UPSC Indian Art and Culture – Chapter 17: Indian Philosophy (23 MCQs)

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UPSC Indian Art and Culture – Chapter 17: Indian Philosophy (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 atomic theory (paramanu) is associated with the:

Correct Answer: C [Vaisheshika school]

Explanation:

Kanada's Vaisheshika holds that the world is made of indivisible, eternal atoms (paramanu) grouped under categories (padartha).

2.  

The Yoga Sutra is attributed to:

Correct Answer: D [Patanjali]

Explanation:

Patanjali composed the Yoga Sutra, the basic text of the Yoga school with its eight-limbed discipline (ashtanga).

3.  

The Brahma Sutra is the basic text of the:

Correct Answer: A [Vedanta school]

Explanation:

Badarayana's Brahma Sutra, summing up Upanishadic teaching on Brahman, is the basic text of Vedanta (Uttara Mimamsa).

4.  

The dualism of Purusha and Prakriti is the core of the:

Correct Answer: B [Sankhya school]

Explanation:

Kapila's Sankhya explains the world through two realities: Purusha (consciousness) and Prakriti (matter made of three gunas).

5.  

Purva Mimamsa is mainly concerned with:

Correct Answer: D [Vedic ritual]

Explanation:

Jaimini's Purva Mimamsa interprets the Vedic injunctions for the correct performance of ritual (karma-kanda).

6.  

Vishishtadvaita was propounded by:

Correct Answer: B [Ramanuja]

Explanation:

Ramanuja taught Vishishtadvaita: souls and matter are real but depend on God, reached through devotion and surrender (prapatti).

7.  

Which of the following is not one of the four mathas traditionally attributed to Shankaracharya?

Correct Answer: A [Udupi]

Explanation:

Udupi is linked with Madhva.

8.  

The Ajivika sect was founded by:

Correct Answer: C [Makkhali Gosala]

Explanation:

Makkhali Gosala, a contemporary of the Buddha and Mahavira, led the Ajivikas and taught that strict fate (niyati) governs everything.

9.  

The doctrine of syadvada belongs to:

Correct Answer: D [Jainism]

Explanation:

Syadvada, the sevenfold predication, is a Jain doctrine that follows from anekantavada, the many-sidedness of reality.

10.  

Consider the following statements:

1. Nagarjuna is associated with the doctrine of shunyata.
2. Charvaka is a materialist school.
3. Jainism accepts the authority of the Vedas.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Correct Answer: B [1 and 2 only]

Explanation:

Nagarjuna taught shunyata and Charvaka is materialist, but Jainism rejects Vedic authority, so only statements 1 and 2 hold.

11.  

Assertion (A): Buddhism and Jainism are called nastika schools.

Reason (R): They do not accept the authority of the Vedas.

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

Explanation:

Both are true, and rejecting the authority of the Vedas is exactly what defines a school as nastika.

12.  

The Charvaka school accepts as valid only:

Correct Answer: C [perception]

Explanation:

Charvaka (Lokayata) accepts perception (pratyaksha) as the only valid means of knowledge and rejects inference and testimony.

13.  

Which school added comparison (upamana) to perception, inference and testimony?

Correct Answer: D [Nyaya]

Explanation:

Nyaya accepts four pramanas, adding comparison (upamana) to perception, inference and testimony.

14.  

The Shuddhadvaita school and Pushtimarg are linked with:

Correct Answer: A [Vallabhacharya]

Explanation:

Vallabhacharya taught Shuddhadvaita (pure non-dualism) and founded the Pushtimarg, the path of divine grace.

15.  

Dhyana and samadhi are limbs of the:

Correct Answer: A [Yoga of Patanjali]

Explanation:

Dhyana (meditation) and samadhi (absorption) are the seventh and eighth limbs of Patanjali's ashtanga yoga.

16.  

The three gunas – sattva, rajas and tamas – belong to:

Correct Answer: B [Prakriti]

Explanation:

In Sankhya, Prakriti (primal matter) is made of the three gunas – sattva, rajas and tamas – while Purusha has none.

17.  

Arrange the following teachers in chronological order:

1. Madhvacharya
2. Shankaracharya
3. Vallabhacharya
4. Ramanuja

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

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

Explanation:

8th, 11th–12th, 13th and 15th–16th centuries.

18.  

The idea that the world is maya and Brahman alone is real belongs to:

Correct Answer: A [Advaita]

Explanation:

Shankara's Advaita holds that Brahman alone is real, the world is maya and the self (atman) is Brahman.

19.  

Postulation (arthapatti) and non-apprehension (anupalabdhi), which raise the number of accepted pramanas to six, are recognised by:

Correct Answer: C [Kumarila's Mimamsa and Advaita Vedanta]

Explanation:

Kumarila's Mimamsa and Advaita add arthapatti and anupalabdhi to the four, accepting six pramanas.

20.  

Saiva Siddhanta's basic text, the Sivajnana Bodham, was written by:

Correct Answer: C [Meykandar]

Explanation:

Meykandar wrote the Sivajnana Bodham in the 13th century; it is the basic text of Tamil Saiva Siddhanta.

21.  
UPSC Prelims 2014

Which one of the following pairs does not form part of the six systems of Indian Philosophy?

Correct Answer: C [Lokayata and Kapalika]

Explanation:

Lokayata (Charvaka) and Kapalika are outside the six systems.

22.  
UPSC Prelims 2013

With reference to the history of philosophical thought in India, consider the following statements regarding Sankhya school:

1. Sankhya does not accept the theory of rebirth or transmigration of soul.
2. Sankhya holds that it is the self-knowledge that leads to liberation and not any exterior influence or agent.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Correct Answer: B [2 only]

Explanation:

liberation comes from self-knowledge.

23.  
UPSC Prelims 2020

With reference to the cultural history of India, consider the following pairs:

1. Parivrajaka – Renunciant and Wanderer
2. Shramana – Priest with a high status
3. Upasaka – Lay follower of Buddhism

Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

Correct Answer: B [1 and 3 only]

Explanation:

A parivrajaka was a wandering renunciant and an upasaka a lay Buddhist, but a Shramana was an ascetic, not a priest.

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