Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) and Answers on Art and Culture
Question 1: Some Buddhist rock-cut caves are called Chaityas, while the others are called Vihara. What is the difference between the two?
a) Vihara is a place of worship, while Chaitya is the dwelling place of the monks
b) Chaitya is a place of worship, while Vihara is the dwelling place of the monks
c) Chaitya is the stupa at the far end of the cave, while Vihara is the hall axial to it
d) There is no material difference between the two
Answer: (b)
Question 2: Which of the following statements is/are correct?
a) The caves at Badami are the oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India
b) The Barabar rock-cut caves were originally made for Ajivikas by Emperor Chandragupta Maurya
c) At Ellora, caves were made for different faiths
d) None of the above
Answer: (c)
Question 3: Upari refers to which one of the following?
a) A form of Marathi poetry that emerged during the Maratha period
b) A category of tenancy tenure held under the Maratha regime
c) A court official during Maratha rule
d) A group of peasants who repelled against their oppressive landlord under Maratha rule
Answer: (b)
Question 4: Which of the following statements about Indian classical dances is/are correct?
a) All the classical dances of India have their origin in Bharata’s ‘Natya Shastra’
b) They have three basic aspects ; Nritta, Nrittya and Natya
c) Both ‘a’ and ‘b’
d) None of the above
Answer: (c)
Question 5: The depiction of the stories of the previous live of Buddha was firstly done in the art of
a) Bharhut stupa
b) Ellora caves
c) Ajanta caves
d) Sarnath pillar
Answer: (a)
Question 6: Which of the following statements about the musical culture in 18th and 19th century North India is/are not correct?
a) The period was marked by the growing eminence of Sadarang Neamat khan who introduced the Khayal form
b) A large number of musicians move out of regional centers to Delhi where they hoped they would receive more employment and patronage
c) The period was marked by the formation of specific region based gharanas
d) None of the above
Answer: (b)
Question 7: Which of the following is not a saiva sect?
a) Pashupata
b) Jangarna
c) Satvata
d) Kepalika
Answer: (c)
Question 8: Amir Khusrau played a pioneering role in the development of
a) Khari boli
b) Bhojpuri
c) Awadhi
d) Brij bhasha
Answer: (a)
Question 9: With reference to the scientific progress of ancient India, which of the following statements is/are correct?
a) Transplant of internal organs in the human body had begun by the beginning of AD third century
b) The concept of sine of angle was known in AD 5th century
c) The concept of cyclic quadrilaterals was known in AD 7th century
d) All of these
Answer: (d)
Question 10: Which rock shelter in India bears largest number of paintings?
a) Lakhahia
b) Adamgarh
c) Bhimbetka
d) Ghagharia
Answer: (c)
Question 11: How do you distinguish between Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam dances?
a) Dancers occasionally speaking dialogues is found in Kuchipudi dance but not in Bharatanatyam
b) Dancing on brass plate by keeping the feet on its edges is a feature of Bharatanatyam but Kuchipudi dance does not have such a form of movements
c) Both ‘a’ and ‘b’
d) None of the above
Answer: (a)
Question 12: The famous rock cut temples of Elephanta are ascribed to the
a) Chalukyas
b) Cholas
c) Pallavas
d) Rashtrakutas
Answer: (d)
Question 13: With reference to the famous Sattriya dance, which of the following statements is/are correct?
a) Sattriya dance is a combination of music, dance and drama
b) It is a century old living tradition to Vaishnavites of Assam
c) Both ‘a’ and ‘b’
d) None of the above
Answer: (c)
Question 14: What is the correct chronological order of the following monuments?
a) Brihadeshwara temple, Tanjavur-Draupadi Rath, Mamallapuram-Kailasa temple, Ellora-Minakshi temple, Madurai
b) Draupadi Rath, Mamallapuram-Kailasa temple, Ellora- Brihadeshwara temple, Tanjavur Minakshi temple, Madurai
c) Brihadeshwara temple, Tanjavur-Draupadi Rath, Mamallapuram-Minakshi temple, Madurai-Kailasa temple, Ellora
d) Draupadi Rath, Mamallapuram-Minakshi temple, Madurai-Kailasa temple, Ellora-Brihadeshwara temple, Tanjavur
Answer: (b)
Question 15: Which of the following places is/are also known for the mural paintings?
