# Indian Philosophy and Religious Traditions: Upanishads, Six Schools, Charvaka, Buddhism, Jainism, Ajivikas and the Vedanta Acharyas

Source: https://tracknation.in/story/indian-philosophy-and-religious-traditions-upanishads-six-schools-charvaka-buddhism-jainism-ajivikas-and-the-vedanta-acharyas (TrackNation — free UPSC notes with PYQs)

> A clear guide to Indian philosophical and religious thought: Upanishadic ideas, the six orthodox schools (Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa, Vedanta), the heterodox schools (Charvaka, Buddhism, Jainism, Ajivika), Buddhist sects and councils, the four Vedanta acharyas (Shankara, Ramanuja, Madhva, Nimbarka) and Vallabha and Chaitanya — with the verified PYQs and what UPSC may ask next.

## Start Here — Ideas, Not Names

🎯 **Exam priority: Medium (T2).** *UPSC asks philosophy through religious history: Mahayana features (2019), Buddhist sects (2020), the terms Parivrajaka, Shramana and Upasaka (2020), the paramitas (2020), Maitreya (2018), the Sthanakvasi sect (2018), Jain animism (2023), the Buddha's epithets (2024), Ramanuja's teaching (2022), Buddhist centres (Dhanyakataka, 2023), the Upanishads (2024), and in 2026 the Jain forms of existence and aniconic Buddhist symbols.*

The trick is to learn each school by one sentence, one founder and one trap. The tables give you the sentence; the bullets give you the traps.

## From Vedic Ritual to Upanishadic Thought

- **Rigvedic outlook.** Worship of natural forces (Indra, Agni, Varuna) for worldly good, with a sense of cosmic order (*rita*); later Vedic ritual grew elaborate (yajnas, priests).

- **Upanishadic turn (c. 800–500 BCE).** Attention shifts from sacrifice to knowledge: *Atman* (self) and *Brahman* (ultimate reality) are one ('tat tvam asi' in the Chandogya Upanishad); the cycle of rebirth (*samsara*) is governed by *karma*; liberation (*moksha*) comes by knowledge.

- **The Upanishads are older than the Puranas** and are full of parables, dialogues and stories (Satyakama, Svetaketu, Gargi and Yajnavalkya). The 2024 PYQ tested exactly that — 'no parables' was the trap.

- **Four goals (purushartha):** dharma, artha, kama, moksha. **Four stages (ashrama):** brahmacharya, grihastha, vanaprastha, sannyasa. **Three debts (rina):** to gods, sages and ancestors. **Bhagavad Gita** reconciles the paths of action (*karma*), knowledge (*jnana*) and devotion (*bhakti*), preaching disinterested action (*nishkama karma*).

- A word on the terms: a *Parivrajaka* is a wandering renunciant, a *Shramana* is an ascetic (not a priest — the 2020 PYQ trap), and an *Upasaka* is a lay follower of Buddhism.

## The Six Orthodox Schools (Astika Darshanas)

| **School**

 | **Traditional founder**

 | **Core idea**

 | **Remember**

 |
| Nyaya

 | Gautama (Akshapada)

 | Logic and epistemology; valid knowledge (pramana) leads to liberation

 | Four pramanas: pratyaksha (perception), anumana (inference), upamana (comparison), shabda (testimony)

 |
| Vaisheshika

 | Kanada

 | Atomism: the world is made of eternal atoms (paramanu); categories (padartha) of reality

 | Often paired with Nyaya; physical theory of the universe

 |
| Samkhya

 | Kapila

 | Dualism of Purusha (consciousness) and Prakriti (matter); evolution through the three gunas (sattva, rajas, tamas)

 | 25 tattvas; classical form is non-theistic; Ishvarakrishna's Samkhya Karika

 |
| Yoga

 | Patanjali (Yoga Sutras)

 | Discipline of mind to separate Purusha from Prakriti; accepts Samkhya metaphysics, adds Ishvara

 | Ashtanga: yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, samadhi

 |
| Purva Mimamsa

 | Jaimini

 | Interpretation of Vedic ritual; dharma as duty performed through the right action

 | Prabhakara and Kumarila Bhatta; the Vedas are eternal and authorless

 |
| Uttara Mimamsa (Vedanta)

 | Badarayana (Brahma Sutras)

 | Interprets the Upanishads: the relation of Atman, Brahman and the world

 | Prasthanatrayi: Upanishads, Brahma Sutras, Bhagavad Gita; sub-schools below

 |

- **Astika vs nastika.** 'Orthodox' (*astika*) here means accepting the authority of the Vedas; 'heterodox' (*nastika*) means rejecting it. It is not about believing in God — Samkhya and Mimamsa are astika yet largely non-theistic.

