2024 GS Paper I, all questions

UPSC Prelims 2024 · GS Paper I

Question 54: History and Culture

With reference to ancient India, Gautama Buddha was generally known by which of the following epithets ?

  1. 1.Nayaputta
  2. 2.Shakyamuni
  3. 3.Tathagata

Select the correct answer using the code given below :

a1 only
b2 and 3 only
c1, 2 and 3
dNone of the above are epithets of Gautama Buddha

AnswerUPSC’s answer is (b).

Shakyamuni (sage of the Shakya clan) and Tathagata (one who has thus gone, a title the Buddha used for himself) are both epithets of Gautama Buddha. Nayaputta, or Nataputta, was how Mahavira, the Jain Tirthankara, was known in early texts; it is not a Buddha epithet. Remember: Nataputta means Mahavira, the son of the Jnatrika clan.

  • 1. Nayaputta (Nataputta) is the epithet of Mahavira.
  • 2. Shakyamuni means the sage of the Shakyas, the Buddha's clan.
  • 3. Tathagata is a title the Buddha used for himself.
Why each option is right or wrong
  • (a) Wrong: Nayaputta refers to Mahavira, not the Buddha.
  • (b) Right: Shakyamuni and Tathagata are epithets of the Buddha.
  • (c) Wrong: Nayaputta is not a Buddha epithet.
  • (d) Wrong: Shakyamuni and Tathagata are Buddha epithets.

Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2024, General Studies Paper I, Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.