a) Ajanta caves
b) Lepakshi temple
c) Sanchi Stupa
d) All of these
Answer: (d)
Question 16: Which of the following is not correctly matched?
a) Tabla : Latif Khan
b) Sitar : Kartik Kumar
c) Shehnai : Ali Hussain
d) Flute : Latif Khan
Answer: (d)
Question 17: Which of the following statements about visual culture in 18th and early 19th century North India is/are correct?
a) Painters from Patna and Murshidabad flocked to Calcutta and produced water colours in the English mode
b) Landscape and portraiture became extremely important at ibis time
c) Both ‘a’ and ‘b’
d) None of the above
Answer: (c)
Question 18: One of the observatories established by Sawai Jai Singh at
a) Agra
b) Indore
c) Jodhpur
d) Ujjain
Answer: (d)
Question 19: The Sangam text Tolkappiyasm is a work on
a) music
b) medicine
c) grammar
d) astronomy
Answer: (c)
Question 20: Which of the following statements is/are correct?
a) ‘Khayal’ came into prominence due to the efforts of Sultan Mohammed Sharqi (15th century)
b) The Kirana Gharana of Khayal is considered as the modern school Khayal singing
c) Both ‘a’ and ‘b’
d) None of the above
Answer: (c)
Question 21: Which of the following is not correctly matched?
a) Himachal Pradesh : Thali
b) Jammu and Kashmir : Hikat
c) Rajasthan : Sundri
d) kerala : Thali
Answer: (d)
Question 22: Bhaskaracharya’s book ‘Lilavati’ was translated into Persian by
a) Al-Beruni
b) Dara Shikoh
c) Abul Fazi
d) Faizi
Answer: (d)
Question 23: To which order to silsilah of the Sufis was Sheikh Baha-ud-din Zakariya associated?
a) Qadiri
b) Suharavardi
c) Chisti
d) Naqshbandi
Answer: (b)
Question 24: Which of the following statements is/are correct?
a) Kummi is one of the most important and ancient forms of village dances of Tamil Nadu
b) This is performed by men
c) Only’a’
d) Both ‘a’ and ‘b’
Answer: (c)
Question 25: Who was the Chola King under whose reign Brihadeshwara temple of Tanjavur was constructed?
a) Rajendra I
b) Kulattuniga I
c) Rajaraja I
d) Rajadhiraj
Answer: (c)
Question 26: Which is the most ancient language of Indo-European language family?
a) Latin
b) Irani
c) Greek
d) Sanskrit
Answer: (d)
Question 27: Which of the following statements is/are correct?
a) The Dilwara Jain temple in Mount Abu is constructed out of white marble
b) The Dilwara Jain temple enshrines various Jain ‘Tirthankaras’
c) Only ‘a’
d) Both ‘a’ and ‘b’
Answer: (d)
Question 28: Which one of the following sites is famous for presents-historic paintings?
a) Bhimbetka
b) Ajanta
c) Bagh
d) Amravati
Answer: (a)
Question 29: Which of the following statements about Ajanta paintings is/are correct?
a) These are Fresco paintings painted on the rocks of its caves
b) These belong to the period of 3rd to the 7th century BC
c) The theme is concerned with the Buddha and Bodhisattva
d) Both ‘b’ and ‘c’
Answer: (d)
Question 30: Jain temple of Abu is made of
a) granite
b) limestone
c) sandstone
d) marble
Answer: (d)
Question 31: Which of the following statements about Miniature paintings is/are correct?
a) The Art of Miniature paintings was introduced to India by the Mughals.
b) In the 16th century, the Mughal ruler Humayun brought artists from Persia who specialized in Miniature paintings.
c) Only ‘a’
d) Both ‘a’ and ‘b’
Answer: (d)
Question 32: Vedatrayi’ includes
a) Rigveda, Yajurveda, Atharvaveda
b) Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda
c) Rigveda, Samaveda Atharvaveda
d) Samaveda, Atharvaveda, Yajurveda
Answer: (c)
Question 33: Which of the following has/have been accorded ‘Geographical Indication’ status?