- **Pairs to remember:** Nyaya–Vaisheshika (logic and atomism), Samkhya–Yoga (matter-consciousness dualism and practice), Purva–Uttara Mimamsa (ritual and knowledge).

## Heterodox Schools — Charvaka, Buddhism, Jainism, Ajivika

| **School**

 | **Core teaching**

 | **Key terms**

 |
| Charvaka (Lokayata)

 | Materialism: only what is perceived is real; rejects the Vedas, rebirth, karma and rituals; matter alone is real, consciousness arises from it

 | Pratyaksha as the only valid means of knowledge

 |
| Buddhism

 | Suffering (dukkha) has a cause (craving) and can be ended by following the Middle Path

 | Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path, anitya, anatta, pratityasamutpada, nirvana

 |
| Jainism

 | The universe is eternal; the soul (jiva) is bound by karmic matter and freed by ethical discipline and non-violence

 | Triratna (right faith, knowledge, conduct), five mahavratas, anekantavada, syadvada

 |
| Ajivika

 | Strict determinism (niyati): all is pre-ordained; no free will; founder Makkhali Gosala

 | Ashoka (Barabar caves) and Dasharatha (Nagarjuni caves) dedicated cave-dwellings to them; the sect faded by the late medieval age

 |

### Buddhism in more detail

| **Term**

 | **What to remember**

 |
| Councils

 | I Rajagriha (after the Buddha's death; Ajatashatru), II Vaishali (Kalashoka), III Pataliputra (Ashoka; Moggaliputta Tissa), IV Kashmir/Kundalvana (Kanishka; Vasumitra and Ashvaghosha) — the 4th led to the Mahayana–Hinayana division in the classic account

 |
| Sects

 | Sthaviravada (Theravada, the 'school of elders'), Mahasanghika (the 'great assembly'); Lokottaravada branched from the Mahasanghikas; Mahayana later; Vajrayana (tantric) from c. 7th century

 |
| Mahayana features

 | Deification of the Buddha, the Bodhisattva ideal, image worship and ritual (the 2019 PYQ: all three)

 |
| Philosophers

 | Nagarjuna (Madhyamika, shunyata), Asanga and Vasubandhu (Yogachara), Dignaga and Dharmakirti (logic), Buddhaghosa (Theravada commentator, Visuddhimagga)

 |
| Aniconic symbols

 | Wheel (dharmachakra), footprints, bodhi tree, stupa, empty seat or throne (the 2026 PYQ)

 |
| Universities

 | Nalanda, Vikramashila, Odantapuri, Valabhi; Taxila earlier

 |

- **PYQ logic (2020).** Sthaviravadins are Theravada, not Mahayana; the Lokottaravadins were an offshoot of the Mahasanghikas; and the Mahasanghikas' deification of the Buddha fostered Mahayana. So statements 2 and 3 are right. Dhanyakataka (the 2023 PYQ) lay in Andhra (near Amaravati), a Mahasanghika centre.

- **Empty seat (2026).** In early Buddhist art the Buddha was shown through symbols and not a human figure; the empty seat signifies the Buddha's meditation or enlightenment (as per the provisional key).

### Jainism in more detail

- **24 Tirthankaras.** Rishabhadeva was the first, Parshvanatha the 23rd (historical, a Varanasi prince) and Mahavira (Vardhamana, born near Vaishali, c. 6th century BCE) the 24th. The five mahavratas: ahimsa, satya, asteya, aparigraha and brahmacharya (the last added by Mahavira; Parshva's four vows had no explicit brahmacharya).

- **Anekantavada and Syadvada** hold that reality has many aspects and no single statement captures it; the doctrine teaches tolerance of other viewpoints.

- **Four forms of existence (gatis):** Deva (gods), Manushya (humans), Tiryancha (animals and plants) and Naraka (hell-beings). In the 2026 PYQ, 'Yaksha (demi-gods)' was the odd one out.

