With reference to Buddhist history, tradition and culture in India, consider the following pairs : Famous shrine : Location 1. Tabo monastery and temple complex : Spiti Valley 2. Lhotsava Lhakhang temple, Nako : Zanskar Valley 3. Alchi temple complex : Ladakh Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 1 and 3 only ✓ UPSC's answer
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Why the answer is (c)
• Tabo monastery (996 CE), the 'Ajanta of the Himalaya', is in the Spiti Valley of Himachal Pradesh (pair 1 correct); the Alchi complex, with 11th-century murals, is in Ladakh (pair 3 correct).
• Nako, with its Lotsava Lhakhang temples, is in the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh near the Tibet border — not the Zanskar Valley of Ladakh (pair 2 wrong).
• Hence 1 and 3 only, option (c).
Why the other options are wrong
- (a) 1 only
- Alchi–Ladakh is also correct.
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- Nako is in Kinnaur, not Zanskar.
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
- Pair 2 is wrong.
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.