The Jetavana monastery, where the Buddha spent many of his rainy season retreats, was built by the merchant Anathapindika at
- A.Kaushambi
- B.Shravasti
- C.Rajagriha
- D.Mathura
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Shravasti. Anathapindika, a wealthy merchant of Shravasti, bought a grove from prince Jeta and built the Jetavana monastery there for the Buddha and the order, and the Buddha is said to have passed more rainy season retreats at Shravasti than anywhere else. The lay woman Visakha built a second monastery, the Pubbarama, in the same city.
Option A, Kaushambi, had the Ghositarama monastery, given by the merchant Ghosita, which is the closest distractor. Option C, Rajagriha in Bihar, had the Jivakamravana and the bamboo grove given by Bimbisara. Option D, Mathura, became a Buddhist and Jain centre under the Kushanas but has no such monastery of the Buddha's own lifetime. Donor and place should be learnt together. Shravasti is asked in a second way as well, as the capital of Kosala under Prasenajit, so the city should be remembered both as a political centre and as the seat of the Jetavana.
Read the full article: Ancient Uttar Pradesh: Mahajanapadas and Buddhist Sites
Practice Questions
View allWhich of the following areas was known as Magadh in the ancient period?
- A.South of Ganga
- B.Between Ganga and Yamuna
- C.North of Ganga
- D.Between Yamuna and Chambal
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Magadha lay on the southern bank of the Ganga, in the region of present day Patna, Gaya and Nalanda, with its early capital at Rajagriha among the hills and later at Pataliputra at the meeting of the Ganga and the Son.
Read the full explanation →Kaushambi, near present day Prayagraj, was the capital of which mahajanapada?
- A.Kosala
- B.Vatsa
- C.Panchala
- D.Surasena
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The Vatsa mahajanapada lay in the Ganga and Yamuna doab with its capital at Kaushambi, and its best known ruler was Udayana, who appears in Sanskrit literature and in Buddhist texts alike.
Read the full explanation →The Buddha delivered his first sermon at which place?
- A.Bodh Gaya
- B.Sarnath
- C.Kushinagar
- D.Vaishali
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After his enlightenment the Buddha walked to the deer park at Sarnath near Varanasi and preached to the five ascetics who had been his companions.
Read the full explanation →The Buddha attained mahaparinirvana at which place in present day Uttar Pradesh?
- A.Shravasti
- B.Sankisa
- C.Kushinagar
- D.Kaushambi
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Kushinara, the Kushinagar of today in eastern Uttar Pradesh, was a town of the Malla mahajanapada, and the Buddha died there between two sal trees at the age of eighty, a death traditionally dated to 483 BCE and remembered as the mahaparinirvana.
Read the full explanation →The Lion Capital, adopted as the State Emblem of India, comes from the Ashokan pillar at
- A.Lauriya Nandangarh
- B.Sarnath
- C.Rampurva
- D.Sanchi
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The capital of the Ashokan pillar at Sarnath carries four lions standing back to back on an abacus bearing four wheels and four animals, and it was adopted as the State Emblem of India on 26 January 1950.
Read the full explanation →