- **Sects.** Digambara (sky-clad) and Svetambara (white-clad), with later sub-sects such as the Sthanakvasi among the Svetambaras. Councils at Pataliputra and Valabhi fixed the canon.

## Vedanta Acharyas, Bhakti Traditions and Medieval Religion

| **Acharya**

 | **School**

 | **Core teaching**

 | **Centre**

 |
| Shankara (c. 8th–9th c.)

 | Advaita (non-dualism)

 | Brahman alone is real; the world is maya; the individual soul is identical with Brahman; liberation through knowledge (jnana)

 | Four mathas: Sringeri, Dwarka, Puri, Jyotirmath

 |
| Ramanuja (11th–12th c.)

 | Vishishtadvaita (qualified non-dualism)

 | Brahman has attributes; souls and matter are real parts of Brahman; the path is bhakti and prapatti (self-surrender)

 | Srirangam; the 216-ft 'Statue of Equality' at Hyderabad, inaugurated in 2022 (the 2022 PYQ)

 |
| Madhva (13th c.)

 | Dvaita (dualism)

 | Absolute difference between God, souls and matter; devotion to Vishnu

 | Udupi

 |
| Nimbarka (12th–13th c., dates debated)

 | Dvaitadvaita (dualistic non-dualism)

 | Souls are both different and non-different from Brahman; worship of Radha–Krishna

 | Mathura–Vrindavan region

 |
| Vallabha (15th–16th c.)

 | Shuddhadvaita (pure non-dualism)

 | Pushtimarga: grace of Krishna

 | Braj

 |
| Chaitanya (15th–16th c.)

 | Achintya Bhedabheda

 | Inconceivable one-ness and difference; Krishna bhakti by kirtan

 | Bengal, Puri

 |

- **Ramanuja (2022 PYQ).** Among the options, only 'the best means of salvation was devotion' reflects Ramanuja; 'Vedas are eternal and self-existent' is the Mimamsa view, 'logic' is the Nyaya approach, and 'meditation' is Yoga's. Shankara stressed knowledge, not devotion.

- **The Alvars and Nayanars.** The 12 Alvars (Vaishnava; Andal the woman poet) and the 63 Nayanars (Shaiva) began the Tamil bhakti movement in the 6th–9th centuries; Nathamuni compiled the Alvars' hymns (Nalayira Divya Prabandham) and counts as a Vaishnava scholar (the 2022 PYQ).

- **Other traditions.** Pancharatra and Bhagavata (Vaishnava), Pashupata and Kashmir Shaivism (Trika), Shaiva Siddhanta, Shakta Tantra, and Virashaivism or Lingayatism (Basavanna in the 12th century; they reject caste hierarchy and the ritual authority of Brahmins, and see Shiva as one; the 2016 PYQ on Siddhas and Lingayats shows how detail-heavy this can get).

- **Accuracy check on dates.** Dates for Shankara, Nimbarka and many others vary between sources; UPSC usually asks about the school and teaching rather than the exact year. Contemporaries of Akbar include Tulsidas and Surdas, but not Nimbarka (the 2019 PYQ), while Kabir lived long before Sirhindi.

## Buddha's Core Teaching and a Buddhism–Jainism Comparison

- **Four Noble Truths:** life involves suffering (dukkha); suffering has a cause (craving, tanha); it can end (nirodha, nirvana); and there is a path to its end. **The Eightfold Path** (right view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration) groups into three trainings: wisdom (prajna), ethics (sila) and concentration (samadhi).

- **Three marks of existence:** impermanence (anicca), no-self (anatta) and suffering (dukkha). **Dependent origination** (pratityasamutpada) explains how each condition arises from another. The Buddha rejected both extreme asceticism and indulgence — the Middle Path — and was silent on metaphysical questions he thought did not lead to liberation.

