With reference to ancient India, Gautama Buddha was generally known by which of the following epithets? 1. Nayaputta2. Shakyamuni 3. Tathagata Select the correct answer using the code given below: |ForumIAS

[A] 1 only

[B] 2 and 3 only

[C] 1, 2 and 3

[D] None of the above

Answer: B

Notes:

Detailed Explanation:

Statement 1 is incorrect: Nayaputta (or Nigantha Nataputta) is an epithet associated with Vardhamana Mahavira, the Tirthankara of Jainism.
Statement 2 is correct: Gautama Buddha was called Shakyamuni (“Sage of the Shakya clan”) as he belonged to the Shakya Kshatriya clan of Kapilavastu.
Statement 3 is correct: Tathagata (“One who has thus gone” or “One who has thus come”) is a title Buddha frequently used to refer to himself in canonical Pali discourses.