Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon – October 29, 2018

Option b is the correct. In Baharhut sculptures, Buddha is represented by a symbol such as a wheel, empty throne, or umbrella, never in human form. Option a, c and d are

Statement 1 is correct. Buddhism endorsed the doctrine of the Law of Karma and upheld the belief in rebirths of human being. Many of these viewpoints are also found in the major Upanishads.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Jainism recognized the existence of the gods but placed them lower than the jaina.

Statement 1 is incorrect. From the seals, terracotta figurines and copper tablets we get an idea on the religious life of the Harappans. The chief male deity was Pasupati, (proto-Siva) represented in seals as sitting in a yogic posture with three faces and two horns. He is surrounded by four animals (elephant, tiger, rhino, and buffalo each facing a different direction). Two deer appear on his feet. The chief female deity was the Mother Goddess represented in terracotta figurines. In latter times, Linga worship was prevalent. Trees and animals were also worshipped by the Harappans.

Statement 2 is correct. The nature of the religious beliefs and practices of the Aryans is known from the Rig Veda. They believed in many gods like Indra, Varuna, Agni, Surya and Rudra. Sacrifices, and ritual offering of food and drink to fire in honour of the Gods, constituted the main religious practices. The Sama Veda and the Yajur Veda elaborated the different aspects of the sacrificial acts and this ritualism was further elaborated in the Brahmanas

Pari-khanda is a style of sword and shield fighting from the region covering jharkhand and Odisha. Its steps and techniques are based on animal and bird movements as well as common household chores. It is also used in chhau dance. ref: spectrum, martial art chapter

Statement 1 is incorrect. Bitcoin is the first implementation of a concept called “cryptocurrency”, which was first described in 1998 by Wei Dai on the cypherpunks mailing list, suggesting the idea of a new form of money that uses cryptography to control its creation and transactions, rather than a central authority.

Statement 2 is correct. The Bitcoin network is sharing a public ledger called the “block chain”. This ledger contains every transaction ever processed, allowing a user’s computer to verify the validity of each transaction.

Murals are large works executed on the walls of solid structure. In India evidence of mural work existed from ancient times from 2nd century BC to 8th- 10th century AD. Places known to be associated with mural paintings are the caves of Ajanta, Bagh, Sittanavasal, Armamalai, Ravan chhaya rock shelter and kailashnath temple in ellora caves. ref: spectrum, architecture chapter

Statement 1 is correct. The earliest examples of miniature painting in India exist in the form of illustrations to the religious texts on Buddhism executed under the Palas of the eastern India.

Statement 2 is correct. During the 15th century the Persian style of painting started influencing the Western Indian style of painting as is evident from the Persian facial types and hunting scenes appearing on the border’s of the illustrated manuscripts of the Kalpasutra.