भारत के सांस्कृतिक इतिहास के संदर्भ में, ‘परामिता’ शब्द का सही विवरण निम्नलिखित में से कौन-सा है ?
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With reference to the cultural history of India, which one of the following is the correct description of the term 'paramitas'?
(a) The earliest Dharmashastra texts written in aphoristic (sutra) style · (b) Philosophical schools that did not accept the authority of Vedas · (c) Perfections whose attainment led to the Bodhisattva path · (d) Powerful merchant guilds of early medieval South India
उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English
Answer: (c) परिपूर्णताएँ जिनकी प्राप्ति से बोधिसत्व पथ प्रशस्त हुआ
Paramitas are the perfections, or transcendental virtues, that Mahayana Buddhism says a bodhisattva (a Buddha-to-be) practises on the path to enlightenment. 'Paramita' means 'perfection', as in Prajnaparamita, the 'Perfection of Wisdom'.
- ✗ (a) The earliest Dharmashastra texts in sutra style are the Dharmasutras, which NCERT says were compiled from about 500 BCE; they have nothing to do with the word paramita.
- ✗ (b) Schools that reject the authority of the Vedas are called nastika schools (NCERT lists the Carvaka, Bauddha and Jaina among them); paramita is a Buddhist ethical-spiritual term, not a school.
- ✓ (c) The Perfection of Wisdom (Prajnaparamita) is one such perfection, and Mahayana treats these perfections as the practice of bodhisattvas, who are compassionate beings working to help others.
- ✗ (d) Merchant guilds of early medieval South India are a different subject altogether; paramitas are Buddhist virtues, not guilds.
Remember · Paramita = perfection. In Mahayana Buddhism the paramitas (generosity, morality, patience, effort, meditation, wisdom, etc.) are the virtues perfected along the bodhisattva path.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 An Introduction to Indian Art, Part II, Ch 1 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part I, Ch 4 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part I, Ch 3 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Ch 2 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 12 · An Introduction to Indian Art, Part II, Chapter 1 “A fine example of a Pala Buddhist palm leaf manuscript is Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita (Bodleian Library, Oxford) or the ‘Perfection of Wisdom’ written in eight thousand lines.”
- NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part I, Chapter 4 “Bodhisattas were perceived as deeply compassionate beings who accumulated merit through their efforts but used this not to attain nibbana and thereby abandon the world, but to help others.”
- NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part I, Chapter 3 “From c. 500 BCE, these norms were compiled in Sanskrit texts known as the Dharmasutras and Dharmashastras.”
- NCERT Class 11 · Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Chapter 2 “Carvaka, Bauddha and Jaina are considered Nastika schools as they don't take the Vedas as valid source of knowledge.”
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'paramita' (Buddhism) ↗ · reference work “pāramitā, in Mahāyāna (“Greater Vehicle”) Buddhism, any of the perfections, or transcendental virtues, practiced by bodhisattvas (“Buddhas-to-be”) in advanced stages of their path toward enlightenment.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2020, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·