Daily Static Quiz Prelims Practice 2027
Option (c) is correct — the Nagara style (North India) features a curvilinear tower called Shikhara over the sanctum, while the Dravida style (South India) has a stepped pyramidal tower called Vimana, with the massive Gopuram (gateway tower) as its most distinctive feature. Option (a) reverses the terminology — Vimana belongs to Dravida and Shikhara to Nagara. Option (b) reverses the geography. Option (d) is wrong — the two styles differ significantly in both ground plan and structural form, not merely in ornamentation.
- Bharatanatyam — Tamil Nadu
- Mohiniyattam — Kerala
- Sattriya — Assam
- Kuchipudi — Odisha
Pairs 1, 2, and 3 are correctly matched — Bharatanatyam originated in the temples of Tamil Nadu, evolving from Sadir performed by Devadasis; Mohiniyattam is the classical dance of Kerala, depicting the enchantress Mohini; and Sattriya was codified by Vaishnava saint Srimanta Shankaradeva in 15th-century Assam and performed in Sattras (monasteries). Pair 4 is incorrect — Kuchipudi belongs to Andhra Pradesh, not Odisha; Odissi is the classical dance of Odisha, a deliberately frequent UPSC trap.
Option (b) is correct — the Gandhara School (modern-day Pakistan/Afghanistan) was the first to depict the Buddha in human form, blending Greco-Roman (Hellenistic) elements such as wavy hair and draped robes resembling a Greek toga with Buddhist themes; it flourished under the Kushanas, especially Kanishka. Option (a) is wrong — the Gandhara School was patronised by the Kushanas, not the Guptas (the Gupta period is associated with the Mathura School). Option (c) is wrong — Gandhara sculptures used grey schist and later stucco, not red sandstone (characteristic of the Mathura School). Option (d) is the exact opposite of Gandhara's defining feature.
A Stupa is a hemispherical dome-shaped structure built over sacred relics (sharira) of the Buddha or revered monks, with key architectural elements including the Anda (dome), Harmika (railing at top), Yashti (central mast), and Vedika (outer railing) — the Sanchi Stupa being the most celebrated example. Option (a) describes Ashokan Pillars (Stambhas); option (b) describes a Vihara, the residential and meditative complex for monks; and option (c) describes a Torana, the ornamental gateway carved with Jataka scenes, of which the Sanchi Toranas are the most famous.
- The Natya Shastra is attributed to Bharata Muni and is considered the foundational text of Indian classical performing arts.
- The Natya Shastra describes the Navarasas — the nine fundamental emotional states — as the basis of all dramatic and dance expression.
- The Natya Shastra was composed during the Mughal period and reflects the synthesis of Hindu and Islamic aesthetic traditions.
Statements 1 and 2 are correct — the Natya Shastra attributed to Bharata Muni (estimated 200 BCE–200 CE) is the oldest and most comprehensive treatise on drama, dance, music, and aesthetics, and it systematically describes the nine Navarasas — Shringara, Hasya, Karuna, Raudra, Vira, Bhayanaka, Bibhatsa, Adbhuta, and Shanta — as the essential emotional states underpinning all artistic expression. Statement 3 is incorrect — the Natya Shastra is an ancient Sanskrit text predating the Mughal period by over a thousand years and reflects classical Hindu aesthetic philosophy, not any Hindu-Islamic synthesis.
