The mahamastakabhisheka of a colossal rock-cut image of Adinatha, named after its height of fifty-two gaz, is held at
- A.Sonagiri in Datia
- B.Bawangaja in Barwani
- C.Kundalpur in Damoh
- D.Udaygiri in Vidisha
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Bawangaja in Barwani. The name Bawangaja means fifty-two gaz, the traditional height given to the standing rock-cut image of Adinatha cut into the Satpura slope in Barwani district, and its mahamastakabhisheka draws Jain pilgrims from across the country.
Option A is wrong because Sonagiri in Datia district is a hill of many small Jain temples rather than one colossal image. Option C is wrong because Kundalpur in Damoh district is famous for the seated image known as Bade Baba. Option D is wrong because the Udaygiri caves in Vidisha district are Gupta-period Hindu and Jain rock-cut shrines known for the Varaha panel, not for a mahamastakabhisheka. The same rite at Shravanabelagola in Karnataka is its better known parallel, performed on the image of Bahubali. Bawangaja lies on a Satpura slope reached from Barwani town.
Read the full article: Fairs and Festivals of Madhya Pradesh: Simhastha and Bhagoria
Practice Questions
View allThe Kumbh Mela of Ujjain, known as the Simhastha, is held on the bank of which river?
- A.Narmada
- B.Shipra
- C.Betwa
- D.Chambal
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Ujjain stands on the Shipra, and the Simhastha bathing takes place at its ghats, chiefly Ram Ghat, with the Mahakaleshwar jyotirlinga at the centre of the fair.
Read the full explanation →The Ujjain Kumbh is called the Simhastha because it is held when
- A.Jupiter enters Leo
- B.Jupiter enters Aquarius
- C.the Sun enters Capricorn
- D.the Moon enters Taurus
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Simha is the Sanskrit name of Leo, and the Ujjain fair takes its name from the entry of Jupiter into that sign, with the Sun in Aries; the combination falls in the month of Vaisakha, so the Ujjain Kumbh is a Vaisakha fair rather than a winter one.
Read the full explanation →The Bhagoria Haat festival is celebrated chiefly by which community of Madhya Pradesh?
- A.The Gonds of the Mandla belt
- B.The Bhils and Bhilalas of the Jhabua belt
- C.The Baigas of the Dindori belt
- D.The Korkus of the Betul belt
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Bhagoria is the haat festival of the Bhil and Bhilala people of the western districts, above all Jhabua and Alirajpur, with Dhar, Barwani and Khargone joining in, and it is held in the weekly markets of the week before Holi.
Read the full explanation →The Bhagoria Haat is held in the days immediately before which festival?
- A.Diwali
- B.Holi
- C.Nagpanchami
- D.Makar Sankranti
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Bhagoria runs through the weekly haats of the week before Holi, in the month of Phalguna, and closes on the day of Holi itself, so the festival is counted as the Bhil form of the spring festival rather than a separate date in the calendar.
Read the full explanation →Maha Shivratri is celebrated in the honour of the Hindu deity, Lord Shiva in the Hindu month of ________.
- A.Kartika
- B.Chaitra
- C.Phalguna
- D.Vaishakha
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Maha Shivratri falls on the Chaturdashi of the dark half of Phalguna, in February or March. In Madhya Pradesh it is the largest single fair day of the year: it fills the Mahakaleshwar jyotirlinga at Ujjain, the Bhojeshwar temple at Bhojpur in Raisen district and the Shiva shrines of Pachmarhi.
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