Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon – October 15, 2018

Pampa, Ponna and Ranna were Three Gems‘ of Kannada literature. The three poets extensively wrote on episodes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata and Jain legends and biographies. Chavunda Raya, Ranna‘s elder contemporary then came up with an elaborate work on history of all the 24 Jaina tirthankaras (saintly teachers). Pampa was the greatest of the Kannada poets. His famous work was Vikramasenavijaya. Ponna was another famous Kannada poet and he Santipurana.

Silambam, Thang-Ta and Kalaripayattu are example of martial art prevail is India. Theyyam is not a form of martial art. Theyyam is the popular ritual art form of Kolathunadu (Kingdom of Cannanore). The Theyyam dance is performed in front of the village shrine, groves, and in the houses as ancestor worship. The theyyam period is from the 10th of Malayalam month Thulam (October/November) and comes to a close by the end of June.

Knowledge base:

1. Kalarippayattu: Kerala
2. Silambam: Tamil Nadu
3. Gatka: Punjab
4. Thang Ta: Manipur
5. Pari-Khanda: Bihar
6. Kathi Samu: Andhra Pradesh

Statement 1 is correct. The land revenue system of Akbar was called Zabti or Bandobast system. It was further improved by Raja Todar Mal. It was known as Dahsala System which was completed in 1580. By this system, Todar Mal introduced a uniform system of land measurement.

Statement 2 is correct. Under the Dahsala system The revenue was fixed on the average yield of land assessed on the basis of past ten years. The land was also divided into four categories – Polaj (cultivated every year), Parauti (once in two years), Chachar (once in three or four years) and Banjar (once in five or more years).

Statement 3 is incorrect. Under the Dahsala system Payment of revenue was made generally in cash.

Statement 1 is incorrect. No temples have been found at any Harappan site. There is no religious structures of any kind except the Great Bath, which may have been used for ablutions.

Statement 2 is correct. The Gupta period marks the beginning of the construction of free-standing Hindu temples. An example of this is the temple at Deogarh (Jhansi district) which had a central shrine or garbhagriha where the image of the deity was placed. Another temple at Bhitrigaon (Kanpur district) are two fine examples of this period.

Statement 3 is correct. Panchayatana is an architectural style where the main shrine is built on a rectangular plinth with four smaller subsidiary shrines at the four corners and making it a total of five shrines – i.e., Pancha.

Dilwara Temples, Rajasthan The Dilwara temples are located around Mount Abu, a famous Hill station of Rajasthan. The Dilwara temples date back to the 11th to the 13th century AD and are famous world-wide for spectacular use of marble. The renowned marble temples of Dilwara are one of the most sacred pilgrimage places of the Jains. Palitana Temples, Gujarat The Palitana temples are located on Shatrunjaya hills and comprise of 863 temples, elegantly engraved in marble. Palitana was the capital of the princely state of the Gohil Rajputs. The Palitana temples are simpler than other Jain temples with their profusion of sculptures and carving,Many of the smaller temples have used white plaster for their principal walls, saving the marble for the domes and spires. Shravan belagola , Karnataka Shravan belagola is a great centre for Jain culture. It is situated at a distance of about 100 km from Mysore. Shravan belagola is famous for its colossal statue of Gomateshwara, who is also referred to as Lord Bahubali. The statue is carved out of monolithic stone and is 17 meter high.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Community dance was not a major theme of the paintings of upper Palaeolithic period. The paintings of the Upper Palaeolithic phase are linear representations, in green and dark red, of huge animal figures, such as bisons, elephants, tigers, rhinos and boars Community dance was a major theme of the paintings of Mesolithic period.

Statement 2 is correct. Human figurines were depicted both in the nude and clothed in the paintings of Mesolithic period. The hunters are shown wearing simple clothes or ornaments. Women are painted both in the nude and clothed. The young and old equally find place in the paintings of Mesolithic period.

Statement 3 is correct. During the Chalcolithic period, Limestone was used to give white color in the paintings and Haematite was used to get red colour.

Statement 1 is correct. The Mehrauli iron pillar inscription mentions Chandragupta Vikramaditya‘s authority over north western India and a good portion of Bengal. This pillar was established by Chandragupta as Vishnupada in the honor of Lord Vishnu.

Statement 2 is correct. The Allahabad Pillar inscription enumerates the achievements of Samudragupta.

Statement 3 is incorrect. In the Besnagar Pillar inscription, Heliodorus (the Greek ambassador of the Indo-Greek king Antialkidas) describes himself as a Bhagavata i.e. worshipper of Vishnu. Similarly, some coins of Kanishka also show the figure of Siva on them. Thus, we see that many foreign rulers adopted Vaishnavism.