The Buddha attained enlightenment at which place in present day Bihar?
- A.Rajgir
- B.Bodh Gaya
- C.Vaishali
- D.Pataliputra
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Bodh Gaya. 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. Ashoka raised the earliest shrine there and placed the stone seat called the Vajrasana beside the tree, and the Mahabodhi Temple Complex at the site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002.
Option A, Rajgir, is where Bimbisara gave the Buddha the bamboo grove and where the first council met after his death, but not the place of enlightenment. Option C, Vaishali, is where the order of nuns was founded and the second council was held. Option D, Pataliputra, is the Mauryan capital where the third Buddhist council met under Ashoka. The four events must be kept with their own places.
Read the full article: Buddhism and Jainism in Bihar: Sites and Councils
Practice Questions
View allThe term Tripitakas in Buddhism means three
- A.baskets
- B.houses
- C.roads
- D.trees
Show answer
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
Show answer
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
Show answer
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
Show answer
The third council met at Pataliputra in the reign of Ashoka, with Moggaliputta Tissa presiding.
Read the full explanation →At which place was the second Buddhist council held, a hundred years after the Buddha's death?
- A.Rajgriha
- B.Vaishali
- C.Bodh Gaya
- D.Nalanda
Show answer
The second council met at Vaishali about a century after the Buddha's death, under king Kalashoka of the Shishunaga dynasty, with Sabakami presiding.
Read the full explanation →