Architecture & sculpture

Answer: (b) 2 and 3

A Nagara shikhara is the northern, curving (rekha) tower. The Huchimalligudi at Aihole has a northern rekhanagara tower and the Deogarh temple has an early curvilinear latina shikhara, while the Malegitti Shivalaya and the Virupaksha temple carry southern Dravida towers.

• ✗ 1. The Malegitti Shivalaya on the Badami hill, an early Chalukyan temple, is built of finely jointed stone and topped by a Dravidian tower.
• ✓ 2. The sanctum of the Huchimalligudi at Aihole has a northern-style rekhanagara tower; it is also the temple where a vestibule before the sanctum first appears.
• ✓ 3. The early sixth-century Gupta-period temple at Deogarh (Lalitpur, Uttar Pradesh) has a tall curving rekha-prasada shikhara, an early example of the classic Nagara style.
• ✗ 4. The Virupaksha temple at Pattadakal, built by Queen Lokamahadevi (c. 740), is in the southern Dravida style and is the largest temple in the group.

Remember · Chalukyan sites mix styles: Aihole's Huchimalligudi and Durga temples have rekhanagara towers; Badami's Malegitti Shivalaya and Pattadakal's Virupaksha are Dravida.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I, Ch 6 (practise this chapter)

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Answer: (a) The meditation of the Buddha

Early Buddhist sculptors did not carve the Buddha in human form; they suggested his presence through symbols. An empty seat stood for his meditation (the seat of enlightenment under the tree), the wheel for his first sermon at Sarnath, and the stupa for his mahaparinibbana.

• ✓ (a) The empty seat marks the place where the Buddha sat in meditation and attained enlightenment.
• ✗ (b) The first sermon at Sarnath was shown by the wheel (dhammachakka), not by an empty seat.
• ✗ (c) The mahaparinibbana, the Buddha's final passing away, was represented by the stupa.

Remember · Aniconic symbols: empty seat = meditation/enlightenment; wheel = first sermon; stupa = mahaparinibbana; horse = the great departure.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part I, Ch 4 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part I, Ch 4 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) 1 and 3 only

Amaravati, on the Krishna in coastal Andhra (the old Vengi region), had a great stupa (mahachaitya) whose lively relief slabs created a style that shaped later sculpture in the Deccan and the south and travelled overseas with Buddhism. It was not a smaller 'runner-up' to Sanchi, so statement 2 fails.

• ✓ 1. Amaravati lies on the Krishna in Andhra Pradesh, among the Vengi stupa sites such as Jaggayyapeta, Bhattiprolu and Nagarjunakonda; the Amaravati school of sculpture flourished in the lower valley of the Krishna and Godavari.
• ✗ 2. NCERT calls the Amaravati stupa one of the largest and most magnificent Buddhist stupas ever built (Britannica gives a diameter of about 50 m), so it was not a smaller 'runner-up' to Sanchi.
• ✓ 3. NCERT notes works that show the influence of the Amaravati style, and Britannica records that the style spread to Sri Lanka (Anuradhapura) and to much of South-east Asia.

Remember · Amaravati stupa: Krishna valley, Andhra (Satavahana–Ikshvaku era); dynamic relief narratives; style spread to the Deccan, Sri Lanka and South-east Asia.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I, Ch 4 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Ch 4 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part I, Ch 4 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error