UPSC Prelims 1998 · General Studies
Question 36: History and Culture
Which of the following pairs are correctly matched? I. Lothal: Ancient dockyard II. Sarnath: First Sermon of Buddha III. Rajgir: Lion capital of Asoka IV. Nalanda: Great seat of Buddhist learning Select the correct answer using the codes given below: Codes:
AnswerThe answer is (c).
Lothal in Gujarat has the Harappan dockyard; Sarnath near Varanasi is where the Buddha preached his first sermon; and Nalanda in Bihar was a great seat of Buddhist learning. The Lion Capital of Asoka was found at Sarnath, not Rajgir, which makes III wrong. Rajgir (Rajagriha) was the early Magadhan capital and the site of the first Buddhist council.
- I. Lothal had the Harappan dockyard.
- II. The Buddha preached his first sermon at Sarnath.
- III. The Lion Capital of Asoka is from Sarnath, not Rajgir.
- IV. Nalanda was a great Buddhist centre of learning.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) III is wrong, so not all four are correct.
- (b) III is wrong and I and II are correct, so this fails.
- (c) Right: I, II and IV are correct.
- (d) Leaves out IV, which is correct.
Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 1998, General Studies. UPSC's own paper isn't online; the words are from a published compilation. The paper on upsc.gov.in.