Who was the first Tirthankara of Jainism?
- A.Rishabhanatha
- B.Parshvanatha
- C.Mahavira
- D.Neminatha
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A, Rishabhanatha, also called Adinath, the first of the twenty-four Tirthankaras of the present age, whose symbol is the bull and who is mentioned even in some Hindu texts. Option B is wrong because Parshvanatha was the twenty-third Tirthankara, whose symbol is the serpent and who is placed about two centuries before Mahavira. Option C is wrong and is the commonest error: Mahavira, born Vardhamana near Vaishali, was the twenty-fourth and last Tirthankara, who gave the faith its final shape and attained nirvana at Pavapuri; he is often loosely called the founder. Option D is wrong because Neminatha was the twenty-second Tirthankara. Remember the three numbers that matter in exams: first Rishabhanatha, twenty-third Parshvanatha, twenty-fourth Mahavira. Each Tirthankara has a distinguishing symbol, and these symbols are themselves asked in matching questions, the bull for Rishabhanatha and the lion for Mahavira.
Read the full article: World Religions: Founders, Books and Worship Places
Practice Questions
View allThe Tripitaka is the sacred canon of which religion?
- A.Jainism
- B.Buddhism
- C.Zoroastrianism
- D.Sikhism
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The Tripitaka, meaning three baskets, is the Buddhist canon written in Pali and divided into the Vinaya Pitaka on monastic discipline, the Sutta Pitaka of the Buddha's discourses and the Abhidhamma Pitaka of philosophical analysis.
Read the full explanation →Gautama Buddha delivered his first sermon at
- A.Bodh Gaya
- B.Lumbini
- C.Sarnath
- D.Kushinagar
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The correct answer is C, Sarnath, near Varanasi, where the Buddha preached to his first five disciples in the deer park; the event is called the Dharmachakrapravartana, the turning of the wheel of law, and it is from the Sarnath lion capital that India took its state emblem.
Read the full explanation →The Zend Avesta is the holy book of
- A.Judaism
- B.Zoroastrianism
- C.Taoism
- D.Shinto
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The correct answer is B, Zoroastrianism, the faith founded by Zoroaster in ancient Persia and followed in India by the Parsis, whose place of worship is the fire temple or agiary and whose scripture is the Zend Avesta.
Read the full explanation →The Adi Granth, later revered as the Guru Granth Sahib, was first compiled by
- A.Guru Nanak
- B.Guru Ram Das
- C.Guru Arjan Dev
- D.Guru Gobind Singh
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The correct answer is C, Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Guru, who compiled the Adi Granth in 1604 and installed it in the Harmandir Sahib at Amritsar.
Read the full explanation →The place of worship of the Parsis is called
- A.Synagogue
- B.Agiary
- C.Pagoda
- D.Monastery
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The correct answer is B, agiary, the Parsi fire temple in which a consecrated flame is kept burning as the symbol of truth and purity; the highest grade of such a temple is called an Atash Behram, and most of them in India are in Gujarat and Mumbai, where Parsi…
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