Q10. Which folk theatrical form is correctly matched with Assam?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 1996]
(A) Naqqual
(B) Tamasha
(C) Ankiya Nat
(D) Baha
Answer: (C) Ankiya Nat
Explanation: Ankiya Nat is a devotional dramatic form associated with Srimanta Sankardeva’s Assamese neo-Vaishnavite movement. Plays in this tradition combine narrative, song, instrumental accompaniment and theatre, often performed at satras and namghars.
Q9. During whose reign did Mughal painting attain a widely recognised zenith?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 1996]
(A) Humayun
(B) Akbar
(C) Jahangir
(D) Shah Jahan
Answer: (C) Jahangir
Explanation: The Mughal painting atelier flourished during Jahangir’s reign, with an increased interest in refined portraiture, flora, fauna and realistic observation. Important artists included Ustad Mansur and Bishandas.
Q8. Which nineteenth-century Indian historical novel was written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 1996]
(A) Rast Goftar
(B) Durgeshnandini
(C) Maratha
(D) Nibandhamala
Answer: (B) Durgeshnandini
Explanation: Durgeshnandini, published in 1865, is one of Bankim Chandra’s early Bengali historical romances. Its popularity helped establish prose fiction as a major form in modern Bengali literature.
Q7. Which of these is NOT an early Jain canonical literary work?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 1996]
(A) Therigatha
(B) Acharanga Sutra
(C) Sutrakritanga
(D) Brihatkalpa Sutra
Answer: (A) Therigatha
Explanation: Therigatha is a Buddhist Pali collection of verses attributed to early women renunciants. The other listed texts belong to Jain religious literature, making their literary and doctrinal traditions distinct.
Q6. Which ancient Indian treatise discussed a deserted wife’s right to seek divorce?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 1996]
(A) Kamasutra
(B) Manavadharmashastra
(C) Shukranitisara
(D) Arthashastra
Answer: (D) Arthashastra
Explanation: Kautilya’s Arthashastra discusses marriage arrangements, separation and certain grounds for divorce in its treatment of social and legal relations. It is a political and administrative treatise that also contains detailed rules for domestic life.
Q5. Who composed the Krishna-themed poetry collection Prem Vatika?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 1996]
(A) Bihari
(B) Surdas
(C) Raskhan
(D) Kabir
Answer: (C) Raskhan
Explanation: Raskhan, a celebrated poet of Krishna devotion, wrote Prem Vatika. His Braj Bhasha poetry illustrates the devotional synthesis and literary richness of early modern north Indian bhakti traditions.
Q4. In medieval Sanskrit grammatical discussions, what did apabhramsha commonly signify?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 1996]
(A) Rajput outcastes
(B) Departure from Vedic ritual
(C) Vernacular linguistic forms preceding many modern languages
(D) A type of non-Sanskrit verse metre
Answer: (C) Vernacular linguistic forms preceding many modern languages
Explanation: Apabhramsha denotes late Middle Indo-Aryan literary and linguistic forms that contributed to the development of various modern Indo-Aryan languages. It occupies an important position in the history of Indian vernacular expression.
Q3. The Gol Gumbaz monument, celebrated for its great dome, stands at which place?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 1995]
(A) Hyderabad
(B) Gulbarga
(C) Aurangabad
(D) Bijapur
Answer: (D) Bijapur
Explanation: Gol Gumbaz is the mausoleum of Muhammad Adil Shah at Vijayapura, historically known as Bijapur, in Karnataka. Its massive unsupported dome and famous whispering gallery are significant achievements of Deccan Sultanate architecture.
Q2. Chola-period bronze representations of the dancing Shiva, Nataraja, generally show how many arms?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 1995]
(A) Eight
(B) Six
(C) Four
(D) Two
Answer: (C) Four
Explanation: The familiar Chola bronze Nataraja generally has four arms holding symbolic objects and gestures. The dancing Shiva stands within a flaming aureole, visually expressing cosmic creation, preservation and dissolution.
Q1. Which regional painting tradition was least influenced by the Mughal miniature school?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 1995]
(A) Pahari painting
(B) Rajasthani painting
(C) Kangra painting
(D) Kalighat painting
Answer: (D) Kalighat painting
Explanation: Kalighat pat paintings arose around nineteenth-century Kolkata as briskly painted popular images, developing in a different social and artistic setting from courtly Mughal miniature traditions. Pahari and Rajasthani schools had stronger links to Mughal aesthetic influence.
