Prelims · Ancient India · 20 questions

Buddhism, Jainism & other schools

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Prelims 2018 · Q71

Medium

With reference to the religious practices in India, the “Sthanakvasi” sect belongs to

Answer & explanation

Answer: (b) Jainism

The Sthanakvasi (also spelt Sthanakavasi) are a Jain sect, a modern subsect of the Shvetambara ("white-clad") branch of Jainism. They pray and perform religious duties in a sthanak (a monks' meeting hall) rather than a temple, and they reject image worship.

✓ (b) Sthanakvasi is a subsect of the Shvetambara branch of Jainism, a reformist sect that criticised image worship and the temple cult. IGNOU traces the reform to about the 15th century, while Britannica dates the subsect's founding to the 17th century by Lava of Surat, who belonged to an earlier sect that also rejected idol worship.
✗ (a) Buddhism is a separate religion; the sthanak (monks' meeting hall) and the rejection of image worship belong to Jain practice.
✗ (c) Vaishnavism is a Hindu tradition centred on Vishnu, and Sthanakvasi is not one of its sects.
✗ (d) Shaivism is a Hindu tradition centred on Shiva, and Sthanakvasi is not one of its sects.

Remember · Sthanakvasi = a Jain (Shvetambara) reformist sect that rejects idol worship and prays in a sthanak, not a temple.

Sources

IGNOU eGyanKosh, Jainism (Unit 3): Sthanakvasi sect among the Shvetambaras ↗ · reference work “From among the Sevetambaras, a reformist sect arose about the 15th century by name Sthanakvasi Sect: criticizing image-worship, and temple-cult because it was not even mentioned once in the Scriptures.”
Encyclopaedia Britannica: Sthanakavasi ↗ · reference work “The subsect was founded in the 17th century by Lava of Surat, a member of an earlier non-image-worshipping sect … differs from the Shvetambara sect in its rejection of image worship and temple ritual.”

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). Permalink ·

Prelims 2018 · Q74

Easy

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). Permalink ·

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Indian art, literature & architectureGS 1 syllabus

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Class 11 An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I, Chapter 4cited in 1 explanation