Religious Movements & Sects MCQs for UPSC Prelims

Correct answer: C - Maitreya

In Buddhist tradition Maitreya is the future Buddha who is prophesied to appear and renew the teaching when the present dharma has declined, so (c) is correct. Avalokiteshvara (a), Lokesvara (b, another name of Avalokiteshvara) and Padmapani (d) are bodhisattvas of compassion already venerated in the current age, not the awaited future Buddha. Maitreya alone holds the specific role of the Buddha yet to come.

Correct answer: A - The extinction of the flame of desire

In Buddhism, nirvana literally means blowing out or extinguishing, and the Buddha used it to mean the extinction of craving, desire and the fires of attachment, hatred and delusion that bind one to the cycle of rebirth, so option (a) is correct. Option (b) is wrong because Buddhism rejects the notion of a permanent self (anatta), so there is no self to annihilate. Option (c) describes a pleasant emotional state rather than the cessation of desire and the end of suffering that nirvana denotes. Option (d) is a vague mystical phrasing that does not capture the specific doctrinal meaning of extinguishing desire.

Correct answer: D - 1, 2 and 3

Sufi practice drew on all three. Many orders used controlled breathing and meditation (zikr) much like yogic techniques; ascetics retreated for solitary, severe self-mortification; and the Chishti tradition in particular used sama, devotional music and qawwali, to induce spiritual ecstasy. Since statements 1, 2 and 3 are all valid Sufi practices, the answer is 1, 2 and 3. The narrower options each omit a genuine practice and are therefore incomplete.

Correct answer: B - Buddha's calling of the Earth to witness his purity and chastity despite the temptations of Mara

The Bhumisparsha (earth-touching) mudra shows the Buddha seated with the right hand reaching down to touch the ground, calling the Earth to witness his merit, purity and steadfastness as he overcame Mara's temptations on the path to enlightenment, so option (b) matches the official key. Option (a) misstates the symbolism as merely guarding against Mara, option (c) describes a different idea of transience, and (d) is wrong because (a) is not correct. This item was widely disputed between (a) and (b); the official answer is (b).

Correct answer: C - Both 1 and 2

The Siddhas (Sittars) of the Tamil region were monotheistic and rejected idol worship, emphasising a formless divine, so statement 1 is correct. The Lingayats (Virashaivas) of Karnataka, founded by Basavanna, rejected caste hierarchy and questioned the prevailing notions of rebirth, so statement 2 is correct. As both reform traditions are accurately described, 'Both 1 and 2' is the answer.

Correct answer: B - Jainism

The Sthanakvasi is a reformist sect within Jainism that rejects idol worship and conducts religious activity in plain halls called sthanaks, so (b) is correct. It is not a branch of Buddhism (a), nor of the Vaishnava (c) or Shaiva (d) traditions of Hinduism. The sect arose as an offshoot of the Svetambara Jains, emphasising aniconic worship, which clearly places it within Jainism.

Correct answer: B - 1 and 3 only

Parivrajaka denoted a wandering renunciant who left settled life to seek truth, so pair 1 is correct, and Upasaka was the term for a lay devotee or follower of the Buddha, so pair 3 is correct. Pair 2 is wrong because Shramana referred to a wandering ascetic or seeker who rejected Vedic ritual authority, not a high-status priest; the priestly class of high status was the Brahmana. Hence only 1 and 3 are correctly matched.

Correct answer: A - The best means of salvation was devotion.

Ramanuja, the eleventh to twelfth century philosopher of Vishishtadvaita, taught that loving devotion or bhakti to Vishnu, along with surrender, is the surest path to salvation, so the first option captures his teaching. Treating the Vedas as eternal, self-existent and the sole authority is the hallmark of the Mimamsa school rather than the essence of Ramanuja's message. Reliance on logical argument as the route to liberation describes the Nyaya tradition. Salvation through meditation alone is closer to the Yoga school or to Shankara's emphasis on jnana, not to Ramanuja's devotional path.