UPSC Prelims 2014 GS Paper I · Q44 of 100 History easy

With reference to the cultural history of India, the term 'Panchayatan' refers to

  1. (a) an assembly of village elders
  2. (b) a religious sect
  3. (c) a style of temple construction ✓ UPSC's answer
  4. (d) an administrative functionary

Why the answer is (c)

• Panchayatana is a temple layout in which the main shrine stands on a raised platform with four subsidiary shrines at its corners, as at the Dashavatara temple (Deogarh), Kandariya Mahadeva (Khajuraho) and the Brahmeswara temple (Bhubaneswar) — option (c).

• It is not a village assembly (a, panchayat), a sect (b) or an official (d).

• Hence option (c).

Why the other options are wrong

(a) an assembly of village elders
A village assembly is a panchayat, not panchayatana.
(b) a religious sect
Panchayatana is not a sect.
(d) an administrative functionary
It is not an administrative post.

Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2014, held on 24 August 2014. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

Reading the answer is not the same as getting it right under a clock. Practise this question with UPSC's negative marking, and anything you miss goes into an error notebook until you get it right twice.

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