Q50. Worship of anthropomorphic images of Buddha became especially important in:
[RRB NTPC – 2021]
A. Mahayana Buddhism
B. Early Vedic religion
C. Ajivika order
D. Charvaka philosophy
Answer: A. Mahayana Buddhism
Explanation: Mahayana devotionalism encouraged elaborate Buddha and Bodhisattva imagery, while early Buddhist art commonly represented Buddha through symbols rather than human form.
Q49. Which ancient Buddhist monument at Sarnath was declared a protected monument of national importance in 2019?
[RRB NTPC – 2021]
A. Chaukhandi Stupa
B. Sanchi Stupa
C. Amaravati Stupa
D. Kesaria Stupa
Answer: A. Chaukhandi Stupa
Explanation: Chaukhandi Stupa at Sarnath commemorates the traditional meeting of Buddha with his first five disciples before his famous first sermon.
Q48. Which Buddhist monument appears as the motif on the reverse of India’s ₹200 banknote?
[RRB NTPC – 2021]
A. Sanchi Stupa
B. Mahabodhi Temple
C. Dhamek Stupa
D. Nalanda ruins
Answer: A. Sanchi Stupa
Explanation: India’s ₹200 banknote carries the Sanchi Stupa motif, highlighting the monument’s outstanding importance to India’s cultural, artistic and Buddhist heritage.
Q47. Where did Gautama Buddha deliver his first sermon on the Four Noble Truths?
[SSC CGL – 2021]
A. Sarnath
B. Lumbini
C. Rajgir
D. Bodh Gaya
Answer: A. Sarnath
Explanation: At Sarnath’s Deer Park, Buddha taught his first five disciples. The event is remembered as Dharmachakra Pravartana, or turning the wheel of Dharma.
Q46. Buddha’s birthplace was a sacred grove known as:
[SSC CGL – 2021]
A. Lumbini
B. Kushinagar
C. Vaishali
D. Rajgir
Answer: A. Lumbini
Explanation: Buddhist tradition and Ashoka’s Rummindei pillar inscription identify Lumbini as the sacred place where Siddhartha Gautama was born.
Q45. At which place did Buddha attain enlightenment?
[SSC CGL – 2021]
A. Bodh Gaya
B. Sarnath
C. Rajgir
D. Vaishali
Answer: A. Bodh Gaya
Explanation: Buddha attained enlightenment beneath the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya after abandoning extreme austerities and adopting the Middle Way.
Q44. The rules made for the Buddhist Sangha are preserved in:
[SSC CGL – 2021]
A. Vinaya Pitaka
B. Rigveda
C. Arthashastra
D. Manusmriti
Answer: A. Vinaya Pitaka
Explanation: Vinaya Pitaka preserves monastic regulations and narratives concerning the formation, organisation and conduct of the Buddhist communities of monks and nuns.
Q43. Ashoka convened which Buddhist Council at Pataliputra around the third century BCE?
[SSC CGL – 2021]
A. Third
B. First
C. Second
D. Fourth
Answer: A. Third
Explanation: The Third Buddhist Council is traditionally associated with Ashoka, Pataliputra and Moggaliputta Tissa, with subsequent missionary activity helping Buddhism spread beyond Magadha.
Q42. Who traditionally patronised the First Buddhist Council?
[SSC MTS – 2021]
A. Ajatashatru
B. Ashoka
C. Kanishka
D. Harsha
Answer: A. Ajatashatru
Explanation: Magadhan ruler Ajatashatru is traditionally credited with supporting the First Buddhist Council at Rajagriha, held soon after Buddha’s Mahaparinirvana.
Q41. Chethiyagiri Vihara festival celebrated at Sanchi belongs to which religion?
[SSC MTS – 2021]
A. Buddhism
B. Jainism
C. Sikhism
D. Zoroastrianism
Answer: A. Buddhism
Explanation: The Sanchi festival is centred on Buddhist worship and particularly the relics of Sariputta and Moggallana, two of Gautama Buddha’s foremost disciples.
