With reference to Indian history, who among the following is a future Buddha, yet to come to save the world?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) Maitreya
Maitreya ("the loving one") is the future Buddha of Buddhist tradition, the only bodhisattva venerated by both Hinayana and Mahayana followers (IGNCA). Avalokiteshvara, Lokeshvara and Padmapani are named as bodhisattva figures or forms in the sources, not as the Buddha still to come.
- ✓ (c) The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts describes Maitreya as the future Buddha and the only bodhisattva venerated by both Hinayana and Mahayana followers.
- ✗ (a) Avalokiteshvara is the most popular Mahayana bodhisattva, known for his compassion for all beings; he vowed not to enter nirvana until all beings are freed from suffering.
- ✗ (b) Lokesvara appears in the Sadhanamala as a name for forms of the compassionate bodhisattvas, listed by IGNCA in its account of Avalokitesvara, who vowed not to enter nirvana until all beings are freed from suffering. It is not a name for the Buddha of the future, who is Maitreya.
- ✗ (d) Padmapani is another bodhisattva image of the Buddhist pantheon, listed by NCERT among the sculpted Bodhisattvas; it is not the future Buddha.
Remember · Maitreya = the Buddha of the future; Avalokiteshvara (with Lokeshvara forms and Padmapani) = bodhisattva figures of compassion.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I, Ch 4 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- IGNCA (Ministry of Culture): Astamahabodhisattva, the Eight Great Bodhisattvas in Art and Literature ↗ “Maitreya or the loving one is the future Buddha who is the only Bodhisattva venerated by both the Hinayanists and the Mahayanists. … Avalokitesvara is the most popular and important of all the Mahayana Bodhisattvas because of his many virtues, especially his compassion for all the sentient beings … In the Sadhanamala , the Bodhisattvas have been described in a variety of forms and names such as Shadakasari Lokesvara, Simhanada Lokesvara, Khasarpana Lokesvara, Lokanatha, Rakta Lokesvara”
- NCERT Class 11 · An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I, Chapter 4 “other Buddhist images of Boddhisattvas like Avalokiteshvara, Padmapani, Vajrapani, Amitabha, and Maitreya Buddha started getting sculpted.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·