The famous rock-cut panel of Varaha lifting the earth, together with an inscription of the reign of Chandragupta II, is found at:
- A.Bagh caves
- B.Udayagiri caves
- C.Deur Kothar
- D.Bhimbetka
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Udayagiri caves. The Udayagiri caves near Vidisha are Gupta rock-cut shrines of the late fourth and early fifth centuries, and the largest panel there shows Varaha, the boar incarnation of Vishnu, raising the earth goddess on his tusk. One of the caves carries an inscription of the reign of Chandragupta the Second, which makes the group one of the firmest dated monuments of Gupta art. The Udayagiri of Madhya Pradesh should not be confused with the Udayagiri and Khandagiri caves of Odisha, which are Jain and belong to Kharavela.
Option A, the Bagh caves in Dhar district, are Buddhist caves remembered for their mural paintings, which are compared with those of Ajanta. Option C, Deur Kothar in Rewa district, has Mauryan brick stupas and no such panel. Option D, Bhimbetka, carries prehistoric paintings on open rock shelters, not carved Gupta sculpture, and the two are about three thousand years apart.
Read the full article: Ancient Madhya Pradesh: Bhimbetka, Sanchi and Ujjain
Practice Questions
View allThe rock shelters of Bhimbetka are located in which district of Madhya Pradesh?
- A.Sehore
- B.Raisen
- C.Dhar
- D.Rewa
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The Bhimbetka rock shelters lie in Raisen district, in the foothills of the Vindhyan range south of Bhopal, within the forest now protected as Ratapani.
Read the full explanation →Who brought the Bhimbetka rock shelters to the notice of scholars in 1957?
- A.H. D. Sankalia
- B.V. S. Wakankar
- C.R. D. Banerji
- D.Daya Ram Sahni
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Vishnu Shridhar Wakankar, an archaeologist from Ujjain, noticed the rocky outcrops from a train in 1957 and went on to explore and record the shelters and their paintings.
Read the full explanation →The Great Stupa at Sanchi was originally built during the reign of which ruler?
- A.Chandragupta Maurya
- B.Ashoka
- C.Pushyamitra Shunga
- D.Kanishka
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The Great Stupa, Stupa 1 at Sanchi, was raised in brick in the third century before Christ in the reign of Ashoka, who also set up a pillar at the site bearing the schism edict and crowned by a lion capital.
Read the full explanation →The four carved gateways or toranas of the Great Stupa at Sanchi were added under which dynasty?
- A.Mauryas
- B.Shungas
- C.Satavahanas
- D.Guptas
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The four toranas that stand at the cardinal points of the Great Stupa were carved in the first century before Christ in the Satavahana period, and an inscription on one of them records the gift of ivory carvers of Vidisha.
Read the full explanation →Relics of Sariputta and Mahamoggallana, two chief disciples of the Buddha, were recovered from which structure at Sanchi?
- A.Stupa 1
- B.Stupa 2
- C.Stupa 3
- D.Temple 17
Show answer
The relic caskets of Sariputta and Mahamoggallana, the two chief disciples of the Buddha, were found in Stupa 3 at Sanchi, which stands a short distance north-east of the Great Stupa and has a single gateway.
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