Question Discussion & Solution

In Madhya Pradesh, the world famous Khajuraho Dance Festival has begun. Eminent Indian classical dancers will perform during the 7 day event. This Dance Festival presents colourful and brilliant Indian dances in the backdrop of the famous Khajuraho temples. Live performances of classical dances like Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Bharatnatyam, and Mohniyattam were the major attraction this time.

The correct answer is These are the main two styles of temple architecture in India.

Key Points

• The main component of the Indian temple architecture are the following:
  • Garbhagriha (womb-house):. It is a cave-like structure housing the chief deity of the temple.
  • Mandapa: It is the entrance of the temple.
  • Shikhara/Vimana: It is a mountain-like structure on top. In north India, it is called Shikhara.
    • Shape: Curve.
    • In south India, it is called Vimana.
    • Shape: Pyramidal tower.
  • Amalaka: Notched stone disk at the top of the temple. Mostly seen in north Indian temples.
  • Pedestal: It is a raised platform of stone on which temples are built.

Important Points

Additional Information

• Vesara Architecture:
  • E.g: Ladkhan temple of Aihole.
  • It has two principal components Vimana & Mandapa joined by Antrala.
  • It is a mixture of both Nagara & Dravidian style of temple architecture.
  • It is also known as Chalukya style or Karnataka style.
  • It follows mostly Dravida style up to the boundaries and then Nagara style features in the superstructure.

The correct answer is Maharashtra.

Key Points

• The Elephanta caves:
  • They are located on Elephanta island (known as the island of Gharapuri) in Maharashtra.
  • They consist of two hills separated by a narrow valley.
  • This temple built in the caves is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
  • Rock-cut "Elephanta caves" were built between the middle of the 5th to the 6th century AD.
  • Elephanta Island is 10 km from the Gateway of India in Mumbai in the state of Maharashtra.
  • These caves have been given the status of World Heritage in 1987 by UNESCO.

Additional Information

• Kashi Vishwanath Temple is located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
• Junagadh Buddhist Caves is located in the Junagadh district of Gujarat state, India.
• Mukteshwar Mahadev Temple is located near Pathankot City on Shahpur Kandi Dam Road in the Indian state of Punjab.

The correct answer is Dholavira.

Key Points

• In July 2021, the Indus valley site Dholavira was inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List.
  • Now Gujarat has three world heritage sites, Champaner near Pavagadh, Rani ki Vav in Patan and the historic city of Ahmedabad.
  • Dholavira is now the 40^th treasure in India to be recognized as a World Heritage site.
  • According to a press release by the Ministry of Culture, India submitted the nomination for Dholavira to the World Heritage Centre in January 2020. The site was on the UNESCO’s tentative list since 2014.
  • UNESCO has already given India a new world heritage site in the form of the Rudreswara/ Ramappa Temple in Telangana in the ongoing 44th session of the World Heritage Committee.
  • Ramappa Temple dates back to the 13^th century.
  • This session of the World Heritage Committee is being chaired from Fuzhou in China.

Additional Information

• Gujarat Chief Minister: Vijay Rupani.
• Gujarat Governor: Acharya Devvrat.

The correct answer is Kanada.

Key Points

• The Sanskrit philosopher Kanada Kashyapa (2nd–3rd century) expounded its theories and is credited with founding the school. 
• Vaisheshika, one of the six systems (darshans) of Indian philosophy, significant for its naturalism.
• The Vaisheshika school attempts to identify, inventory, and classify the entities and their relations that present themselves to human perceptions.

Important Points

• The Purva-Mimamsa of Jaimini (400 BCE), the greatest philosopher of the Mimamsa school, posits various deities to account for the significance of Vedic rituals but ignores, without denying, the question of the existence of God. 
• Patanjali also called Gonardiya, or Gonikaputra, (flourished 2nd century BCE or 5th century CE), Authors of two great Hindu classics-
  • The first, Yoga-sutras, a categorization of Yogic thought arranged in four volumes with the titles Psychic Power, “Practice of Yoga,” “Samadhi” (state of profound contemplation of the Absolute), and “Kaivalya” (separateness).
  • the second, the Mahabhashya (“Great Commentary”).
• Gautama was one of the famous seven rishis termed Saptarshi. He was the progenitor of the Gautama gotra. He was the son of Rahugana.