Q70. The national motto Satyameva Jayate, appearing beneath India’s State Emblem, comes from which text?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 2014]
(A) Katha Upanishad
(B) Chandogya Upanishad
(C) Aitareya Upanishad
(D) Mundaka Upanishad
Answer: (D) Mundaka Upanishad
Explanation: Satyameva Jayate means truth alone triumphs. The phrase comes from the Mundaka Upanishad and is placed below the adopted Lion Capital of Ashoka in India’s official State Emblem.
Q69. Which institution confers the honorary title Desikottama?
[WBCS Mains GK – 2014]
(A) University of Calcutta
(B) Visva-Bharati University
(C) Rabindra Bharati University
(D) Banaras Hindu University
Answer: (B) Visva-Bharati University
Explanation: Desikottama is an honorary recognition conferred by Visva-Bharati University at Santiniketan. The institution founded by Rabindranath Tagore has played a major role in promoting literature, music, fine arts and international cultural exchange.
Q68. Which variety of bamboo is particularly widespread in Chhattisgarh?
[CGPSC Prelims – 2013]
(A) Dendrocalamus strictus
(B) Bambusa arundinacea
(C) Bambusa nutans
(D) Bambusa burmanica
(E) None of these
Answer: (A) Dendrocalamus strictus
Explanation: Dendrocalamus strictus is commonly called male or solid bamboo and is widespread across central India. Bamboo supports Chhattisgarh’s basket making, construction and many local craft industries, making its regional botanical associations relevant to traditional handicrafts.
Q67. Which pair of sitar players is particularly associated with Chhattisgarh’s musical tradition?
[CGPSC Prelims – 2013]
(A) Arun Kumar Sen and Anita Sen
(B) Shekhar Sen and Kalyan Sen
(C) Vimalendu Mukherjee and Budhaditya Mukherjee
(D) Sulakshana Pandit and Vijaya Pandit
(E) Manjula Dasgupta and Ashish Dasgupta
Answer: (C) Vimalendu Mukherjee and Budhaditya Mukherjee
Explanation: Acharya Vimalendu Mukherjee settled in the Chhattisgarh region and became a notable sitar teacher. His son Budhaditya Mukherjee earned international recognition as a Hindustani sitar virtuoso, continuing the family’s instrumental musical lineage.
Q66. What primarily distinguishes a Buddhist chaitya from a vihara?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 2013]
(A) A chaitya was royal housing and vihara a marketplace
(B) A chaitya was a prayer hall and vihara a monastic residence
(C) A chaitya was a palace and vihara a temple treasury
(D) They were identical structures
Answer: (B) A chaitya was a prayer hall and vihara a monastic residence
Explanation: A chaitya-griha is a hall for religious gathering and worship, commonly centred on a stupa. A vihara is a residential monastery or dwelling space for monks, though many developed additional shrines over time.
Q65. Which sites are widely known for early Indian mural painting: Ajanta, Lepakshi and Sanchi?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 2013]
(A) Ajanta only
(B) Ajanta and Lepakshi
(C) Lepakshi and Sanchi
(D) All three
Answer: (B) Ajanta and Lepakshi
Explanation: Ajanta is renowned for Buddhist cave murals, while the Virabhadra Temple at Lepakshi contains notable Vijayanagara-era ceiling paintings. Sanchi is especially celebrated for its stone stupas and relief carvings, not a comparable mural tradition.
Q64. Which statements about rock-cut caves are correct?
1. Badami contains India’s earliest surviving excavations;
2. Chandragupta Maurya donated Barabar caves to Ajivikas;
3. Ellora includes caves of multiple religions.
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 2013]
(A) 1 only
(B) 2 and 3 only
(C) 3 only
(D) All three
Answer: (C) 3 only
Explanation: Ellora contains Buddhist, Hindu and Jain rock-cut monuments. The Barabar caves were principally associated with Ashoka and his successors, not the specified Chandragupta attribution, and early excavations elsewhere predate the Badami cave temples.
Q63. In Indian iconography, what does the Tribhanga pose signify?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 2013]
(A) A figure with bends at leg, waist and neck
(B) A masked figure enacting an epic
(C) Purely facial expressions to narrate a story
(D) A figure holding a ceremonial parasol
Answer: (A) A figure with bends at leg, waist and neck
Explanation: Tribhanga literally means three bends, with the standing body curving gracefully at three points. The posture is frequently seen in sculptural representation and classical dance, emphasising rhythm, balance and fluid movement.
Q62. What are Nagara, Dravida and Vesara in early Indian culture?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 2012]
(A) Three language families
(B) Classical musical modes
(C) Styles of temple architecture
(D) Forms of mural painting
Answer: (C) Styles of temple architecture
Explanation: Nagara denotes the northern temple architectural tradition, Dravida the southern, while Vesara is commonly used for Deccan or hybrid forms. These terms classify structural forms, superstructures and regional building conventions.
Q61. In reference to Dhrupad, which claims are correct?
1. It originated solely in Rajput courts under the Mughals;
2. It has deep devotional or spiritual associations;
3. Its alap can use syllables derived from Sanskrit mantras.
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 2012]
(A) 1 and 2 only
(B) 2 and 3 only
(C) All three
(D) None
Answer: (B) 2 and 3 only
Explanation: Dhrupad is a major historic Hindustani classical vocal form with older devotional roots. Its elaborated alap uses distinctive syllabic patterns, often associated with sacred phrases; it cannot simply be said to have originated in Mughal-period Rajput courts.
