Indian Culture Questions and Answers

Answer: D

The statement that is not correct is It is a part of the collection called Bhakthi literature.

The Lilatilakam is a treatise in Sanskrit, written in the late fourteenth century, that sets out the grammar and poetics of Manipravalam, the literary blend of Malayalam and Sanskrit. Its author is not known, so it is an anonymous work.

It is a work of grammar and literary theory, not devotional poetry, so it does not belong to the body of Bhakti literature. The other three statements are correct.

Answer: D

The instrument is the Idakka.

Sopana sangeetham is the temple music sung on the steps (sopanam) leading to the sanctum of Kerala temples. The singer accompanies it on the idakka, the small hourglass drum whose pitch is changed by tightening its cords.

The chenda is the loud cylindrical drum of temple processions and Kathakali. The thudi is a small drum used in folk and ritual forms, and the veena is not the traditional accompaniment for sopanam.

Answer: B

The character belongs to Mudiyettu.

Mudiyettu is the ritual dance-drama of central Kerala's Bhagavati temples, inscribed by UNESCO in 2010. It enacts the battle between the goddess Kali and the demon Darika, and Koimbidar (Koyimpada Nair), the goddess's attendant, is one of its stock characters alongside Shiva, Narada, Darika and Danavendra.

Ninabali, Chimmanakkali and Pateni (Padayani) are other ritual or folk forms, and Koimbidar is not a character of theirs.

Answer: A

The text that is not ayurvedic is Mukundamaala.

The Mukundamala is a Sanskrit devotional hymn to Vishnu (Mukunda) attributed to the Kerala king Kulasekhara Alvar. It is religious poetry, not medicine.

The other three belong to Kerala's medical tradition. The Mathangaleela is the Sanskrit treatise on elephants, including their diseases and treatment. Alathur Manipravalam is an ayurvedic work in the Malayalam-Sanskrit mixed style, and the Yogamritam is an ayurvedic text of formulations.

Answer: C

Chengannur Aathi belongs to the Idanaadan Pattu.

Kerala's narrative ballads are grouped by region. The Idanadan Pattukal are the ballads of the middle land, central Travancore, and the heroine Chengannur Aathi is from Chengannur in that region.

The Vadakkan Pattukal (northern ballads) celebrate heroes such as Thacholi Othenan and Unniyarcha, and the Thekkan Pattukal (southern ballads) cover figures such as Iravikkutti Pillai. Thottam Pattu is the ritual song that invokes the deity in Theyyam, not a heroic narrative tradition.

Answer: B

The temple is at Irinjalakuda.

The Koodalmanikyam temple at Irinjalakuda in Thrissur district is dedicated to Bharata, brother of Rama, and is held to be the only major temple in India where Bharata is the presiding deity. Hence it is known as the Bharateshwara temple.

Thirunelli in Wayanad is a Vishnu temple, Payyanur is known for its Subramanya temple, and Atingal is not associated with a Bharata temple.

Answer: A

The performance is the Kambala dance.

Among the Adiya community of Wayanad, the kambalam is the festive work of transplanting paddy, and the Kambala dance is performed to drum and song in the fields during it. It is tied directly to agricultural labour.

Gaddika is also an Adiya form, but it is a ritual performance for healing and warding off evil, not an agrarian one. The other two options are not the Adiya community's agrarian performance.

Answer: B

The Assertion is true but the Reason is false, so the answer is (A) is true but (R) is false.

The Assertion is true: despite differences of language, religion and region, Indians share a common heritage and a composite culture. Article 51A(f) makes valuing and preserving that rich heritage a fundamental duty.

The Reason is false: India's composite culture is composite precisely because it is not founded on any single language or tradition. It draws on Sanskritic, Dravidian, Persian, Islamic, tribal and many other streams, so calling Sanskrit its sole foundation is wrong.

Answer: D

Chaturvimsati Murti refers to forms of Vishnu identified on the basis of attributes in his four hands.

Chaturvimsati means twenty-four. In Hindu iconography Vishnu has 24 standing forms, such as Keshava, Narayana and Madhava, which look alike and are told apart only by the order in which his four hands hold the conch, discus, mace and lotus.

Scenes of Krishna's lilas, goddesses slaying demons and the Samhara (destructive) forms of Shiva are other iconographic themes, not the 24 murtis of Vishnu.

Answer: A

The key gives the matching 1-ii, 2-iii, 3-iv, 4-i: Dhrupad Samaroh at Bhopal, Bhoj Samaroh at Dhar, Muktibodh Samaroh at Bhind and Malwa Utsav at Ujjain.

Malwa is the region around Ujjain and Indore, so Malwa Utsav at Ujjain fits the name. Dhar was the early Parmara capital and is linked with King Bhoj. The other codes each pair the Malwa festival with Bhind, Bhopal or Dhar, which does not suit its name.

What could not be confirmed: searches found no page giving the venues of the Dhrupad, Bhoj and Muktibodh festivals, so those three pairings rest on the key.