In which year was the Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
- A.1989
- B.1993
- C.2002
- D.2016
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, 2002. The Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2002, recognised as the place of the Buddha's enlightenment, with the Bodhi tree, the Vajrasana set by Ashoka and the brick temple of the Gupta centuries standing together at one site.
Option A, 1989, and option B, 1993, are years in which other Indian properties were listed, such as the Buddhist monuments at Sanchi and the Humayun's tomb group, but not Bodh Gaya. Option D, 2016, is the year the archaeological site of Nalanda Mahavihara was inscribed, and that is the pair the examiner wants you to confuse. Keep the two Bihar listings together: Bodh Gaya in 2002 and Nalanda in 2016. Both are worth placing in the wider list: Bihar has these two world heritage properties, while the Buddhist monuments at Sanchi and the Ajanta and Ellora caves are the comparable Buddhist listings in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Read the full article: Buddhism and Jainism in Bihar: Sites and Councils
Practice Questions
View allThe Buddha attained enlightenment at which place in present day Bihar?
- A.Rajgir
- B.Bodh Gaya
- C.Vaishali
- D.Pataliputra
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Gautama attained enlightenment at Uruvela, the Bodh Gaya of today, under a peepal tree on the bank of the Niranjana river, which is called the Phalgu now.
Read the full explanation →The term Tripitakas in Buddhism means three
- A.baskets
- B.houses
- C.roads
- D.trees
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Tripitaka is a Pali and Sanskrit word in which pitaka means a basket, so the whole means three baskets, a name that came from the practice of keeping the palm leaf manuscripts of each collection in a separate basket.
Read the full explanation →The first Buddhist council was held at which place?
- A.Vaishali
- B.Pataliputra
- C.Rajgriha
- D.Kundalvana
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The first Buddhist council met at Rajgriha, the Rajgir of today, in the Saptaparni cave soon after the Buddha's death, under the patronage of king Ajatashatru and the presidency of Mahakassapa.
Read the full explanation →Mahavira, the twenty fourth Jain tirthankara, attained nirvana at
- A.Pavapuri
- B.Kundagrama
- C.Sammed Shikhar
- D.Rajgriha
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Mahavira attained nirvana at Pavapuri in the present Nalanda district of Bihar at the age of seventy two, traditionally in 527 BCE, and the Jal Mandir, a marble temple standing in the middle of a tank, marks the place of his cremation.
Read the full explanation →The third Buddhist council was held at Pataliputra under the patronage of
- A.Ajatashatru
- B.Kalashoka
- C.Ashoka
- D.Kanishka
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The third council met at Pataliputra in the reign of Ashoka, with Moggaliputta Tissa presiding.
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