Q50. Who wrote the Bengali work Bahubivah?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 2007]
(A) Raja Rammohan Roy
(B) Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
(C) Pandita Ramabai
(D) Rabindranath Tagore
Answer: (B) Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
Explanation: Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar published Bahubivah as part of his critique of polygamy and social injustice. His Bengali prose also helped shape educational and literary reform in nineteenth-century Bengal.
Q49. Which medieval ruler commissioned the great Angkor Wat complex in Cambodia?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 2006]
(A) Jayavarman VII
(B) Suryavarman II
(C) Rajendra Chola I
(D) Harshavardhana
Answer: (B) Suryavarman II
Explanation: Angkor Wat was constructed in the reign of the Khmer king Suryavarman II. Although situated outside India, it demonstrates the transmission and reinterpretation of Indian religious iconography and temple architectural ideas in Southeast Asia.
Q48. Who is praised in the Allahabad Pillar inscription composed by Harishena?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 2006]
(A) Chandragupta Maurya
(B) Ashoka
(C) Kanishka
(D) Samudragupta
Answer: (D) Samudragupta
Explanation: Harishena’s Prayaga Prashasti, inscribed on the Allahabad Pillar, celebrates the conquests and accomplishments of Gupta ruler Samudragupta. Its elaborate Sanskrit eulogy is a major source for classical Indian court literature and political history.
Q47. Which state is home to the Buddhist Kye (Key) Monastery?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 2006]
(A) Sikkim
(B) Arunachal Pradesh
(C) Uttarakhand
(D) Himachal Pradesh
Answer: (D) Himachal Pradesh
Explanation: Key or Kye Monastery stands high above the Spiti River in Himachal Pradesh. Its tiered complex remains an important centre of Tibetan Buddhist learning and ritual, with painted religious imagery and monastic collections.
Q46. The celebrated Buddhist stupa site of Amaravati is in which present-day state?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 2006]
(A) Odisha
(B) Bihar
(C) Madhya Pradesh
(D) Andhra Pradesh
Answer: (D) Andhra Pradesh
Explanation: Amaravati lies near the Krishna River in Andhra Pradesh. Its ancient Buddhist stupa was ornamented with richly carved narrative reliefs, and its sculptures helped define a distinguished regional artistic school.
Q45. Where is the Mama-Bhanja Temple situated?
[CGPSC Prelims – 2005]
(A) Barsur
(B) Tala
(C) Arang
(D) Ratanpur
Answer: (A) Barsur
Explanation: The historic Mama-Bhanja Temple stands at Barsur in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district. Barsur preserves several early medieval temples and sculptural remains, reflecting the architectural and religious heritage of the Bastar region.
Q44. The Bhoramdeo Temple of Chhattisgarh is generally dated to which century?
[CGPSC Prelims – 2005]
(A) Fourteenth
(B) Eleventh
(C) Second
(D) Fifth
Answer: (B) Eleventh
Explanation: Bhoramdeo Temple, situated in Kabirdham district, is broadly dated to the eleventh century and is associated with the regional Nagavanshi rulers. Dedicated to Shiva, its elaborate sculptures have earned it the popular description Khajuraho of Chhattisgarh.
Q43. Devdas Banjare was famous for which cultural activity?
[CGPSC Prelims – 2005]
(A) Pandavani
(B) Panthi dance
(C) Dhankul
(D) Dhokra craft
Answer: (B) Panthi dance
Explanation: Devdas Banjare was an influential exponent of Panthi dance, a Satnami community performance tradition of Chhattisgarh. The dance’s vigorous movements and devotional lyrics honour Guru Ghasidas and represent an important element of the state’s cultural identity.
Q42. Which among Champaner-Pavagadh, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mamallapuram and Konark are UNESCO World Heritage sites?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 2005]
(A) Konark only
(B) Konark and Mamallapuram
(C) Mamallapuram and Champaner-Pavagadh
(D) All four
Answer: (D) All four
Explanation: Each listed site appears on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Together they represent varied Indian heritage: fortified landscapes, colonial railway architecture, Pallava rock-cut monuments and the thirteenth-century Sun Temple of Konark.
Q41. Which historical revolt is the background for Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel Anandamath?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 2005]
(A) Bhil uprising
(B) Rangpur rebellion
(C) Bishnupur uprising
(D) Sanyasi rebellion
Answer: (D) Sanyasi rebellion
Explanation: Anandamath draws upon the Sanyasi and Fakir disturbances in late eighteenth-century Bengal. The novel is especially remembered for introducing Vande Mataram, which later achieved important status in India’s nationalist cultural tradition.
