Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon – October 8, 2018

The Triple Blessed Festival or festival of Buddha Purnima is associated with Gautama Buddha. Though it is celebrated mainly as the birth anniversary of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, it is on this particular day that he attained Bodhi (Enlightenment) on the banks of the river Niranjana, Bodh Gaya, Bihar, under a pipal tree (Ficus religiosa), which has since been called the Bodhi Tree. He also attained Mahaparinirvana, at Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh on Vaishakha Purnima. That is why it is called a thrice-sacred day or  ̳triple blessed festival‘.

Statement 1 is correct. During the reign of Sultan Alauddin Khalaji, the Diwan-i- Riyasat became very prominent. This ministry registered all the supplies of commodities, and maintained standards in the markets [such as checking weights and measures, etc].

Statement 2 is correct. In the administrative structure of the Delhi Sultanate, the Prime Minister was called the vazir. He was primarily the head of finance department called the Diwan-e-Wazarat.

Statement 3 is correct. Under Muhammad bin Tughlaq, the Diwan-i- Kohi department was responsible for bringing uncultivated land into cultivation through state support.

Statement 1 is correct. Muhammad Ibn ahmad Abu Raihan al-Biruni visited India between tenth to eleventh centuries. He wrote the book  ̳Kitab –ul-Hind‖.

Statement 2 is correct. Amir Khusrau was a Sufi mystic and the first urdu language poet. He was the first one to write Ghazal in urdu.

Statement 3 is incorrect. Abdur Razzaq (1443-1444 A. D.) was Persian traveller, who stayed at the court of the Zamorin at Calicut. He has given a vivid account of the Vijayanagar city, while describing the wealth and luxurious life of the king and the nobles.

Statement 1 is correct. The National School of Drama was set up by the Sangeet Natak Akademi as one of its constituent units in 1959. In 1975, it became an independent entity and was registered as an autonomous organization under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 fully financed by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.

Statement 2 is correct. Bharat Rang Mahotsav is the largest theatre festival of Asia organized by the National School of Drama.

Statement 1 is incorrect. associated with temple rituals. Both the dance forms Kathak and Odissi are Kathak is an ancient story telling device which originated within the Hindu temples as a means of portraying the epic tales contained within the Mahabharata and Ramayana, and the Hindu scriptures. On the other hand, the chief repositories of Odissi dance are the maharis. They were originally temple dancers came to be employed in royal courts which resulted in the degeneration of the art form.

Statement 2 is correct. The Vaishnavite cult which swept North India in the 15th century contributed to a whole new range of lyrics and musical forms. The Radha- Krishna theme proved immensely popular along with the works of Mirabai, Surdas, Nandadas and Krishnadas. The creative literature inspired the Odissi dancer and provided the themes for dance. Once of such example is the Gita Govinda by Jayadeva. It is a profound example of thenayaka-nayika bhava and surpasses other poems in its poetic and stylistic content. The devotion of the poet for Krishna permeates through the work.

Statement 1 is correct. A-GPS or assisted GPS uses a smaller power and efficient GPS antenna to send signals to the nearest mobile tower instead of a satellite. The mobile tower in turn connects with the satellite to find the device‘s location.

Statement 2 is correct. Technology employed in most smartphones and is faster compared to normal GPS. This requires the presence of a SIM card. Relevance- The government has made it mandatory to install Global Positioning System (GPS) in all mobile phones, including feature phones.

Statement 1 is correct. The new religion promulgated by Akbar contained good points of all religions. Its basis was rational. It upholds no dogma. It was aimed at bridging the gulf that separated different religions.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Din-i- Ilahi believed in one God.