UPSC Prelims 2020 · Question 11 of 100

UPSC Prelims 2020 question on Paramitas Bodhisattva Path

With reference to the cultural history of India, which one of the following is the correct description of the term paramitas?

  1. The earliest Dharmashastra texts written in aphoristic (sutra) style
  2. Philosophical schools that did not accept the authority of Vedas
  3. Perfections whose attainment led to the Bodhisattva path
  4. Powerful merchant guilds of early Medieval South India
Show answer

Answer: C. Perfections whose attainment led to the Bodhisattva path

The Fourth Noble Truth, the Noble Eightfold Path, gives what the Buddhist pilgrim has to practice and the path to follow to achieve Enlightenment and realize Nibbana.

There is a parallel path which consists of perfecting certain qualities, which leads the pilgrim to becoming a Samma Sambuddha, a self-Enlightened Universal Buddha. The qualities are called the Paramis (perfections) in the Southern traditions and the Paramitas in the Eastern and Northern traditions.

The ten Paramis include: generosity, virtue, renunciation, wisdom, energy, patience, truthfulness, determination, loving-kindness, and equanimity.

Hence option (c) — Perfections whose attainment led to the Bodhisattva path — is the correct answer.

More questions on Buddhism and Jainism

All 14 questions on Buddhism and Jainism →

← Full 2020 question paper · All Art and Culture questions