Civil Services Prep

UPSC Prelims MCQs

Art and Culture

  1. A large number of spindles and spindle whorls have been found in Harappan houses. The whorls were made from…
  2. Arrange the following artistic developments in chronological order: 1. Bharhut’s low-relief, linear narratives…
  3. Arrange the following developments in chronological order: 1. Paintings in Badami under the early Chalukyas 2.…
  4. Arrange the following developments in chronological order, from earliest to latest: 1. Mahendravarman I’s…
  5. Arrange the following developments in their most appropriate chronological sequence: 1. The stupa at Sanchi…
  6. Arrange the following monuments or developments in chronological order, from earliest to latest: 1. Deogarh…
  7. Arrange the following stages associated with Amaravati in chronological order: 1. Evidence of construction…
  8. Assertion (A): Badami painters could create an impression of facial volume through relatively simple line…
  9. Assertion (A): Commanding heights gave medieval forts both strategic and symbolic advantages. Reason (R):…
  10. Assertion (A): Establishing a precise chronology for the Ajanta paintings is difficult. Reason (R): Known…
  11. Assertion (A): Folded hands and feet in early Bharhut reliefs sometimes appear flat or awkward. Reason (R):…
  12. Assertion (A): Gol Gumbad’s enormous dome covers a single uninterrupted square chamber without internal…
  13. Assertion (A): In many developed Nagara temples, the central tower appears like the tallest peak within a…
  14. Assertion (A): The Brihadeswara temple is a major example of monumental Chola architectural planning. Reason…
  15. Assertion (A): The later elaboration of stupas provided expanded surfaces for sculptural representation.…
  16. Assertion (A): Vijayanagara architecture is appropriately described as a cultural synthesis rather than a…
  17. Assertion (A): Yaksha and Yakshini imagery became part of Buddhist and Jaina visual traditions. Reason (R):…
  18. Assertion: Amaravati reliefs create a more complex impression of movement and three-dimensional pictorial…
  19. Assertion: Buddhist visual art developed from symbolic evocation of the Buddha toward the narration of his…
  20. Assertion: From the first century CE, Mathura and Gandhara gave human form to the Buddha through different…
  21. Assertion: Harappan beadmaking was a developed and technically specialised craft. Consider the following…
  22. Assertion: Later Indian mural traditions developed through continuity with earlier styles combined with…
  23. Assertion: The visual effect of the Taj Mahal depends substantially on symmetry, proportion and architectural…
  24. At which site was the largest rock-cut chaitya hall excavated?
  25. Bharhut reliefs generally employ low relief, linearity and fewer figures, whereas Sanchi Stupa-1 uses high…
  26. Consider the following Assertion and Reason: Assertion (A): Harappan perforated pottery was probably used for…
  27. Consider the following Assertion and Reason: Assertion (A): The adoption of arcuate construction facilitated…
  28. Consider the following comparison: 1 — Form and material — Standard form was a square steatite plaque — Square…
  29. Consider the following comparisons: 1 — Mathura, second century CE — Fleshy body and garment covering one…
  30. Consider the following entries based on inscriptional evidence: 1 — Kanha — Pitalkhora — an artisan named in…
  31. Consider the following features of a Harappan artefact: 1. A cross-legged human figure occupies the centre. 2.…
  32. Consider the following features of a prehistoric rock-painting site: 1. Its paintings include human figures,…
  33. Consider the following pairs: 1 — Varahadeva — Cave No. 16 2 — Upendragupta — Cave Nos. 1 and 2 3 —…
  34. Consider the following pairs: 1 — Brihadeswara, Thanjavur — Rajaraja Chola 2 — Gangaikonda Cholapuram —…
  35. Consider the following stages in the Harappan lost-wax casting process: 1. A wax figure is coated with clay…
  36. Consider the following statements: 1. The present Mahabodhi temple largely reflects a Colonial-period…
  37. Consider the following statements: 1. The Srirangam complex has seven concentric rectangular enclosures with…
  38. Consider the following statements about Ajanta: 1 — The site contains twenty-nine caves. 2 — Cave Nos. 9 and…
  39. Consider the following statements about early temple shrine types: 1. A sandhara shrine has a path for…
  40. Consider the following statements about Hoysala temples: 1. Their plans often develop numerous angular…
  41. Consider the following statements about Kerala mural painting: 1 — Its distinctive phase developed between the…
  42. Consider the following statements about the Dravida temple tradition: 1. The temple complex is generally…
  43. Consider the following statements about the great relief at Mahabalipuram: 1. A natural cleft in the rock was…
  44. Consider the following statements about the Mara Vijaya panel: 1 — It is carved on the right wall of Ajanta…
  45. Consider the following statements about the original Sarnath Lion Capital composition: 1 — A large…
  46. Consider the following statements about the seated Buddha from Katra Mound, Mathura: 1 — It belongs to the…
  47. Consider the following statements about the Shore temple at Mahabalipuram: 1. It contains two Shiva shrines…
  48. Consider the following statements about the Sun temple at Konark: 1. The temple was conceived as a colossal…
  49. Consider the following statements: 1 — Guntapalle combines structured stupas, viharas and excavated caves at…
  50. Consider the following statements regarding Nalanda art: 1. It initially depended heavily on the Sarnath Gupta…
  51. Consider the following statements regarding the Didarganj Yakshini: 1. It was discovered near Patna and is…
  52. Consider the following statements regarding the Lomas Rishi Cave: 1. It is situated in the Barabar Hills near…
