Indian Culture General Studies MCQs

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In classical Sanskrit drama, Vidushaka (Bufoon) is essentially a Brahmin and is a confident / attendent of the Hero. Despite being educated in Sanskrit, he speaks in Prakrit, the vernacular language of the time. Bharata mentions him along with the principal characters in his Natyasastra.

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Manu Smriti (Pre-Gupta period) is the oldest Smriti.

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Atharvaveda text includes three primary Upanishads, influential to various schools of Hindu philosophy. These include the Mundaka Upanishad, the Mandukya Upanishad and the Prashna Upanishad.

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Gulbadan Begum (1523-1603) was a Perso-Turkic Princess, the daughter of Emperor Babur. She is most known as the author of Humayun Nama, the account of the life of her brother, Humayun.

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The Sangeet Natak Akademi recognizes Bharatnatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odishi, Kathakali, Sattriya, Manipuri and Mohiniyattam as classical dances in India.

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To pay a befitting tribute to the man of letters, Nobel Laureate, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, on his 150th birth anniversary, the Government of India has set up a ‘Tagore Centre for the Study of Culture and Civilization’ (TCSCC) at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS), Shimla. The objectives of the Centre include: to encourage the study of Tagore’s work; support translations of Tagore’s work into other Indian languages; promote comparative study of his work with poets, artists and writers in other parts of India and the world; study the elements of his Humanist philosophy and his cosmopolitanism; and explore his concerns regarding the relationship between science and society.

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Baul are a group of mystic minstrels from Bengal. Bauls constitute both a syncretic religious sect and a musical tradition. Bauls are a very heterogeneous group, with many sects, but their membership mainly consists of Vaishnava Hindus and Sufi Muslims. They can often be identified by their distinctive clothes and musical instruments. Not much is known of their origin. Lalon Fakir is regarded as the most important poet-practitioner of the Baul tradition. Baul music had a great influence on Rabindranath Tagore’s poetry and on his music (Rabindra Sangeet). Though Bauls comprise only a small fraction of the Bengali population, their influence on the culture of Bengal is considerable. In 2005, the Baul tradition was included in the list of “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO.

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Kshemendra was a Kashmirian poet of the 11th century, writing in Sanskrit.In his most of the works like ‘Kalavilas’, ‘Narma Mala’ describes the inner weakness of man and society and the corrupt official machinery of those times.In his one of the work ‘Samaya Matrika’ ,he depicted super seductress ‘Kankali’ character By depicting it ,he wishes to reform the degradation in the society. In short Ksemendra had chosen the vehicle of satire.

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Adhyayas of Yajur Veda, made up partly of verses and partly of prose, contain a number of prayers and sacrificial formulae. Extensive details for carrying out different sacrifices are given in the chapters of the Yajur Veda.

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The Dashavatara Temple or Vishnu Temple also called Gupta temple at Deogarh. It was built in the Gupta Period (320 to c. 600 AD ). Archaeologists have inferred that it is the earliest known Panchayatana temple in North India. A hindu temple is a Panchayatana one when the main shrine is surrounded by four subsidiary shrines.