Q. 1. Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow:
Fatalists and materialists
Here is an excerpt from the Sutta Pitaka, describing a conversation between King Ajatasatru, the ruler of Magadha and Buddha:
Once upon a time, King Ajatasatru visited Buddha and described what another teacher, named Makkhali Gosala, had told him:
“Though the wise should hope, by this virtue...by this penance I will gain karma....and the fool should by the same means hope to gradually rid himself of his karma, neither of them can do it. Pleasure and pain, measured out as it was, cannot be altered in the course of samsara (transmigration). It can neither be lessened nor be increased...just as a ball of string will when thrown unwind to its full length, so fool and wise alike will take their course and make an end of sorrow.”
And this is what a philosopher named Ajita Kesakambalin taught:
“There is no such thing. O king, as alms or sacrifice, or offerings....there is no such thing in this world or the next...
A human being is made up of the four elements. When he dies the earth in him returns to the earth, the fluid to water, the heat to fire, the wind to air, and his sense pass into space.
The talk of gifts is a doctrine of fools, an empty lie... fools and wise alike are cut off and perish. They do not survive after death.”
The first teacher belonged to the tradition of the Ajivikas. They have been described as fatalists: those who believe that everything is predetermined. The second teacher belonged to the tradition of the Lokayatas, usually described as materialists. Texts from these traditions have not survived, so we know about them only from the works of other traditions.
(i) Explain what had Makkhali Gosala told the King Ajatasatru.
(ii) Explain what did the philosopher named Ajita Kesakambalin teach.
(iii) Describe the beliefs of fatalists.
Ans. (i) Makkhali Gosala told the king that one’s pain and pleasure will be a result of his or her Karma. Both pleasure and pain can neither be lessened nor increased. He further told that the wise and the fool will take their course of action.
(ii) Ajita Kesakambaliln, a philosopher taught, “There is no such thing a king as alms or sacrifice or offerings. There was no such thing in this world or the next. The talk of gifts is a doctrine of fools. They do not survive after death.
(iii) The fatalists believe that everything is predetermined and belong to the tradition of the Ajivikas. Pleasure and pain, measured out as it were, cannot be altered in the course of Samsara. It can neither be lessened nor increased.
Q. 2. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
Buddhism in practice
This is an excerpt from the Sutta Pitaka and contains the advice given by Buddha to a wealthy householder named Singala:
In five ways should a master look after his servants and employees ... by assigning them work according to their strength, by supplying them with food and wages, by tending them in sickness; by sharing delicacies with them and by granting leave at times ...
In five ways should the clansmen look after the needs of Samanas (those who have renounced the world) and Brahmanas by affection in act and speech and mind, by keeping open house to them and supplying their worldly needs. There are similar instructions to Singala about how to behave with his parents, teacher and wife.
(i) What advice was given by Buddha to Singala regarding relationship between a master and his servants / employees?
(ii) List the instructions given by Buddha to the clansmen for Samanas and Brahmanas.
(iii) According to your suggestion, what would Buddha advocated regarding parents and teachers?
Ans: (i) Buddha says that the master should be affectionate towards servants and should treat them as human beings.
The advice given by Buddha to Singala regarding relationship between a master and his servants.
(a) By assigning them work according to their strength.
(b) By supplying them with food and wages.
(c) By tending them in sickness.
(d) By sharing delicacies with them.
(e) By granting leave at times.
(ii) The instructions given by Buddha to the clansmen for Samanas and Brahmanas.
(a) By affection in act, speech and mind towards the master.
(b) By keeping open house to them.
(c) Supplying their worldly needs.
(iii) Buddha would have advocated regarding parents and teachers as under:
(a) To be respectful towards them.
(b) Affection in action and speech.
(c) Love and care for them.
Q. 3. Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that follow:
Rules for Monks and Nuns
These are some of the rules laid down in the Vinaya Pitaka:
When a new felt (blanket/rug) has been made by a bhikkhu, it is to be kept for (at least) six years. If after less than six years he should have another new felt (blanket/rug) made regardless of whether or not he has disposed off the first, then-unless he has been authorised by the bhikkhus it is to be forfeited and confessed.
In case a bhikkhu arriving at a family residence is presented with cakes or cooked grain-meal, he may accept two or three bowlfuls if he desires. If he should accept more than that, it is to be confessed. Having accepted the two or three bowlfuls and having them from there, he has to share them among the bhikkhus. This is the proper course here.