- **Texts.** The Tripitaka (Vinaya on monastic rules, Sutta on discourses, Abhidhamma on doctrine) in Pali; the Mahayana added Prajnaparamita, Lotus and Lankavatara sutras in Sanskrit.

| **Point**

 | **Buddhism**

 | **Jainism**

 |
| Founder

 | Gautama Buddha (Lumbini, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, Kushinagar)

 | Mahavira (24th Tirthankara; earlier tradition from Rishabhadeva and Parshvanatha)

 |
| Soul

 | No permanent self (anatta)

 | Every living thing, even plants, has a jiva

 |
| God and creation

 | Rejects a creator; focus on ethics

 | Rejects a creator; the universe is eternal

 |
| Path

 | Middle Path; moderate asceticism

 | Strict asceticism; fasting unto death (sallekhana) is allowed in the ideal

 |
| Ahimsa

 | Important, but intention matters

 | Extremely strict; extends to the smallest creatures

 |
| Spread

 | Ashoka, Kanishka; spread across Asia

 | Mainly in India; patrons like Chandragupta Maurya (tradition), Kharavela, the Ganga and Rashtrakuta kings

 |
| Language

 | Pali (Theravada), Sanskrit (Mahayana)

 | Ardhamagadhi, Prakrit, later Sanskrit and regional languages

 |
| Division

 | Theravada/Sthaviravada, Mahasanghika, Mahayana, Vajrayana

 | Digambara, Svetambara

 |

The common thread: both arose in the 6th century BCE in the eastern Gangetic plain, both rejected Vedic sacrifice and the authority of the Vedas, both used the people's languages and offered a path outside the varna order, and both stressed non-violence and the monastic order.

## Comparing the Great Vedantins

| **Issue**

 | **Shankara (Advaita)**

 | **Ramanuja (Vishishtadvaita)**

 | **Madhva (Dvaita)**

 |
| Brahman

 | Nirguna: without attributes

 | Saguna: Vishnu with attributes

 | Saguna: Vishnu, utterly distinct from souls

 |
| World

 | Maya (appearance) from a higher viewpoint

 | Real, as the body of Brahman

 | Real, and eternally different from God

 |
| Soul

 | Identical with Brahman

 | A real part of Brahman, yet distinct

 | Eternally different from God and dependent on him

 |
| Path

 | Jnana (knowledge)

 | Bhakti and prapatti (surrender)

 | Bhakti and grace

 |
| Text focus

 | Commentaries on Upanishads, Brahma Sutras and the Gita

 | Sri Bhashya

 | Commentaries emphasising Vishnu's supremacy

 |

- All three wrote commentaries on the *Prasthanatrayi*. Their dates (Shankara's in particular) vary in sources, so keep ordering — Shankara before Ramanuja before Madhva — rather than years.

- **Why these ideas matter for society.** Ramanuja's bhakti and prapatti opened devotion to all castes and shaped the later bhakti movements (see the Bhakti and Sufi article); Shankara's mathas organised a pan-Indian ascetic order; Madhva's Udupi tradition built temple-based devotion. The Lingayat movement went further by rejecting caste hierarchy.

## Why Philosophy Matters for the Exam and for Essays

- **Culture questions.** UPSC rarely asks pure philosophy; it asks about movements and their effects: how Jainism and Buddhism challenged the ritual and caste order, how Vedanta provided the intellectual frame for bhakti, and how Indian thought shaped art (stupas, temples, Jain sculpture) and literature (Upanishads, Pali Jatakas, Gita commentaries).

- **Cross-links.** Buddhist and Jain art is covered in the architecture and sculpture articles; Bhakti and Sufism in their own article; Ashokan Dhamma in the Mauryan article; the six schools' literature in the literature article.

- **Values angle (GS-IV and Essay).** Ahimsa, the Middle Path, anekantavada (tolerance of other views), nishkama karma and dharma give an Indian vocabulary for ethics, and frequently appear as quotations or examples in the Ethics paper and the Essay.

- **A good Mains structure.** (1) one-line context; (2) two or three core doctrines; (3) social impact; (4) an example from art or literature; (5) contemporary relevance. For comparisons, a small table of three or four rows is far better than paragraphs.

## How UPSC Has Asked It — And What Could Come Next

- **Seen:** features of Mahayana (2019), Buddhist sects (2020), terms (2020), a person's teaching (Ramanuja, 2022), centres (2023), Upanishads (2024), Jain concepts and Buddhist iconography (2026).

- **Likely next:** the Six Darshanas with founders; Vajrayana; Buddhist councils and where they were held; Jain Tirthankaras and symbols; Ajivika; Charvaka as materialism; Shankara's mathas; Vallabha and Chaitanya; Lingayat and Siddha traditions; Buddhist texts (Tripitaka, Abhidhamma); major philosophers (Nagarjuna, Dignaga, Vasubandhu).

