Consider the following pairs : Site : Well known for 1. Besnagar : Shaivite cave shrine 2. Bhaja : Buddhist cave shrine 3. Sittanavasal : Jain cave shrine How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?
- (a) Only one
- (b) Only two ✓ UPSC's answer
- (c) All three
- (d) None
Why the answer is (b)
• Pair 2 is correct: Bhaja near Lonavala in Maharashtra has 2nd-century BCE Buddhist rock-cut chaityas and viharas of the Hinayana phase.
• Pair 3 is correct: Sittanavasal in Tamil Nadu is a Jain cave temple famous for its Pandya-period murals of lotus ponds.
• Pair 1 is wrong: Besnagar (Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh) is known for the Heliodorus pillar, a Garuda column erected by a Greek envoy in honour of Vasudeva — a Vaishnava monument — not a Shaivite cave shrine.
• Hence two pairs, option (b).
Why the other options are wrong
- (a) Only one
- Both Bhaja and Sittanavasal pairs are correct.
- (c) All three
- Besnagar is known for a Vaishnava pillar, not a Shaivite cave.
- (d) None
- Pairs 2 and 3 are correctly matched.
Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2023, held on 28 May 2023. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.