With reference to ancient India, consider the following statements: 1. The concept of Stupa is Buddhist in origin. 2. Stupa was generally a repository of relics. 3. Stupa was a votive and commemorative structure in Buddhist tradition. How many of the statements given above are correct?

Answer: B. Only TWO statements are correct (statements 2 and 3); statement 1 is wrong. (1) Stupa concept is Buddhist in origin: WRONG. The stupa concept PRE-DATES Buddhism. Stupas have origins in pre-Buddhist funerary mounds (chaityas) used in Vedic period for burying ashes and relics of ancestors. The Buddhist tradition ADAPTED and EXPANDED the stupa form after Buddha's parinirvana (around 480 BCE), but did not invent it. Stupa-like structures are found in Jain and earlier Indian traditions too. (2) Stupa as repository of relics: CORRECT. After the Buddha's death his relics were divided among 8 royal claimants and stupas were built over them. Later Ashoka redistributed the relics into 84,000 stupas. Stupas became reliquaries containing bodily remains (sharira) or objects associated with revered teachers. (3) Stupa as votive and commemorative structure: CORRECT. Apart from relic-stupas (sharirika), there were votive stupas built to commemorate vows fulfilled, and uddeshika stupas marking sacred sites of the Buddha's life. Source: NCERT Class 12 Themes in Indian History Part I Ch 4.