UPSC Ancient India – Chapter 10: Jainism and Other Heterodox Sects (23 MCQs)

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UPSC Ancient India – Chapter 10: Jainism and Other Heterodox Sects (23 MCQs) – 23 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 first Tirthankara of the Jains was:

Correct Answer: C [Rishabhanatha]

Explanation:

Jain tradition names Rishabhanatha, also called Adinatha, as the first of the 24 Tirthankaras.

2.  

The vow added by Mahavira to the four vows of Parshvanatha was:

Correct Answer: A [brahmacharya]

Explanation:

Parshvanatha taught four vows; Mahavira added the fifth, brahmacharya (celibacy), to make the five great vows.

3.  

Mahavira died at:

Correct Answer: D [Pavapuri]

Explanation:

Mahavira died at Pava (Pavapuri) near Rajagriha at the age of 72, by Jain tradition in 527 BCE.

4.  

The Jain triratna consists of:

Correct Answer: B [right faith, right knowledge and right conduct]

Explanation:

The three jewels of Jainism are right faith, right knowledge and right conduct, the path to shedding karma.

5.  

Syadvada is associated with:

Correct Answer: A [Jainism]

Explanation:

Syadvada is the Jain logic of anekantavada, holding every statement true only 'in some respect' through sevenfold predication.

6.  

The leader of the Ajivikas was:

Correct Answer: C [Makkhali Gosala]

Explanation:

Makkhali Gosala led the Ajivikas and taught niyati, the doctrine that everything is predetermined.

7.  

The Second Jain Council, at which the Shvetambara canon was written down, was held at:

Correct Answer: A [Valabhi]

Explanation:

The council at Valabhi in Gujarat under Devarddhi Kshamashramana, fifth–sixth century CE, wrote down the Shvetambara canon.

8.  

The colossal statue of Gommateshwara at Shravanabelagola was erected by:

Correct Answer: B [Chamundaraya]

Explanation:

Chamundaraya, minister of the Ganga king, erected the Gommateshwara (Bahubali) statue at Shravanabelagola in the late tenth century.

9.  

The Jain scriptures were composed in:

Correct Answer: D [Ardhamagadhi Prakrit]

Explanation:

The Jain Agamas, the canonical scriptures, were composed in Ardhamagadhi, a Prakrit language.

10.  

Consider the following statements about the Digambaras:

1. Their monks do not wear clothes.
2. They hold that Mahavira never married.
3. They hold that women can attain liberation in their present birth.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Correct Answer: B [1 and 2 only]

Explanation:

Digambara monks go naked and hold that Mahavira never married; statement 3 is false as they deny women liberation in this birth.

11.  

Assertion (A): Many Jains took to trade rather than agriculture.

Reason (R): Agriculture involves harm to living beings in the soil, which conflicts with strict ahimsa.

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

Explanation:

Tilling the soil kills tiny creatures, so strict ahimsa led many Jains away from farming into trade.

12.  

Mahavira attained kaivalya under a:

Correct Answer: C [sal tree near Jrimbhikagrama]

Explanation:

After twelve years of austerity Mahavira attained kaivalya at 42 under a sal tree on the Rijupalika near Jrimbhikagrama.

13.  

The Barabar caves were given by Ashoka to the:

Correct Answer: D [Ajivikas]

Explanation:

Ashoka's inscriptions in the Barabar caves, Bihar, record their gift to the Ajivikas; Dasharatha later gave the Nagarjuni caves.

14.  

The materialist school that denied rebirth and accepted only perception as a source of knowledge was the:

Correct Answer: D [Lokayata]

Explanation:

The Lokayatas or Charvakas were materialists who denied rebirth and the Vedas and accepted perception as the only source of knowledge.

15.  

According to tradition, the Jain monk who led a migration to the south with Chandragupta Maurya was:

Correct Answer: B [Bhadrabahu]

Explanation:

Tradition says Bhadrabahu led monks to Karnataka during a Magadha famine, accompanied by Chandragupta Maurya, who died at Shravanabelagola.

16.  

The Dilwara temples are located at:

Correct Answer: D [Mount Abu]

Explanation:

The marble Dilwara temples, built from the eleventh to the thirteenth century, stand at Mount Abu in Rajasthan.

17.  

Arrange the following in chronological order:

1. Second Jain Council at Valabhi
2. Death of Mahavira (Jain tradition)
3. Construction of the Dilwara temples begins
4. First Jain Council at Pataliputra

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

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

Explanation:

527 BCE, c. 300 BCE, fifth–sixth century CE, eleventh century.

18.  

Anekantavada teaches that:

Correct Answer: A [reality has many aspects and no single view grasps it fully]

Explanation:

Anekantavada, Jain many-sidedness, holds that reality has many aspects and no single viewpoint can grasp the whole truth.

19.  

Mahavira's mother Trishala belonged to the:

Correct Answer: B [Lichchhavi clan]

Explanation:

Trishala was a Lichchhavi princess of Vaishali; Mahavira's father Siddhartha headed the Jnatrika clan.

20.  

Pampa, Ponna and Ranna, called the "three gems" of Kannada literature, were:

Correct Answer: C [Jain poets]

Explanation:

Pampa, Ponna and Ranna, the 'three gems' of early Kannada literature, were Jain poets, showing that Jain authors also wrote extensively in Kannada.

21.  
UPSC Prelims 2023

"Souls are not only the property of animal and plant life, but also of rocks, running water and many other natural objects not looked on as living by other religious sects."

The above statement reflects one of the core beliefs of which one of the following religious sects of ancient India?

Correct Answer: B [Jainism]

Explanation:

Jainism holds that souls (jiva) exist even in stones, rocks and water.

22.  
UPSC Prelims 2018

With reference to the religious practices in India, the "Sthanakvasi" sect belongs to

Correct Answer: B [Jainism]

Explanation:

a Shvetambara Jain sect that rejects image worship.

23.  
UPSC Prelims 2013

Which of the following statements is/are applicable to Jain doctrine?

1. The surest way of annihilating Karma is to practice penance.
2. Every object, even the smallest particle, has a soul.
3. Karma is the bane of the soul and must be ended.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

Correct Answer: D [1, 2 and 3]

Explanation:

All three statements reflect Jain doctrine: every object has a soul, karma binds the soul and must be ended, and penance is the surest way to annihilate karma.

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