Prelims · Art & culture · 18 questions

Architecture & sculpture

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Prelims 2018 · Q72

Hard

With reference to the cultural history of India, consider the following statements:

1.White marble was used in making Buland Darwaza and Khankah at Fatehpur Sikri.
2.Red sandstone and marble were used in making Bara Imambara and Rumi Darwaza at Lucknow.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (d) Neither 1 nor 2

Neither statement is correct. Fatehpur Sikri's buildings are mainly of red sandstone with little marble, and the Nawabs of Awadh built Lucknow's Rumi Darwaza of lime-coated brick instead of the red sandstone the Mughals favoured.

✗ 1. UNESCO describes Fatehpur Sikri's buildings as constructed in red sandstone with little use of marble, and ASI says its palaces were built of red sandstone. White marble is not the material of Buland Darwaza or the Khankah.
✗ 2. The Rumi Darwaza (Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula's gateway of the 1780s) is made of bricks coated in lime, not red sandstone and marble. Nawabi Lucknow moved away from the Mughal use of red sandstone.

Remember · Fatehpur Sikri (Akbar) = red sandstone; Awadhi Lucknow (Bara Imambara, Rumi Darwaza) = lime-plastered brick.

Sources

UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Fatehpur Sikri ↗ “The buildings are constructed in red sandstone with little use of marble.”
Ministry of Culture, Government of India: Fatehpur Sikri (World Heritage) ↗ “The site is a stunning blend of Persian, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles, unified by its red sandstone construction.”
Agra District, Government of Uttar Pradesh: Fatehpur Sikri ↗ “survives as a remarkably complete red-sandstone city. Its monuments include the 54-metre Buland Darwaza”
Incredible India (Ministry of Tourism): Rumi Darwaza, Lucknow ↗ “Unlike the red sandstone often favoured by the Mughals, the Nawabs opted for bricks coated in lime.”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 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 ·

The same topic in Mains

Indian art, literature & architectureGS 1 syllabus

Read it in NCERT

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