- **Traps:** Hinayana is a pejorative label — 'Theravada' or 'Sthaviravada' is the usual name; Charvaka is not Buddhism; Samkhya is orthodox though non-theistic; Ajivikas are not Jains; Shankara is not Ramanuja; Dvaita, Advaita and Vishishtadvaita are three different systems, so do not jumble them.

## Further Reading

- Standard NCERT-level texts and reference books on ancient, medieval and cultural Indian history (any UPSC reading list).

## Test Yourself: Practice Questions & PYQs

For each school ask: who, what is real, how is liberation reached?

## Practice Questions

**Q1.** Which school of Indian philosophy holds that the world is made of eternal atoms?

- (a) Vaisheshika

- (b) Yoga

- (c) Samkhya

- (d) Nyaya

**Answer: (a)** — Vaisheshika, traditionally founded by Kanada, is the atomist school.

**Q2.** The Samkhya school is traditionally ascribed to:

- (a) Jaimini

- (b) Gautama

- (c) Kapila

- (d) Badarayana

**Answer: (c)** — Kapila; Gautama is linked to Nyaya, Jaimini to Purva Mimamsa and Badarayana to Vedanta.

**Q3.** 'Anekantavada' is a doctrine of:

- (a) Charvaka

- (b) Ajivika

- (c) Buddhism

- (d) Jainism

**Answer: (d)** — Jainism: reality is many-sided, and each viewpoint is partial.

**Q4.** Which of the following schools believed in strict determinism (niyati)?

- (a) Mimamsa

- (b) Ajivika

- (c) Charvaka

- (d) Jainism

**Answer: (b)** — The Ajivikas, led by Makkhali Gosala.

**Q5.** Shankara's school of Vedanta is called:

- (a) Shuddhadvaita

- (b) Vishishtadvaita

- (c) Dvaita

- (d) Advaita

**Answer: (d)** — Advaita: non-dualism between Atman and Brahman.

**Q6.** Madhva is associated with which school?

- (a) Vishishtadvaita

- (b) Advaita

- (c) Dvaitadvaita

- (d) Dvaita

**Answer: (d)** — Dvaita (dualism), with its centre at Udupi.

**Q7.** Which one of the following was a council held under Ashoka?

- (a) First Buddhist Council

- (b) Second Buddhist Council

- (c) Fourth Buddhist Council

- (d) Third Buddhist Council

**Answer: (d)** — The Third Council was at Pataliputra, presided over by Moggaliputta Tissa.

**Q8.** The Yoga Sutras were composed by:

- (a) Kapila

- (b) Kanada

- (c) Kautilya

- (d) Patanjali

**Answer: (d)** — Patanjali; the eight limbs are called Ashtanga yoga.

**Q9.** Which of the following is NOT one of the three jewels (Triratna) of Jainism?

- (a) Right livelihood

- (b) Right faith

- (c) Right conduct

- (d) Right knowledge

**Answer: (a)** — Right livelihood belongs to the Buddhist Eightfold Path.

**Q10.** Charvaka philosophy holds that the only valid source of knowledge is:

- (a) Testimony

- (b) Analogy

- (c) Perception

- (d) Inference

**Answer: (c)** — Perception (pratyaksha) alone, so they reject inference, the Vedas and rebirth.

### UPSC Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

*Real UPSC Prelims questions on religious history and philosophy (2016–2026), answers matched to UPSC's official key (2026 provisional). Explanations in our own words.*

**Q11.** (UPSC Prelims 2016) With reference to the religious history of India, consider the following statements:
1. The concept of Bodhisattva is central to the Hinayana sect of Buddhism.
2. Bodhisattva is a compassionate one on his way to enlightenment.
3. Bodhisattva delays achieving his own salvation to help all sentient beings on their path to it.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

- (a) 1, 2 and 3

- (b) 1 only

- (c) 2 and 3 only

- (d) 2 only

**Answer: (c)** — Bodhisattva is central to Mahayana, not Hinayana; it is the compassionate being who delays his own salvation to help others (statements 2 and 3 only).

**Q12.** (UPSC Prelims 2019) Consider the following:
1. Deification of the Buddha
2. Treading the path of Bodhisattvas
3. Image worship and rituals
Which of the above is/are the feature/features of Mahayana Buddhism?

