1/12/24, 5:20 PM UPSC_DPP 8

UPSC

Prarambh 2026
DPP: 8
Art and Culture

Q1 Which of the following statements are correct (D) The temple is west-facing
about the characteristics of the Phamsana
Q4 Consider the following statements:
architecture of the Nagara-style temples:
1. Depiction of eroticism is a feature of
1. The walls are curved and slope inwards.
Nagara-style architecture.
2. The shikhara is inclined upwards and has
2. Lakshmana Temple was built by the King
sharp towers.
Dhanga of the Chandel dynasty.
3. The Phamsana style is used for designing the
3. Khajuraho has temples dedicated to both
mandapas.
the Hindu and Jain faiths.
4. Roofs are constructed in the form of steps.
How many of the above statements are
Select the correct answer using the codes
correct?
given below:
(A) Only one (B) Only two
(A) 1 and 2 only
(C) All three (D) None
(B) 1, 2, and 4 only
(C) 3 and 4 only Q5 Surya Kund is located at
(D) 1 and 3 only (A) Gujarat (B) Orissa
(C) Madhya Pradesh (D) Rajasthan
Q2 Consider the following statements with
reference to Valabhi architecture of the Nagara Q6 With reference to temple architecture, the term
style temples: Jagamohana refers to
1. This architecture has been seen only in (A) Shikhar (B) Mandapa
Gujarat. (C) Garbhagriha (D) Amalaka
2. The Valabhi style has been incorporated in
Q7 Consider the following statements with
Buddhist rock-cut chaitya caves.
reference to Temple architecture found in the
3. The roofs of the buildings were made of
Hills:
sandstone and marble.
1. The temples of Kumaon and Garhwal have
Which of the statements given above is/are
shown influences of both Buddhism and
correct?
Hinduism.
(A) 1 and 2 only (B) 1 and 3 only
2. The Pandrethan temple located in
(C) 2 and 3 only (D) 1, 2 and 3
Uttarakhand is dedicated to Lord Buddha.
Q3 Which of the following statements is incorrect 3. The main Garbhagriha and Shikhara are
with reference to Dashavatara Temple? made in a Phamsana-style structure.
(A) The temple was built in the Panchayatana How many of the above statements are
style of architecture correct?
(B) The shikhara is built following the Rekha- (A) Only one (B) Only two
prasada style (C) All three (D) None
(C) The temple depicts various forms of Shiva

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Answer Key
Q1 (C) Q5 (A)

Q2 (A) Q6 (B)

Q3 (C) Q7 (A)

Q4 (C)

