Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon – August 13, 2018

Ankia Naat or Ankiya Bhaona is a traditional theatre form of Assam. It owes its origin to the unique genre of plays, evolved by 15th Century Vaishnav saint Sankardeva and his disciple Madhavdeva, and is a kind of dance-drama with songs and dialogues in Brajavali, sometimes in Assamese also. In this form, the narrator called Sutradhār begins the story, first in Sanskrit and then in either Brajboli or Assamese. The actors are called Bhaoriya.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Tata Vadyas are strings instruments or chordophones. These instruments function best when their sound is modified by hand. Example: Sitar.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Ghana Vadyas are used for tuning purpose. It is the genre of the solid instruments that do not require any tuning. They are also called the Idiophone instruments. The most popular examples of Ghana Vadya are Manjira, Jaltarang, Kanch-Tarang, Jhanj, Kartal etc.. In the Natyashastra of Bharata, musical instruments were classified as  ̳Ghana Vadya‘,  ̳Avanaddha Vadya‘,  ̳Sushira Vadya‘ and  ̳Tata Vadya‘.

Statement 1 is correct. Fa-Hien was the first Chinese pilgrim to visit India. Fa-Hien came to India to collect Buddhist texts and relics, during the reign of Chandragupta II, known as Vikramaditya.

Statement 2 is correct. Hiuen-Tsang was a Foreign Envoy who visited India during the time of Harshavardhana. He wrote his experiences in his book Si-yu-ki or the ̳Records of Western World.

He writes about the way of life, doing agriculture, food habits, dress senses, jewellery, and types of taxes. He mentioned about the The fourfold division of the society – Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vysya and Sudra which was prevalent at that time. Degraded position of the Chandals, elaborate description of the Nalanda monastery etc. Hiuen Tsang condemned the trials as barbarous and superstitious.

Statement 1 and 2 is correct. Neolithic period or New Stone Age. The term Neolithic is used, especially in archaeology and anthropology, to designate a stage of cultural evolution or technological development characterized by the use of stone tools, the existence of settled villages largely dependent on domesticated plants and animals, and the presence of such crafts as pottery and weaving.

Statement 3 is correct. The domestication of plants and animals usually distinguishes Neolithic culture from earlier Paleolithic or Mesolithic hunting, fishing, and food-gathering cultures. The Mesolithic period in several areas shows a gradual transition from a food-collecting to a food-producing culture.

An anti-dumping duty is a protectionist tariff that a domestic government imposes on foreign imports that it believes are priced below fair market value. Dumping is a process where a company exports a product at a price lower than the price it normally charges on its own home market. Relevance- It is in news as India has expressed its concerns regarding trade deficit with China.

Statement 1 is correct. Kanishka (78-120 A.D) was the founder of Saka era which starts from 78 A.D.

Statement 2 is correct. The Fourth Buddhist Council was held at Kundalvana,

Kashmir in 72 A.D. under the patronage of Kushan king Kanishka and the president of this council was Vasumitra, with Aśvaghosa as his deputy. This council distinctly divided the Buddhism into 2 sects Mahayana & Hinayana.

Statement 3 is incorrect. Punch-marked coins made of silver and copper (c. sixth century BCE onwards) were amongst the earliest to be minted and used. Thus, the kushanas were not the first to issue the Punch-marked coins.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Akbar began his Deccan venture in 1591 when he sent embassies to all the southern states asking them to accept Mughal suzerainty.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Aurangzeb invaded the Deccan sultanates, partly due to his hatred towards Shia faith.