- (a) 1 only

- (b) 1 and 2 only

- (c) 2 and 3 only

- (d) 1, 2 and 3

**Answer: (d)** — All three are Mahayana features: the Buddha treated as divine, the Bodhisattva path, and image worship and ritual.

**Q13.** (UPSC Prelims 2020) With reference to the religious history of India, consider the following statements:
1. Sthaviravadins belong to Mahayana Buddhism.
2. Lokottaravadin sect was an offshoot of Mahasanghika sect of Buddhism.
3. The deification of Buddha by Mahasanghikas fostered the Mahayana Buddhism.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

- (a) 2 and 3 only

- (b) 1 and 2 only

- (c) 1, 2 and 3

- (d) 3 only

**Answer: (a)** — Sthaviravadins are Theravada, not Mahayana. The Lokottaravadins were an offshoot of the Mahasanghikas, and the Mahasanghikas' deification of the Buddha helped Mahayana arise.

**Q14.** (UPSC Prelims 2020) With reference to the cultural history of India, consider the following pairs:
1. Parivrajaka : Renunciant and Wanderer
2. Shramana : Priest with a high status
3. Upasaka : Lay follower of Buddhism
Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

- (a) 1 and 3 only

- (b) 1, 2 and 3

- (c) 1 and 2 only

- (d) 2 and 3 only

**Answer: (a)** — Parivrajaka means renunciant and wanderer, and Upasaka a lay follower of Buddhism; a Shramana is an ascetic, not a priest of high status.

**Q15.** (UPSC Prelims 2022) The world's second tallest statue in sitting pose of Ramanuja was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India at Hyderabad recently. Which one of the following statements correctly represents the teachings of Ramanuja?

- (a) Logical arguments were essential means for the highest bliss.

- (b) Salvation was to be obtained through meditation.

- (c) Vedas are eternal, self-existent and wholly authoritative.

- (d) The best means of salvation was devotion.

**Answer: (d)** — Ramanuja held that bhakti, with prapatti, was the best means of salvation. The Vedas' eternal authority is the Mimamsa line, logic is the Nyaya approach and meditation is Yoga.

**Q16.** (UPSC Prelims 2022) With reference to Indian history, consider the following pairs:
Historical person : Known as
1. Aryadeva : Jaina scholar
2. Dignaga : Buddhist scholar
3. Nathamuni : Vaishnava scholar
How many pairs given above are correctly matched?

- (a) None of the pairs

- (b) Only one pair

- (c) All three pairs

- (d) Only two pairs

**Answer: (d)** — Aryadeva was a Buddhist, so only Dignaga and Nathamuni are correctly matched.

**Q17.** (UPSC Prelims 2023) In which one of the following regions was Dhanyakataka, which flourished as a prominent Buddhist centre under the Mahasanghikas, located?

- (a) Magadha

- (b) Andhra

- (c) Kalinga

- (d) Gandhara

**Answer: (b)** — Dhanyakataka (near Amaravati) was in Andhra, a Mahasanghika centre.

**Q18.** (UPSC Prelims 2024) Consider the following statements:
1. There are no parables in Upanishads.
2. Upanishads were composed earlier than the Puranas.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

- (a) 1 only

- (b) Both 1 and 2

- (c) Neither 1 nor 2

- (d) 2 only

**Answer: (d)** — Upanishads contain parables and are older than the Puranas.

**Q19.** (UPSC Prelims 2019) Consider the following statements:
1. Saint Nimbarka was a contemporary of Akbar.
2. Saint Kabir was greatly influenced by Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

- (a) 2 only

- (b) Neither 1 nor 2

- (c) 1 only

- (d) Both 1 and 2

**Answer: (b)** — Neither is right: Nimbarka was not Akbar's contemporary, and Kabir (15th century) could not have been influenced by Sirhindi (16th–17th century).

**Q20.** (UPSC Prelims 2016) With reference to the cultural history of medieval India, consider the following statements:
1. Siddhas (Sittars) of Tamil region were monotheistic and condemned idolatry.
2. Lingayats of Kannada region questioned the theory of rebirth and rejected the caste hierarchy.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

- (a) Neither 1 nor 2

- (b) Both 1 and 2

- (c) 2 only

- (d) 1 only

**Answer: (b)** — Both are right: the Siddhars of Tamil country were monotheists who attacked idolatry, and the Lingayats questioned rebirth and caste hierarchy.

