2012 GS Paper I, all questions
UPSC Prelims 2012 · GS Paper I
Question 73: History and Culture
The religion of early Vedic Aryans was primarily of
aBhakti
bimage worship and Yajnas
cworship of nature and Yajnas
dworship of nature and Bhakti
AnswerUPSC’s answer is (c).
The early Vedic Aryans (Rig Vedic period) worshipped natural forces personified as gods such as Indra, Agni, Varuna and Surya, mainly through prayers and yajnas (sacrifices). Bhakti and image worship developed later, in the post-Vedic and Puranic periods. Remember early Vedic religion as nature worship plus yajna.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Wrong: bhakti developed later and was not their primary religion.
- (b) Wrong: image worship came later, not in the early Vedic period.
- (c) Correct: worship of nature through yajnas.
- (d) Wrong: bhakti was not a primary feature of early Vedic religion.
Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2012, General Studies Paper I, Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.