and 2 only]

Explanation:

The Fourth Council met in Kashmir under Kanishka; Vasumitra, not Moggaliputta Tissa, presided, so only 1 and 2 are correct.

11.  

Assertion (A): Buddhism declined in India after the twelfth century.

Reason (R): Its great monasteries lost royal patronage and were destroyed in Turkish raids.

Correct Answer: A [Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A]

Explanation:

Loss of royal patronage and the destruction of Nalanda and Vikramashila in Turkish raids directly caused Buddhism's decline in India.

12.  

The Yogachara school held that:

Correct Answer: C [only consciousness is real]

Explanation:

Yogachara (Vijnanavada), developed by Asanga and Vasubandhu, held that only consciousness is real.

13.  

Which of the following is NOT one of the paramitas?

Correct Answer: A [Ahimsa vrata of the Jains]

Explanation:

The Jain ahimsa vrata is a Jain vow; the six paramitas are dana, shila, kshanti, virya, dhyana and prajna.

14.  

The split into Sthaviravadins and Mahasanghikas is traditionally linked with the council held at:

Correct Answer: C [Vaishali]

Explanation:

The Second Council at Vaishali, under Kalashoka, saw the dispute over monastic rules that split Sthaviravadins and Mahasanghikas.

15.  

Atisha Dipankara, who went to Tibet in the eleventh century, taught at:

Correct Answer: D [Vikramashila]

Explanation:

Atisha Dipankara taught at the Pala monastery of Vikramashila before going to Tibet in the eleventh century.

16.  

The Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara at Nalanda, Bihar was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in:

Correct Answer: B [2016]

Explanation:

UNESCO inscribed the Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara on the World Heritage List in 2016.

17.  

Arrange the following in chronological order:

1. Vikramashila founded
2. Third Buddhist Council
3. Nalanda inscribed as a World Heritage Site
4. Fourth Buddhist Council

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Correct Answer: C [2-4-1-3]

Explanation:

c. 250 BCE, first century CE, c. 800 CE, 2016.

18.  

Image worship of the Buddha is a feature especially of:

Correct Answer: D [Mahayana]

Explanation:

Mahayana deified the Buddha and worshipped his images and those of Bodhisattvas, first made in Gandhara and Mathura.

19.  

The Mahavastu belongs to the school of the:

Correct Answer: D [Lokottaravadins]

Explanation:

The Mahavastu is a text of the Lokottaravadins, an offshoot of the Mahasanghikas.

20.  

The Buddhist vihara at Nagapattinam was built by a king of:

Correct Answer: C [Srivijaya (Shailendra dynasty)]

Explanation:

A Shailendra king of Srivijaya built the Chudamani vihara at Nagapattinam with Rajaraja Chola I's permission, recorded in the Leiden plates.

21.  
UPSC Prelims 2023

In which one of the following regions was Dhanyakataka, which flourished as a prominent Buddhist centre under the Mahasanghikas, located?

Correct Answer: A [Andhra]

Explanation:

Dhanyakataka, the Satavahana-period Buddhist centre of the Mahasanghikas, is Amaravati on the Krishna river in present-day Andhra Pradesh.

22.  
UPSC Prelims 2020

With reference to the religious history of India, consider the following statements:

1. Sthaviravadins belong to Mahayana Buddhism.
2. Lokottaravadin sect was an offshoot of Mahasanghika sect of Buddhism.
3. The deification of Buddha by Mahasanghikas fostered Mahayana Buddhism.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Correct Answer: B [2 and 3 only]

Explanation:

Statements 2 and 3 are correct: Lokottaravadins grew out of the Mahasanghikas, whose deification of Buddha fostered Mahayana, but Sthaviravadins belonged to the older Sthavira (Theravada) tradition, not Mahayana.

23.  
UPSC Prelims 2020

With reference to the cultural history of India, which one of the following is the correct description of the term 'paramitas'?

Correct Answer: C [Perfections whose attainment led to the Bodhisattva path]

Explanation:

Paramitas are the perfections, such as dana and prajna, whose attainment leads along the Bodhisattva path.

24.  
UPSC Prelims 2019

Consider the following:

1. Deification of the Buddha.
2. Treading the path of Bodhisattvas.
3. Image worship and rituals.

Which of the above is/are the feature / features of Mahayana Buddhism?

Correct Answer: D [1, 2 and 3]

Explanation:

All three are features of Mahayana Buddhism: it deified the Buddha, stressed the path of the Bodhisattvas and introduced image worship and rituals.

25.  
UPSC Prelims 2018

With reference to Indian history, who among the following is a future Buddha, yet to come to save the world?

Correct Answer: C [Maitreya]

Explanation:

Maitreya is the future Buddha, yet to come; Lokesvara and Padmapani are other names of Avalokiteshvara.

26.  
UPSC Prelims 2017

With reference to the religious history of India, consider the following statements:

1. Sautrantika and Sammitiya were the sects of Jainism.
2. Sarvastivadin held that the constituents of phenomena were not wholly momentary but existed forever in a latent form.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Correct Answer: B [2 only]

Explanation:

Sautrantika and Sammitiya were Buddhist sects, and the Sarvastivadins held that dharmas exist always in latent form.

27.  
UPSC Prelims 2016

With reference to the religious history of India, consider the following statements: 1. The concept of Bodhisattva is central to the Hinayana sect of Buddhism. 2. Bodhisattva is a compassionate one on his way to enlightenment.

3. Bodhisattva delays achieving his own salvation to help all sentient beings on their path to it.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Correct Answer: B [2 and 3 only]

Explanation:

the Bodhisattva concept is central to Mahayana, not Hinayana.

➤ Full notes, maps, tables, a reason for every option and Mains PYQs – U01 · Ancient India (UPSC book, ₹249): www.shanmugamiasacademy.in/study-materials/upsc-ancient-india

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