**Q21.** (UPSC Prelims 2018) With reference to the religious practices in India, the "Sthanakvasi" sect belongs to

- (a) Jainism

- (b) Vaishnavism

- (c) Shaivism

- (d) Buddhism

**Answer: (a)** — The Sthanakvasi are a Svetambara sect of Jainism that rejects image worship.

**Q22.** (UPSC Prelims 2018) With reference to Indian history, who among the following is a future Buddha, yet to come to save the world?

- (a) Padmapani

- (b) Maitreya

- (c) Lokesvara

- (d) Avalokiteshvara

**Answer: (b)** — Maitreya is the Buddha of the future; Avalokiteshvara, Lokesvara and Padmapani are names of the same compassionate Bodhisattva.

**Q23.** (UPSC Prelims 2020) With reference to the cultural history of India, which one of the following is the correct description of the term 'paramitas'?

- (a) Powerful merchant guilds of early medieval South India

- (b) Perfections whose attainment led to the Bodhisattva path

- (c) Philosophical schools that did not accept the authority of Vedas

- (d) The earliest Dharmashastra texts written in aphoristic (sutra) style

**Answer: (b)** — Paramitas are the perfections (such as generosity, morality and patience) whose attainment marks the Bodhisattva path.

**Q24.** (UPSC Prelims 2023) "Souls are not only the property of animal and plant life, but also of rocks, running water and many other natural objects not looked on as living by others." The above statement reflects one of the core beliefs of which one of the following religious sects of ancient India?

- (a) Buddhism

- (b) Shaivism

- (c) Jainism

- (d) Vaishnavism

**Answer: (c)** — Attributing souls to rocks, water and other natural objects is the Jain doctrine of the universal jiva.

**Q25.** (UPSC Prelims 2024) With reference to ancient India, Gautama Buddha was generally known by which of the following epithets?
1. Nayaputta
2. Shakyamuni
3. Tathagata
Select the correct answer using the code given below:

- (a) 1, 2 and 3

- (b) 1 only

- (c) None of the above are epithets of Gautama Buddha

- (d) 2 and 3 only

**Answer: (d)** — Shakyamuni ('sage of the Shakyas') and Tathagata ('thus-gone') are Buddha's epithets; Nayaputta (Jnatriputra) was Mahavira's name.

**Q26.** (UPSC Prelims 2026, provisional key) Among the four main forms of existence of life recognized in Jainism, which one of the following is not included?

- (a) Tiryancha (animals and plants)

- (b) Manushya (humans)

- (c) Deva (gods)

- (d) Yaksha (demi-gods)

**Answer: (d)** — The four gatis in Jainism are Deva, Manushya, Tiryancha and Naraka — Yaksha is not one of them. (Provisional key.)

**Q27.** (UPSC Prelims 2026, provisional key) What does an empty seat represent in early Buddhist iconography?

- (a) The Buddha's Mahabhinishkramana

- (b) The meditation of the Buddha

- (c) The Buddha's Mahaparinibbana

- (d) The Buddha's First Sermon

**Answer: (b)** — In early Buddhist art the empty seat symbolised the Buddha's meditation. (Provisional key.)

### Mains Practice Questions

Use these to frame full-length answers. You don't have to answer one exactly — they show the angles UPSC tests, so let them guide which points you cover.

- Distinguish between the orthodox and heterodox schools of Indian philosophy, with examples.

- Compare the teachings of Shankara and Ramanuja.

- Examine the philosophical basis of Jainism and Buddhism and the reasons for their popularity.

- Explain Anekantavada and its relevance today.

- How did Upanishadic thought differ from the Vedic ritual tradition?

### Mains PYQs — Last 10 Years (UPSC GS-I)

*The exact questions UPSC has actually asked on this topic over the last decade. Practise writing full-length answers to these.*

- Indian philosophy and tradition played a significant role in conceiving and shaping the monuments and their art in India. Discuss. **(UPSC GS-I, 2020; 15 marks, 250 words)**

- Evaluate the nature of Bhakti literature and its contribution to Indian culture. **(UPSC GS-I, 2021; related)**

- The Bhakti movement received a remarkable re-orientation with the advent of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Discuss. **(UPSC GS-I, 2018; related)**