Should any bhikkhu, having set out bedding in a accommodation belonging to the Sangha or having had it set out and then on departing neither put it away nor have it put away or should he go without taking leave, it is to be confessed.
(i) Explain any two rules governing the lives of the bhikkhus and bhikkhunis
(ii) Why were the bhikkhus and bhikkhunis expected to share their alms with other members of the sangha?
(iii) How Vinaya Pitaka describes the teachings of Buddha.
Ans. (i) (a) Blanket was made by a bhikkhu, it was to be kept for at least six years. If after less than six years he should have another new felt (blanket/rug) made, regardless of whether he has disposed of the first, then – unless he has been authorized by the bhikkhus – it is to be for feited and confessed
(b) They had to set out bedding in lodging.
(ii) (a) Part of the ruler of Buddhist Monastry.
(b) It was based on compassions for fellow beings
(iii) (a) World is temporary
(b) World is full of Shakha
(c) Good karma to escape from rebirth
(d) Right actions to escape from ego
(e) To live simple life
(f) Not to be selfish
(g) Be compassionate and generous
(h) To speak truth
Q.4. Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that follow:
Rules for Monks and Nuns
These are some of the rules laid down in the Vinaya Pitaka:
When a new felt (blanket/rug) has been made by a bhikkhu, it is to be kept for (at least) six years. If after less than six years he should have another new felt (blanket/rug) made regardless of whether or not he has disposed of the first, then-unless he has been authorised by the bhikkhus it is to be forfeited and confessed.
In case a bhikkhu arriving at a family residence is presented with cakes or cooked grain-meal, he may accept two or three bowlfuls if he desires. If he accepts more than that, it is to be confessed. Having accepted two or three bowlfuls and having them from there, he has to share them among the bhikkhus. This is the proper course here.
Should any bhikkhu, having set out bedding in a lodging belonging to the Sangha or having had it set out and then on departing neither put it away nor have it put away or should he go without taking leave, it is to be confessed.
(i) Name any two Buddhist texts in which the rules for the monks have been laid down.
(ii) Why were these rules framed?
(iii) What was the Sangha ? Explain.
(iv) State any three rules mentioned in the passage, for the bhikkhus.
Ans. (i) Buddhist text in which the rules for the monks have been laid down is ‘Vinaya Pitaka’
(ii) These rules were framed
(a) To develop fellow feelings.
(b) Sharing
(c) To lead a simple life
(d) Dignity of labour
(e) To be truthful (Any two Points)
(iii) Sangha was the institution or organization of monks to teach Dhamma. Initially only men were allowed, later women too were admitted. Monks lived simply possessing essential requirements for survival.
(iv) Three rules mentioned in the passage for the bikkhus
(a) Got the new felt (rug) after six years.
(b) Couldn’t accept more than two or three bowls of grains.
(c) Had to confess for the aspect of beddings as well.
Q. 5. Trace out the growth of Buddhism. Explain the main teachings of Buddha.
Ans. The Growth of Buddhism:
(i) Buddhism grew rapidly during the lifetime of the Buddha as well as after his death.
(ii) It appealed dissatisfactory to many people with existing religious practices and confused by the rapid social changes taking place around them.
(iii) The importance attached to conduct and value rather than claims of superiority based on birth, the emphasis placed on metta (fellow feeling) and karuna (compassion), especially for those who were younger and weaker than oneself, were ideas that drew men and women to Buddhist teachings.
(iv) Buddhism grew due to Buddhist text– Tipitaka (the Vinaya Pitaka, Sutta Pitaka, Abhidhamma Pitaka), the Dipavamsa & Mahavamsa, Ashokavadana, Jatakas and Buddhist hagiography.
(v) Buddhist Sanghas, Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis spread the message.
(vi) Stupas
(vii) Ashokan pillars and inscriptions
(viii) Dhamma – mahamattas
(ix) Buddhist sects – Hinayana and Mahayana
(x) Support of rulers
(xi) Foreign pilgrims
(xii) Any other relevant point.
(Any four points to be explained) 4
The Main Teachings of Buddha
(i) The world is transient (anicca) and constantly changing.
(ii) It is soulless (anatta) as there is nothing permanent or eternal in it.
(iii) Sorrow (dukkha) is intrinsic to human existence.
(iv) The path of moderation between severe penance and self-indulgence.
(v) Social world was considered as the creation of humans rather than of divine origin.
(vi) Advised kings and gahapatis to be humane and ethical.
