Set 48 of the Art & Culture mixed quiz has 20 multiple-choice questions from 14 different topics of the subject: Temple Architecture, Iconography: Mudras, Avatars and Symbols in Indian Art, Indo-Islamic Architecture and more. 7 of them were asked in real previous-year papers. A topic quiz checks one chapter; this set revises the whole subject at once, the way an exam paper does, where the next question can come from any chapter. Every question carries an explanation of why the correct option is right and why the others are wrong. Keep to the timer, read the explanations at the end, and go back to the notes of any topic where you slipped.
20 questions with answers and explanations
'The Descent of the Ganga' is a
The Descent of the Ganga is a huge open-air rock relief carved under the Pallavas at Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram) in Tamil Nadu.
Read the full explanation →What does an empty seat represent in early Buddhist iconography?
In early Buddhist art the Buddha was not shown in human form, and an empty seat stood for him seated in meditation.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following are the main features of 'Saracenic' architecture?
1. Arch
2. Vault and dome
3. Lintel and beam
4. Application of lime cement
Select the answer using the code given below.
Saracenic, or Indo-Islamic, architecture is built on the true arch, the vault and dome, and lime mortar, while lintel and beam belong to the older Indian style.
Read the full explanation →Rani ki Vav at Patan was built by which queen?
Queen Udayamati had the stepwell built in the eleventh century in memory of her husband Bhimdev I of the Solanki or Chaulukya dynasty of Gujarat, which is why it is described as a memorial in the form of an inverted temple.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following pairs :
Tradition — State
1. Chapchar Kut festival — Mizoram
2. Khongjom Parba ballad — Manipur
3. Thang-Ta dance — Sikkim
Which of the pairs given above is/are correct ?
Chapchar Kut belongs to Mizoram and Khongjom Parba to Manipur, but Thang-Ta is from Manipur, not Sikkim. Chapchar Kut is the spring festival of the Mizos, held in March after the bamboo and forest are cut and left to dry for jhum cultivation; Cheraw, the bamboo dance, is its highlight.
Read the full explanation →Under the Adopt a Heritage scheme, the company or individual that adopts a monument for its upkeep and visitor amenities is called
Adopt a Heritage was announced on World Tourism Day in 2017 by the Ministry of Tourism along with the Ministry of Culture and the Archaeological Survey of India, and it allows a company, trust or individual to take up a monument and pay for its drinking water, toilets, signage, lighting…
Read the full explanation →Dardic group of language belongs to which language family?
The Dardic languages form a branch of the Indo-Aryan group, which is part of the Indo-European family. Dardic languages are spoken in the north-west of the subcontinent: in Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Chitral and parts of Afghanistan.
Read the full explanation →Which UNESCO programme is concerned with the protection of documentary heritage such as manuscripts and archives?
The Memory of the World Programme protects documentary heritage, which means manuscripts, archives, maps, printed material, photographs and sound and film recordings, and it keeps an International Register, regional registers and national registers.
Read the full explanation →Padma Shri Sudarsan Pattnaik is well known as a
Sudarsan Pattnaik is a sand artist from Puri, Odisha, known for large sculptures on the beach that carry social messages.
Read the full explanation →Which Viceroy is credited with reviving the Archaeological Survey of India and passing the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act?
He found the Survey starved of money and nearly wound up, restored its budget, appointed John Marshall as Director-General in 1902 and carried the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act of 1904, the first law in India that let the government protect a monument and stop its owner from damaging or exporting…
Read the full explanation →Rani ji ki Baori, built in 1699, is the finest stepwell of which Rajasthan town, known as the city of stepwells?
Bundi, in the Hadoti region, has dozens of baoris and is therefore called the city of stepwells; the grandest is Rani ji ki Baori, built in 1699 by Rani Nathavati, with a high arched gate and carved elephant brackets.
Read the full explanation →Which Indian monk is traditionally held to have carried the meditation school of Buddhism to China, where it became Chan and later Zen in Japan?
The correct answer is B, Bodhidharma, remembered in tradition as a prince of the Pallava country in south India who travelled to China and taught a path resting on meditation rather than on scripture; the school he founded is Chan in Chinese and Zen in Japanese, and legend attaches him…
Read the full explanation →The Bhumisparsha mudra of the Buddha represents which event of his life?
In the Bhumisparsha, or earth-touching, mudra the Buddha sits with the left hand in his lap and the right hand lowered with the fingers pointing to the ground, calling the earth to witness that he had earned the right to enlightenment against the temptations of Mara.
Read the full explanation →Which body, set up in 1953, is India's national academy for music, dance and drama and recognises the classical dance styles?
Established in 1953 with its seat at New Delhi, it is the national academy for the performing arts, it supports festivals, archives and training, and it is the authority whose recognition decides which dance styles are counted as classical.
Read the full explanation →The Pashupata sect, the oldest known organised school of Shaivism, is traditionally associated with which teacher?
The correct answer is A, Lakulisha, who is held in Pashupata tradition to be an incarnation of Shiva and is shown in sculpture holding a club, the lakula from which his name comes; the Pashupata school is the earliest Shaiva order for which texts and inscriptions survive.
Read the full explanation →The Paradesi Synagogue, built in 1568 and the oldest synagogue still in use in the Commonwealth, is located in:
It is famous for its floor of hand-painted blue Chinese tiles, each of them different, its Belgian glass chandeliers, its clock tower and the copper plates recording the privileges granted to the Jewish community of the Malabar coast.
Read the full explanation →With reference to Chausath Yogini Temple situated near Morena, consider the following statements : 1. It is a circular temple built during the reign of Kachchhapaghata Dynasty. 2. It is the only circular temple built in India. 3. It was meant to promote the Vaishnava cult in the region. 4. Its design has given rise to a popular belief that it was the inspiration behind the Indian Parliament building. Which of the statements given above are correct?
The temple at Mitaoli near Morena is a circular yogini shrine built under the Kachchhapaghatas, and its round, colonnaded plan is popularly linked with the old Parliament House.
Read the full explanation →Which mudra of the Buddha is associated with the first sermon at Sarnath?
The gesture joins the thumb and forefinger of each hand into a circle, the wheel, and holds them before the chest, marking the turning of the wheel of law in the deer park at Sarnath, where the Buddha preached to his first five disciples.
Read the full explanation →The Heliodorus pillar at Besnagar near Vidisha was erected in honour of which deity?
The pillar was set up by Heliodorus, the Greek ambassador of the Indo-Greek king Antialcidas at the court of a local ruler, and its Brahmi inscription calls it a Garuda pillar raised in honour of Vasudeva, the god of gods; it is the standard epigraphic proof that Bhagavatism, the early…
Read the full explanation →The conch of Vishnu is known by which name?
Vishnu is recognised by four attributes, and each has its own name: the conch Panchajanya, the discus Sudarshana, the mace Kaumodaki and the lotus.
Read the full explanation →