Q: With reference to the Indian history of art and culture, consider the following pairs:
Famous work of sculpture Site
a) A grand image of Buddha’s
Mahaparinirvana with numerous : Ajanta
celestial musicians above and
the sorrowful figures of his
followers below
b) A huge image of Varaha : Mount Abu
Avatar (boar incarnation. of Vishnu,
as he rescues Goddess Earth from
the deep and chaotic waters,
sculpted on rock
c) “Arjuna’s Penance” / : Mamallapuram
”Descent of Ganga” sculpted
on the surface of huge boulders
Which of the pairs given above is/ are correctly
matched?
The correct answer is 1 and 3 only.
Ajanta Caves
⦁ The Mahaparinirvana of the Buddha in Cave 17, with numerous celestial musicians above and the sorrowful figures of his followers below, is one of the grandest expressive scenes with the grieving figure of Ananda near his feet is exceptional. Hence, Pair 1 is correctly matched.
⦁ It is a series of Rock-cut caves in the Sahyadri ranges on Waghora river Aurangabad in Maharashtra.
⦁ It consists of 29 Buddhist Caves of which 25 are viharas remaining 4 are Chaityas or prayer hall.
⦁ It developed between 200 BC to 658AD.
⦁ It was built under the patronage of Vakataka Kings.
⦁ It is abundant with Fresco paintings, outlining in red colour, absence of blue colour, all themed around Buddhism.
⦁ It was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983.
Udaygiri caves
⦁ The Udayagiri Caves are twenty rock-cut caves near Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh from the early years of the 5th century CE. They contain a huge image of Varaha Avatar. Hence, Pair 2 is not correctly matched.
⦁ It was built near the fifth century and are the oldest surviving Hindu temples in India.
⦁ The sculpture of Vishnu in his incarnation as the male boar rescuing the mother earth presenting bhudevi to the boar’s tusk as depicted in Hindu mythology is present here.
⦁ They were built under the patronage of Gupta rulers.
Arjuna’s Penance/ Descent of Ganga
⦁ The Monolithic sculpture was built under the reign of Pallava King Mahendra Varma located at Sri Sathya Perumal Temple.
⦁ It was built around 600-640 AD.
⦁ It was sculpted on the surface of huge boulders is found in Mamallapuram. Hence, Pair 3 is correctly matched.
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