CBSE Class 12 (Arts) Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings — practice questions
86 free MCQs with worked solutions. Tap any question for the answer + explanation, or practice them all in the app.
Practice CBSE Class 12 (Arts) Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings in the app →Which Veda is composed of hymns praising deities such as Agni, Indra and Soma?Which texts from c. sixth century BCE onwards show curiosity about life after death and rebirth?Buddhist texts mention how many sects or schools of thought in the age of debates?Debates between travelling teachers took place in a hut with a pointed roof called what?The Buddhist compilation called Tipitaka literally means what?Which pitaka contains the rules and regulations for those who joined the sangha?Which pitaka deals with philosophical matters?The Buddha's own teachings are included in which pitaka?The Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa are chronicles of Buddhism from which island?Which Chinese pilgrims travelled to India in search of Buddhist texts?Which language holds some of the oldest Buddhist texts?The Ajivika teacher Makkhali Gosala is usually described as holding which view?The Lokayata philosopher Ajita Kesakambalin taught that a human being is made of what?King Ajatasattu, who met the Buddha in the Sutta Pitaka, ruled which kingdom?According to Jaina tradition, how many tirthankaras preceded Mahavira?The word tirthankara literally means those who do what?Vardhamana, later known as Mahavira, was born in which century BCE?What is the most important idea in Jainism?According to Jaina teachings, the cycle of birth and rebirth is shaped by what?Which vow was among the five taken by Jaina monks and nuns?In which language is the Uttaradhyayana Sutta, which records Mahavira's teachings as stories, written?Jaina scholars produced literature in Prakrit, Sanskrit and which other language?What was the Buddha called at birth?A biography of a saint or religious leader that often praises his achievements is called what?Which sight on his first journey gave Siddhartha hope that peace could be found?The Buddha taught a path of righteous living that he called what?Buddhist philosophy calls the world transient and constantly changing, using which word?In Buddhist philosophy, which term describes the world as soulless since nothing in it is permanent?Which term refers to the sorrow that is intrinsic to human existence in Buddhist thought?Which path did the Buddha advise between severe penance and self-indulgence?In the earliest forms of Buddhism, whether god existed was seen as what?Nibbana in Buddhism literally means the extinguishing of what?The Buddha regarded the social world as the creation of whom?The sangha was an organisation of whom?Buddhist monks who lived on alms were known by what name?Who persuaded the Buddha to allow women into the sangha, according to Buddhist texts?Who was the first woman to be ordained as a bhikkhuni?Women of the sangha who attained liberation and became respected teachers were called what?How did the sangha reach decisions if consensus could not be achieved through discussion?The Therigatha is a collection of verses composed by whom?Punna, whose verses appear in the Therigatha, was a woman of what status?Which two qualities of the Buddha's teaching, fellow feeling and compassion, drew people to Buddhism?Small shrines at sacred trees or rocks were sometimes described as what?Where was the Buddha born, according to Buddhist literature?Where did the Buddha deliver his first sermon?Which ruler erected a pillar at Lumbini about 200 years after the Buddha to mark his visit?Stupas were mounds that originally contained what sacred items?Which Buddhist text says Asoka distributed relics to every important town and ordered stupas built?By the second century BCE, stupas had been built at Bharhut, Sarnath and which other site?Inscriptions on stupa railings and pillars record what?Which guild financed part of one of the gateways at Sanchi?Which royal dynasty is named as a donor to stupas, alongside guilds and ordinary devotees?The word stupa is Sanskrit for what?What is the semi-circular mound at the base of a stupa called?The balcony-like structure above the anda, representing the abode of the gods, is called what?The mast rising from the harmika of a stupa, often topped by an umbrella, is the what?What was the purpose of the railing around a stupa mound?At the early stupas of Sanchi and Bharhut, the richly carved gateways were set at which points?In which year did a local raja stumble upon the ruins of the Amaravati stupa while seeking stone for a temple?Which British official visited Amaravati and made detailed drawings that were never published?The sculpture panels taken from Amaravati to Madras in 1854 came to be called what?In which year was Sanchi "discovered" with three of its four gateways still standing?The Latin phrase in situ means what?The French wanted to take which gateway of the Sanchi stupa to a museum in France?The Vessantara Jataka scene at Sanchi tells of a prince who did what?Early sculptors showed the Buddha's meditation using which symbol?In early Buddhist sculpture, which symbol represented the mahaparinibbana?The wheel in early Buddhist sculpture stood for which event?In the sculpture at Sanchi, elephants were depicted to signify which qualities?The woman surrounded by lotuses and elephants at Sanchi is identified by some historians with which popular goWhich early art historian considered Sanchi a centre of tree and serpent worship?Which Maharashtra site is famous for cave wall paintings of Jataka stories?What technique gave Ajanta paintings a three-dimensional quality?Mahayana literally means what?Followers of the older Buddhist tradition described themselves as what?In Mahayana thought, Bodhisattas were compassionate beings who used their merit to do what?How many avatars were recognised within the Vaishnava tradition?In sculpture, Shiva was most often symbolised by what?Vasudeva-Krishna was an important deity in which region?The sanctum of an early temple, a small square room with a single doorway, was called what?The tall structure built over the central shrine of a temple is called what?For whom did Asoka order artificial caves to be constructed in the third century BCE?The Great Stupa at Sanchi stands in which district of Madhya Pradesh?Which Mauryan emperor originally commissioned the Great Stupa at Sanchi?Under which dynasty was the Great Stupa enlarged with stone slabs to almost twice its original size?Which Indo-Greek ambassador dedicated a pillar at Vidisha near Sanchi around 113 BCE?