QUIZ – 2020: INSIGHTS STATIC QUIZ, 1 April 2020 – Art and Culture

Solution: b)

Most of the mural paintings are either in natural caves or in rock-cut chambers. The paintings follow a theme, the most common being Hindu, Buddhist and Jain. The Mural paintings are unique because of their sheer size. They cannot be contained on paper and need to be executed on the walls of large structures, usually caves and temple walls. In ancient period, these were utilised by three major religions: Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism. Some of the best examples are murals in the Ajanta- Ellora Caves.

Solution: a)

Mimamsa philosophy is basically the analysis of interpretation, application and the use of the text of the Samhita and Brahmana portions of the Veda. According to Mimamsa philosophy, Vedas are eternal and possess all knowledge, and religion means the fulfilment of duties prescribed by the Vedas. This philosophy encompasses the Nyaya-Vaisheshika systems and emphasizes the concept of valid knowledge.

Solution: d)

• While construction of stupas continued, Brahmanical temples and images of gods also started getting constructed.
• Often temples were decorated with the images of gods. Myths mentioned in the Puranas became part of narrative representation of the Brahmanical religion.
• Each temple had a principal image of a god. The shrines of the temples were of three kinds—(i) sandhara type (without pradikshinapatha), (ii) nirandhara type (with pradakshinapatha), and (iii) sarvatobhadra (which can be accessed from all sides).

Solution: b)

There are many temples at Khajuraho, most of them devoted to Hindu gods. There are some Jain temples as well as a Chausanth Yogini temple, which is of interest. Predating the tenth century, this is a temple of small, square shrines of roughly-hewn granite blocks, each dedicated to esoteric devis or goddesses associated with the rise of Tantric worship after the seventh century.  Several such temples were dedicated to the cult of the yoginis across Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and even as far south as Tamil Nadu. They were built between the seventh and tenth centuries, but few have survived.

Solution: a)

The Kandariya Mahadeva Temple, one of the best examples of temples preserved from the medieval period in India, is the largest of the western group of temples in the Khajuraho complex which was built by the Chandela rulers.

Karla Cells are a complex of ancient Indian Buddhist rock-cut cave shrines located in Maharashtra. The caves house a Buddhist monastery dating back to the 2nd century BC.

The Dashavatara temple is one of the earliest Hindu stone temples still surviving today. Vishnu Temple shows the ornate beauty seen in Gupta style architecture.