  53. Consider the following statements regarding the planned placement of images in temples: 1. Ganga and Yamuna…
  54. Ellora contains Buddhist, Brahmanical and Jaina caves, while sculptor guilds came from regions such as…
  55. How many of the following rows correctly describe Odisha temple architecture? Deul — The shikhara over the…
  56. How many rows in the following comparison are correct? Principal tower — Curving shikhara — Stepped pyramidal…
  57. How many rows in the following table are correctly matched? Garbhagriha — Sanctum containing the main icon…
  58. How many rows in the following table are correctly matched? Tessellation — Mosaic decoration using repeated…
  59. How many rows in the following table are correctly matched? Kuta or caturasra — Square Shala or ayatasra —…
  60. How many rows in the following table are correctly matched? Qibla Liwan — Western side of the mosque Mihrab —…
  61. How many rows in the following table are correctly matched? Primary material — Dark grey basalt with decorated…
  62. How many rows in the following table are correctly matched? Hindola Mahal — Audience hall with battered walls…
  63. How many rows in the following table are correctly matched? Sheshashayana — South wall Nara-Narayan — East…
  64. How many rows in the following table are correctly matched? Sirpur — Hindu and Buddhist shrines with…
  65. How many rows in the following table are correctly matched? Jama Masjid — Congregational mosque for Friday…
  66. In a Hindu temple, which architectural component houses the principal icon and forms the focus of ritual…
  67. In which group of Ajanta caves have substantial paintings particularly survived?
  68. Inscriptions from about the second century BCE record donations by lay devotees, gahapatis, kings, guilds and…
  69. Match List I with List II: A. Dancing Girl — 1. Red sandstone with socket holes for attaching the head and…
  70. Match List I with List II: A. Badami — 1. Profile faces, large frontal eyes and rectilinear compartments B.…
  71. Match List I with List II: a. Imperial Style — 1. Delhi, Agra and Lahore b. Provincial Style — 2. Delhi…
  72. Match List I with List II: A. Karla — 1. Maheshmurti in the main Shaivite cave B. Ajanta Cave No. 26 — 2.…
  73. Match List I with List II: A. Katra Mound Buddha — 1. Chunar sandstone and dhammachakrapravartana mudra B.…
  74. Match List I with List II: a. Latina — 1. Rectangular form with a wagon-vaulted roof b. Phamsana — 2. Broad,…
  75. Match List I with List II: a. Pandrethan — 1. Temple built on a plinth in the middle of a tank b. Laksna-Devi…
  76. Match List I with List II: a. Rashtrakutas — 1. Kailashnath temple at Ellora b. Early Western Chalukyas — 2.…
  77. Match List I with List II: a. Sarai — 1. Shrine containing a saint’s grave b. Khanqah — 2. Temporary…
  78. Match List I with List II: A. Sarnath Lion Capital — 1. Rock-cut elephant modelled in the round near an…
  79. Match List I with List II: A. Kanchan Nambiar — 1. Risalo B. Tayumanavar — 2. Malayalam poetry C. Warris Shah…
  80. Match List I with List II: A. Badami — 1. Traces depicting Somaskanda, patronised by Rajasimha B. Kanchipuram…
  81. Stupas, viharas and chaityas occur in both Buddhist and Jaina monastic complexes, but the largest number of…
  82. The late fifth-century seated Buddha from Sarnath represents which event?
  83. The Lion Capital erected at Sarnath primarily commemorates which event in the life of the Buddha?
  84. The Maheshmurti shows a central Shiva face, an angry Bhairava face and a feminine Uma face. A sculptural text…
  85. Vijayanagara figures commonly appear in profile with large frontal eyes, while Nayaka paintings retain profile…
  86. What was the ordinary functional use of a minar in the context of a mosque?
  87. Which conclusion is best supported by the architectural character of Mandu?
  88. Which conclusion is best supported by the regional development of Indo-Islamic architecture?
  89. Which feature most clearly creates the dramatic contrast between disturbance and divine composure in the…
  90. Which feature most directly connects the eastward orientation of the Modhera Sun temple with its solar…
  91. Which one of the following best describes a panchayatana temple plan?
  92. Which one of the following best describes Harappan terracotta representations of the human form?
  93. Which one of the following best distinguishes arcuate construction from the earlier trabeate system?
  94. Which one of the following best distinguishes Mauryan pillars from Achaemenian pillars as described in the…
  95. Which one of the following correctly describes the discovery of paintings in the Brihadeswara temple?
  96. Which one of the following correctly describes the standard Harappan seal?
  97. Which one of the following correctly distinguishes Mauryan pillars from Achaemenian pillars?
  98. Which one of the following is identified as a distinctive feature of Sanchi Stupa-1?
  99. Which one of the following pairs is incorrectly matched?
  100. Which one of the following pairs is incorrectly matched?
  101. Which one of the following pairs is incorrectly matched?
  102. Which one of the following pairs is incorrectly matched?
  103. Which one of the following pairs is incorrectly matched?
  104. Which one of the following pairs is incorrectly matched?
  105. Which one of the following pairs is incorrectly matched?
  106. Which one of the following pairs is incorrectly matched?
  107. Which one of the following pairs is incorrectly matched?
  108. Which one of the following pairs is incorrectly matched?
  109. Which one of the following pairs is incorrectly matched?
  110. Which one of the following pairs is incorrectly matched?
  111. Which one of the following statements correctly describes Badami Cave No. 4?
  112. With reference to the Nagara and Dravida orders of temple architecture, consider the following table: 1 — Main…