UPSC Prelims 2023 · GS Paper I
Question 42: History and Culture
With reference to ancient India, consider the following statements :
- 1.The concept of Stupa is Buddhist in origin.
- 2.Stupa was generally a repository of relics.
- 3.Stupa was a votive and commemorative structure in Buddhist tradition.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
AnswerUPSC’s answer is (b).
Statements 2 and 3 are correct. A stupa was a mound-like structure that housed relics of the Buddha or revered monks and served as a votive and commemorative monument; Ashoka and later rulers built many, as at Sanchi, Bharhut and Amaravati. Statement 1 is wrong: burial mounds and funerary tumuli existed in India before Buddhism, and the Buddhists, and later the Jains, adopted the form from older practice, so the concept is not Buddhist in origin.
- 1. Funerary mounds pre-date Buddhism; the form was adopted by it.
- 2. Stupas generally held relics.
- 3. In Buddhist tradition stupas were votive and commemorative structures.
How you could have got this
No shortcut here: in a “how many” question, ruling out options doesn’t help. Every statement has to be judged.
Which options go is worked out from UPSC’s key and the options, not by a model.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Only one undercounts; statements 2 and 3 are both true.
- (b) Correct: statements 2 and 3 hold, statement 1 does not.
- (c) Statement 1 is wrong because mounds pre-date Buddhism.
- (d) Statements 2 and 3 are true, so not none.
Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2023, General Studies Paper I, Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.