Culture in India: UPSC Previous Year Questions (Art and Culture)
2 previous year UPSC Prelims questions on Culture in India (Art and Culture). Choose an option to see the answer and explanation.
Explanations state facts as of the year each question was asked; words like “recently” refer to that year.
Showing 1–2 of 2 questions
UPSC 2013Art and Culture · Culture in India
Q1. Consider the following Bhakti Saints: 1. Dadu Dayal 2. Guru Nanak 3.Tyagaraja Who among the above was/were preaching when the Lodi dynasty fell and Babur took over?
Explanation
The Bhakti movement was a devotional reform movement in India that emphasized personal devotion to a chosen deity, transcending ritualism and caste distinctions. It gained momentum through saints like Kabir, Ramanuja, Mirabai, Tulsidas, Alvars, and Nayanars, who spread the message of love and surrender to God.
Option (b) is correct: Guru Nanak was preaching during the time when the Lodi dynasty fell and Babur took over. He emphasized the oneness of God, equality of all people, selfless service, and devotion to truth, transcending religious divisions. While Dadu Dayal was born after the fall of the Lodi dynasty and was active during the latter part of the 16th century, so he was not preaching when Babur took over. Tyagaraja, on the other hand, lived in the 18th-19th century, much later than the fall of the Lodi dynasty.
UPSC 2013Art and Culture · Culture in India
Q2. With reference to the history of philosophical thought in India, consider the following statements regarding Sankhya school: 1. Sankhya does not accept the theory of rebirth or transmigration of the soul. 2. Sankhya holds that it is the self-knowledge that leads to liberation and not any exterior influence or agent. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Explanation
The Indian schools of orthodox philosophy (stika) include Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Sankhya, Yoga, Mimamsa, and Vedanta, all of which accept the authority of the Vedas. These schools emphasize reasoning, metaphysical principles, and the pursuit of liberation through knowledge, ethics, and meditation.
Statement 1 is incorrect: While Samkhya accepts rebirth (or samsara) and acknowledges that the soul’s entanglement with Prakriti results in repeated cycles of reincarnation, it does not emphasize karma in the same way as the systems that directly teach the law of cause and effect leading to future rebirths. Samkhya philosophy is dualistic and not monistic because it has two entities, Purush (spirit) and Prakriti (nature).
Statement 2 is correct: Samkhya emphasizes the attainment of knowledge of the self by means of concentration and meditation. It believes that after you have ‘died’ in this life you will go through a process of rebirth where depending on your actions in your former life your status will be decided. Liberation (moksha) occurs when the Purusha realizes its distinct nature from Prakriti, ending the cycle of reincarnation.
Answer key for these questions
Q
UPSC year
Correct answer
1
2013
(b) 2 only
2
2013
(b) 2 only
Frequently asked questions
How many previous year UPSC questions are there on Culture in India?
This page covers 2 previous year UPSC Prelims GS Paper-I questions on Culture in India (Art and Culture), asked from 2013 to 2024. Each has the correct answer and an explanation.
How should I use previous year UPSC questions for Prelims?
Attempt each question first, then open the answer and read the explanation for every option. Repeat by chapter, and track which statements UPSC reuses across years. Previous year questions show the exam pattern and difficulty level.
Which years are covered for Culture in India?
Questions on Culture in India (Art and Culture) are available for 10 years, from 2013 to 2024. Use the Year filter to practise a single paper.
