With reference to the religious history of India, consider the following statements:
1.Sthaviravadins belong to Mahayana Buddhism.
2.Lokottaravadin sect was an offshoot of Mahasanghika sect of Buddhism.
3.The deification of Buddha by Mahasanghikas fostered Mahayana Buddhism.
Which of the statements given above are correct?(2020)
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: B
The Mahasanghikas’s views on the nature of the Buddha and the arhat (saint) acted as a precursor of Mahayana form of Buddhism.
Further subdivisions of the Mahasanghikas over the next seven centuries included the Lokottaravadins, the Ekavyavaharikas, and the Kaukkutikas.
