UPSC Prelims 2016 · Question 90 of 98
UPSC Prelims 2016 question on Ajanta and Mahabalipuram
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2016
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectArt and Culture
- TopicIndian Architecture
- DifficultyHard
- TypeStatement
What is/are common to the two historical places known as Ajanta and Mahabalipuram?
1. Both were built in the same period.
2. Both belong to the same religious denomination.
3. Both have rock-cut monuments.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Show answer
Answer: B. 3 only
Verdict
The answer is 3 only. Ajanta and Mahabalipuram both have rock-cut monuments, but they differ in period and in religious denomination.
Analysis
Statement 3 is CORRECT. The Ajanta caves are rock cut into a vertical gorge in the Sahyadris, and the Mahabalipuram monuments include rock cut rathas and relief panels carved from living granite. Statement 1 is INCORRECT. Ajanta's excavation spans roughly the second century before the common era to the fifth and sixth centuries after it, whereas the Pallava work at Mahabalipuram belongs to the seventh and eighth centuries. Statement 2 is INCORRECT. Ajanta is Buddhist and Mahabalipuram is Brahmanical, chiefly Shaiva and Vaishnava.
Source
NCERT, An Introduction to Indian Art Part I.
How to crack it
When a question asks what two things have in common, test the most superficial shared feature first, because that is usually the only one that survives. Both sites are famous for rock cut work, which is precisely why they are paired, and period and religion then diverge. Fix the two anchors: Ajanta is Buddhist and Satavahana to Vakataka, Mahabalipuram is Pallava and Hindu. Two anchors falsify two statements at once.