(vii) Individual effort was expected to transform social relations.
(viii) Emphasis on individual agency and righteous action as the means to escape from the cycle of rebirth and attain self-realisation and nibbana.
(ix) Extinguish ego and desire to end the cycle of suffering.
(x) Any other relevant point.
Q. 6. How did Siddhartha get to be named Buddha? How did his followers read his life?
Ans. (i) Buddha was named as Siddhartha by birth and was the son of a chief of the Sakya clan.
(ii) He had a sheltered upbringing within the palace, insulated from the harsh realities of life.
(iii) One day he persuaded his charioteer to take him into the city; he saw an old man, a sick man and a corpse.
(iv) He realised in that moment that the decay and destruction of the human body was inevitable.
(v) He left the palace and set out in search of his own truth, he meditated for several years and finally attained enlightenment.
(vi) After this, he came to be known as Buddha or the Enlightened One.
(vii) For the rest of his life, he taught Dhamma or the path of righteous living.
(To be assessed as a whole)
Followers :
(i) His followers—bhikkus spread the philosophy of Dhamma.
(ii) They lived simply, possessing only the essential requisites for survival, such as one bowl a day.
(iii) They lived on alms.
(iv) Initially, only men were allowed into the Sangha, but latter on women were also admitted.
(v) Many women who entered the Sangha became preachers of Dhamma and went on to became theris, or respected women who had attained liberation.
(vi) The Buddha’s followers came from many social groups like kings, wealthy men and gahapatis, and also humble folk workers, slaves and crafts people.
(vii) Once within the Sangha, all were regarded as equal, having shed their earlier social identities on becoming bhikkus and bhikkunis.
Q. 7. Trace out how stupas were built. Explain why the stupa at Sanchi survived, but not at Amaravati.
Ans. How were Stupas built ?
(i) Stupas were regarded as sacred as it contained relics of the Buddha such as his bodily remains or objects used by him were buried there.
(ii) According to a Buddhist text, the Ashoka vadana, Ashoka distributed portions of the Buddha’s relics to every important town and ordered the construction of stupas over them.
(iii) By the second century BCE, Bharhut, Sanchi and Sarnath, had been built.
(iv) Donations made by kings such as the Satavahanas.
(v) By guilds (ivory workers financed gateways at Sanchi).
(vi) Hundreds of donations were made by women and men who mention their names, sometimes adding the name of the place from where they came, as well as their occupations and names of their relatives.
(vii) Bhikkhus and bhikkhunis also contributed towards building these monuments.
(Any four points to be explained)
Why did Sanchi survive while Amaravati did not?
The Sanchi Stupa survived because
(i) The rulers of Bhopal, Shahjehan Begum and her successor Sultan Jehan Begum provided money for its preservation
(ii) Funded the museum
(iii) Funded the guesthouse where John Marshall lived and wrote the volumes.
(iv) She also funded the publication of the volumes.
(v) Sanchi Stupa escaped from the eyes of railway contractors, builders and those looking for finds to carry away to the museums of Europe.
(vi) Instead of taking the original gateways of Sanchi, both the French and the English took its plastercast copies.
(vii) H. H. Cole was against the looting of original works of ancient art.
(viii) Nineteenth-century Europeans were very interested in the Stupa at Sanchi.
The Amaravati could not survive because:
(i) Amaravati was discovered before scholars understood the value of its preservations.
(ii) In 1854, Walter Elliot, collected several sculpture panels and took them away to Madras.
(iii) By the 1850s, some of the slabs from Amaravati had begun to be taken to different places – to the Asiatic Society of Bengal at Calcutta, to the Indian Office in Madras and some even to London.
(iv) British officials continued to remove sculptures from the site on the grounds that earlier officials had done the same.
(v) Local rajas also took remains of Amaravati Stupa to build their temple.
(vi) Any other relevant point.
Q. 8. Explain the distinctive aspects of Sanchi Stupa.
Ans. Sanchi Stupa: Structural features:
(i) The stupa originated as a simple semi-circular mound of earth later called anda.
(ii) Gradually, it evolved into a more complex structure balancing round and square shapes.
(iii) Above the anda, was the harmika, a balcony-like structure represented the abode of the gods.
(iv) Arising from the harmika, was a mast called the Yashti often surmounted by chhatri or umbrella.
(v) Around the mound was railing, separating the sacred space from the secular world.
(vi) The stone railings, which resembled a bamboo or wooden fence, and the gateway which were richly carved and installed at the four cardinal points.