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Hints & Solutions
Q1 Text Solution:
Answer: (c) 3 and 4 only
Statement 1 is incorrect: The Nagara-style
temples are found in the North of India. They
are further divided into three categories based
on shikhara. They are Rekha Prashada,
Phamsana, and Valabhi-style structures.
Rekha Prashada style structure or the 'Latina
style' has a square-shaped architecture at the
base and the walls curve or slope inward to a
point on top. The upward inclination in the
shikhara is seen in the rekha prashada style.
Phamsana roofs slope upwards on a straight
incline.
Statement 2 is incorrect: The phamsana
buildings tend to be broader and shorter than
Latina ones. Their roofs are composed of
several slabs or steps that gently rise to a single
point over the center of the building, unlike the
Latina ones which look like sharply rising tall
towers. Later on, the Latina buildings grew
complex, and instead of appearing like a single
tall tower, the temple began to support many
smaller towers, which were clustered together
like a rising mountain- peaks with the tallest
one being in the center, and this was the one
which was always above the garbhagriha.
Statement 3 is correct: In many North Indian
temples, the Phamsana design is used for the
mandapas while the main Garbhagriha is
housed in a Latina building.
Statement 4 is correct: The phamsana
buildings tend to be broader and shorter than
the Latina ones. Their roofs are composed of
several slabs or steps that gently rise to a single
point over the center of the building, unlike the
Latina ones which look like sharply rising tall
towers.
Q2 Text Solution:
Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only
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Statement 1 is correct: The Nagara-style
temples are found in the North of India. They
are further divided into three categories based
on shikhara. They are Rekha Prashada,
Phamsana, and Valabhi-style structures. The
Valabhi style structure portrays rectangular
box-like buildings with a roof that rises into a
vaulted chamber. The edge of this vaulted
chamber is rounded, like the bamboo or
wooden wagons that would have been drawn
by bullocks in ancient times. These types of
buildings are only found in Gujarat.
Statement 2 is correct: The Valabhi style of
architecture can also be found in the Buddhist
rock-cut chaitya caves, where the back of the
halls are curved, and from within, the roof of this
portion also looks like a wagon-vaulted roof.
Statement 3 is incorrect: In this temple
architecture, there are rectangular box-like
buildings with a roof that rises into a vaulted
chamber. The edge of this vaulted chamber is
rounded, like the bamboo or wooden wagons
that would have been drawn by bullocks in
ancient times.
Q3 Text Solution:
Answer: (c)
Dashavatara Temple (Uttar Pradesh) (5th
century): It was built in the Panchayatana
(पंचायतना) style of Architecture and has a
main shrine built on a rectangular plinth
(चबूतरा) with four smaller subsidiary shrines
at the four corners (making it a total number
of five shrines). (Hence option (a) is correct).
The curving Latina or Rekha-prasada type
of shikhara also makes it clear that this is an
early example of a classic Nagara temple
style. (Hence, option (b) is correct).
The west-facing temple has a grand
doorway with standing sculptures of female
figures representing the Ganga on the left
and the Yamuna on the right. The temple is
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west-facing, which is less common, as most
temples are east- or north-facing. (Hence,
option (d) is correct).
The temple depicts Vishnu in various forms,
due to which it was assumed that the four
subsidiary shrines must also have housed
Vishnu's avatars and the temple was
mistaken for a Dasavatara Temple. It is not
known to whom the four subsidiary shrines
were originally dedicated. (Hence, option (c)
is incorrect).
There are three main reliefs of Vishnu on the
temple walls:
Sheshashayana (शेषशयन) on the south,
the spirit of Nara Narayan on the east,
and Gajendramoksha on the west where
the demon takes the form of an elephant.
Q4 Text Solution:
Answer: (c) All three
Statement 1 is correct: The temples at Khajurao
give us reference to erotic images. Khajuraho
temples fall under the Nagara style
architecture. The crowning elements of the
temples found in Madhya Pradesh are Amalak
and Kalash, which are to be found on all
Nagara temples of this period. The temple also
has projecting balconies and verandahs, thus
very different from Deogarh.
Statement 2 is correct: Lakshmana Temple is
dedicated to Vishnu and is the grandest temple
of Khajuraho, built in 954 by the Chandela king,
Dhanga. A Nagara temple is placed on a high
platform accessed by stairs. There are four
smaller temples in the corners, and all the
towers or shikhara rise high, upward in a curved
pyramidal fashion, emphasizing the temple's
vertical thrust ending in a horizontal fluted disc
called an amalak topped with a kalash or vase.
Statement 3 is correct: The Kandariya
Mahadeo temple at Khajuraho is dedicated to
Lord Shiva. There are many temples at
Khajuraho, most of them devoted to Hindu
gods. There are some Jain temples as well as a
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Chausanth Yogini temple, belonging to the
Tantric sect which is of interest. Several erotic
sculptures have been found in this temple.
Q5 Text Solution:
Answer: (a)
The Sun temple at Modhera (Gujarat) dates
back to the early eleventh century and was
built by Raja Bhimdev I of the Solanki Dynasty
in 1026. The Solanki is a branch of the later
Chalukyas. There is a massive rectangular
stepped tank called the Surya Kund in front of
it. The proximity of sacred architecture to a
water body such as a tank, a river, or a pond
has been noticed right from the earliest times.
This hundred-square-metre rectangular pond is
perhaps the grandest temple tank in India. A
hundred and eight miniature shrines are
carved in between the steps inside the
tank. (Hence, option (a) is correct).
Q6 Text Solution:
The temples of Odisha constitute a distinct
of substyle within the Nagara order. In general,
here the shikhara, called deul in Odisha, is
vertical almost until the top when it suddenly
curves sharply inwards. Deuls are preceded, as
usual, by Mandapas called Jagamohana in
Odisha. (Hence, option (b) is correct).
Q7 Text Solution:
Answer: (a) Only one
Statement 1 is correct: A unique form of
architecture developed in the hills of Kumaon,
Garhwal, Himachal, and Kashmir. Kashmir's
proximity to prominent Gandhara sites (such as
Taxila, Peshawar, and the Northwest Frontier)
lent the region a strong Gandhara influence by
the fifth century CE. This began to mix with the
Gupta and post-Gupta traditions that were
brought to it from Sarnath, Mathura, and even
centers in Gujarat and Bengal. Gandhara
school of art was influenced by Buddhism while
Mathura school of art was influenced by
Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. Hence, the
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1/12/24, 5:21 PM UPSC_DPP 8
temples of Kumaon and Garhwal have shown
influences of both Buddhism and Hinduism.
Statement 2 is incorrect: Brahmin pundits and
Buddhist monks frequently traveled between
Kashmir, Garhwal, Kumaon, and religious
centers in the plains like Banaras, Nalanda, and
even as far south as Kanchipuram. As a result,
both Buddhist and Hindu traditions began to
intermingle and spread in the hills. The hills also
had their tradition of wooden buildings with
pitched roofs. The Karkota period of Kashmir is
the most significant in terms of architecture.
One of the most important temples is
Pandrethan, built during the eighth and ninth
centuries. Although there is evidence of both
Hindu and Buddhist followings in Kashmir, this
temple is a Hindu one, possibly dedicated to
Lord Shiva.
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Statement 3 is incorrect: At several places in
the hills, therefore, you will find that while the
main Garbhagriha and Shikhara are made in a
rekha-prashada or Latina style, the mandapa
is of an older form of wooden architecture. In
keeping with the tradition of a water tank
attached to the shrine, this temple is built on a
plinth built in the middle of a tank. The
architecture of this temple is in keeping with the
age-old Kashmiri tradition of wooden
buildings. Due to the snowy conditions in
Kashmir, the roof is peaked and slants slowly
outwards. The temple is moderately
ornamented, moving away from the post-
Gupta aesthetics of heavy carving. A row of
elephants at the base and a decorated
doorway are the only embellishments on the
shrine.
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