a) Banaras Brocades and sarees
b) Rajasthani Dall Bati Churma
c) Tirupathi Laddu
d) Both ‘a’ and ‘c’
Answer: (d)
Question 34: Which one of the following is correctly matched?
a) Ellora caves : Saka
b) Mahabalipuram : Rashtrakutas
c) Meenakshi temple : Pallavas
d) Khajuraho : Chandellas
Answer: (d)
Question 35: Which of the following statements about Qutub Minar is/are correct?
a) Primarily, it was built by Illtutmish
b) The uppermost two stories of this Minar are round rather than with altering flute and flanges and is a later addition by Ala-ud-din-Khilji
c) Both ‘a’ and ‘b’
d) None of the above
Answer: (d)
Question 36: Which one of the following is not correctly matched?
a) Garba : Gujarat
b) Mohiniattam : Odisha
c) Yakshagana : Karnataka
d) Oddissi : Odisha
Answer: (b)
Question 37: Which of the following with reference to new elements introduced by Mughals in architecture is/are correct?
a) Charbagh style by Babur
b) Artificial sands and gardens
c) Both ‘a’ and ‘b’
d) Only ‘b’
Answer: (d)
Question 38: Which temple got the name of ‘Black Pagoda’?
a) Jagannath temple
b) Lingaraja temple
c) Sun temple
d) Bhubaneshwara temple
Answer: (c)
Question 39: Which of the following statements about Sanchi Stupa is/are correct?
a) Sanchi Stupa is located in Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh,14 Km from Vidisha.
b) Sanchi Stupa has three stupas all the gateway around them, but the most famous is the Great Stupa which was originally made of brick in Ashoka’s time.
c) Both ‘a’ and ‘b’
d) None of the above
Answer: (c)
Question 40: Which among the following is the best temple of Vijayanagara Art?
a) Hampi
b) Amravati
c) Khajuraho
d) Patta Dakal
Answer: (a)
Question 41: Which among the following can be directly linked to Vedic literature?
a) Dharam Sutra
b) Acaranga Sutra
c) Avatamsaka Sutra
d) None of these
Answer: (a)
Question 42: Gandhara Art is a combination of
a) Persian and Indian style
b) Indian and Greek style
c) Greek and Kushan style
d) Indian and Kushan style
Answer: (d)
Question 43: ‘Geet Govinda’, a work by Jaideva is in which language?
a) Sanskrit
b) Hindi
c) Pali
d) Prakrit
Answer: (a)
Question 44: At which place the famous enigmatic Trimurti Sadasiva located?
a) Ellora
b) Elephanta
c) Ajanta
d) Jogeshwari
Answer: (b)
Question 45: Which of the following is not depicted in the Rajput paintings?
a) The stories of Krishna
b) Rajas and Raginis
c) The deeds of Hamza
d) The deeds of Babur
Answer: (d)
Question 46: Which of the following places is known for painted risk shelter belonging to Paleolithic and Mesolithic ages?
a) Utniur
b) Bhimbetka
c) Bairath
d) Sanapir
Answer: (b)
Question 47: Who among the following Sikh Gurus collected all the work of the previous Guru and dedicated in the form of versus?
a) Guru Har Govind
b) Guru Har Kishan
c) Guru Arjun Dev
d) Guru Tegh Bahadur
Answer: (c)
Question 48: Which one of the following is not correctly matched?
a) Chalukyas : Pattadakal temples
b) Hoysalas : Kesava temples
c) Pandyas : Sun temple
d) Eastern Gangas : Sun temple
Answer: (c)
Question 49: Which of the following is not a work of Kalidasa?
a) Ritusamhara
b) Meghaduta
c) Kumarasambhava
d) Dashakumaracharita
Answer: (d)
Question 50: Which of the following statements about Khajuraho temples is/are correct?
a) Khajuraho temples are dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and Jain Tirthankaras.
b) The underlying plan of these temples of Nagara style consists of the Ardhamandaps, the Mandaps, the Antarala and the Garbhagriha
c) Both ‘a’ and ‘b’
d) None of the above
Answer: (c)