Sculptural Features:
(i) Depiction of rural scene, with thatched huts and trees.
(ii) The empty seat to indicate the meditation of Buddha and the Stupa was meant to represent the mahaparinibbana.
(iii) Another frequently used symbol was the wheel. It represents the first sermon of the Buddha, delivered at Sarnath.
(iv) The shalabhanjika motif suggest that many people who turned to Buddhism enriched it with their own pre-Buddhist and even nonBuddhist beliefs, practices and ideas.
(v) Animals like elephants, horses, monkeys and cattle were depicted to signify strength and wisdom.
(vi) Maya, the mother of Buddha, others identify her with a popular goddess, Gajalakshmi-literally, the goddess of good fortune.
(vii) Any other relevant point.
Detailed Answer
The early stupa at Sanchi and Bharhut do not have any decorations except for the stone railings and gateways. The stone railing resembled bamboo or wooden fence. The gateways installed at the four cordinal points were richly carved. The worshippers walked around the mound imitating the sun’s course through the sky, entering through the eastern gateway. Later, the mound of the stupa came to be decorated with niches and sculptures. Scholars often understand the meaning of the sculpture with the help of the concerned texts and interpret by comparing it with textual evidence.
According to a popular belief, the touch of Shalabhanjika caused the trees to flower and bear fruit. It reveals about the people coming under the fold of the Buddhism. The wheel in the Buddhist sculpture was meant to represent the first sermon of Buddha at Sarnath. Buddha delivered his first religious sermon in deer park at Sarnath near Varanasi on Ashva Poornima and came to be known as setting in motion the wheel of Dharma.
The sculptures having motifs should not be interpreted literally. For example, the tree depicted is not simply a tree, but symbolises an event in the life of the Buddha. It is only by making themselves familiar with the traditions of those who produced these works of art that the historians can interpret the purpose of those works. It also helped in understanding the Buddhist sculpture.
Q. 9. Explain how the idea of Puranic Hinduism developed in different ways within the traditions.
OR
Explain the growth of Puranic Hinduism in form of Vaishnavism and Shaivism. How were they visualized?
Ans. The ideas of Puranic Hinduism developed in different ways within the tradition and the growth of Puranic Hinduism in India is mainly connected with prevalent stories and the idea of salvation that was growing along with Buddhism. There were two Puranic Hindu sects – Vaishnav, who were devoted to bhakti of Lord Vishnu and Shiva, who were devoted to bhakti of Lord Shiva, in which there was growing emphasis on the worship of a chosen deity. In such worship, the bond between the devotee and the God was visualised as love, devotion and bhakti.
In case of Vaishnavism, cults developed around the various avatars or incarnations of Lord Vishnu. Ten avatars were recognised within the tradition, and different avatars were popular in different parts of the country and recognising each of these deities of Vishnu was one way of creating a unified religious tradition.
Some of these forms were represented in sculptures as other deities, like Shiva was symbolised by the Linga and in human form as well.
To understand the sculptures, Puranic stories have to be read and understood well. Generally these Puranas were written in simple Sanskrit verses and were meant to be read aloud to everybody.
At the same time, there was growth of temple architecture and many temples were built in this period. This reinforced the verses and visions of Puranic Hinduism, thus giving it long lasting and tangible form.
Q. 10. Explain the development of Mahayana Buddhism. How did Buddha teach the path of righteous living or Dhamma to the society? Elaborate.
Ans. Mahayana Buddhism
(i) The idea of a saviour emerged. Buddha was regarded as God, the one who could ensure salvation. Those who adopted these beliefs were described as Mahayana or the “greater vehicle”.
(ii) Simultaneously, the concept of the Boddhisattas (Buddha in the previous birth), also developed.
(iii) Boddhisattas were perceived as deeply compassionate beings who accumulated merit through their efforts not to attain nibbana but to help others.
(iv) The worship of images of Buddha and Boddhisattas became an important part of Mahayana tradition.
Detailed Answer:
In Mahayana, it was the savior who could ensure salvation. Mahayana worshipped Buddha as God. Mahayana worshipped the images of Buddha and Boddhisattas. Boddhisattas were those kind personalities who had accumulated Dharma by their Dharma for achieving nibbana but to help others. Buddha’s teachings were very simple. Anybody could attain Nirvana by following eightfold path. Buddha did not believe in the caste system and royal patronage made a remarkable contribution in spread of Buddhism.
