Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings Class 12 NCERT Solutions, PYQs & Notes

Ans: Yes, their ideas were distinctly different:
1. Upanishadic Thinkers: They believed in the concept of Karma (actions have consequences in the next life), rebirth, and the ultimate reality (Brahman). They focused on the meaning of life and the possibility of life after death.
2. Fatalists (Ajivikas): Thinkers like Makkhali Gosala believed that everything is predetermined. Human effort cannot change destiny; joy and sorrow are fixed in quantity.
3. Materialists (Lokayatas): Thinkers like Ajita Kesakambalin believed that there is no life after death, no karma, and no soul. When a person dies, they dissolve back into the earth, water, fire, and air. They rejected the idea of alms or sacrifices having any cosmic value.

Ans: The central teachings of Jainism are:
1. Animism: The entire world is animated; even rocks, stones, and water have life.
2. Ahimsa (Non-violence): The principle of not injuring living beings, especially humans, animals, plants, and insects, is the core of Jaina philosophy.
3. Karma and Rebirth: The cycle of birth and rebirth is shaped through karma. To free oneself from this cycle, asceticism and penance are required.
4. Five Vows for Monks: Jaina monks and nuns take five vows: to abstain from killing, stealing, and lying; to observe celibacy; and to abstain from possessing property.

Ans: The survival of the Sanchi Stupa is largely due to the 19th-century rulers of Bhopal—Shahjehan Begum and her successor Sultan Jehan Begum:
1. They provided generous financial grants for the preservation and maintenance of the ancient site.
2. When the French and the English wanted to take away the beautifully carved eastern gateway to their museums in Europe, the Begums cleverly convinced them to take plaster-cast copies instead, saving the original.
3. Sultan Jehan Begum funded the construction of a museum, a guesthouse, and the publication of the volumes written by John Marshall on Sanchi.

Ans: From ancient times, people tended to view certain places with special trees, unique rocks, or awe-inspiring natural beauty as sacred. Small shrines were sometimes attached to these sites. These specific sacred places were known as chaityas.

Ans: A Vihara is a Buddhist monastery where monks (bhikkhus) and nuns (bhikkhunis) lived, studied, and meditated. Over time, some rock-cut caves in western India were transformed into elaborate viharas.

Ans: Buddha’s foster mother, Mahapajapati Gotami, was the first woman to be ordained as a bhikkhuni. Buddha originally admitted only men into the sangha, but eventually allowed women after the persuasion of his beloved disciple, Ananda.

Ans: A Tirthankara literally means "ford-builder" or a teacher who guides men and women across the river of existence. There are 24 Tirthankaras in Jainism; Vardhamana Mahavira was the 24th and last.

Ans: 1. Lumbini: Where he was born.
2. Bodh Gaya: Where he attained enlightenment.
3. Sarnath: Where he gave his first sermon.
4. Kusinagara: Where he attained nibbana (died).

Ans: In early Buddhist art, Buddha was not shown in human form. The empty seat indicated the meditation of the Buddha. The wheel stood for the first sermon he delivered at Sarnath (Dharmachakra Pravartana).

Ans: A beautiful woman swinging from the edge of the gateway at Sanchi. Initially confusing to historians as she had no direct link to Buddhism, it was later understood that she was Shalabhanjika—an auspicious motif representing a woman whose touch caused trees to flower and bear fruit.

Ans: The Sangha was an organization of monks (bhikkhus) established by the Buddha. It was a community of teachers of dhamma who lived simple lives, possessing only the essential requisites for survival, such as a bowl to receive food once a day.

Ans: The Jatakas are a massive collection of Buddhist texts detailing the previous lives (births) of the Buddha, often in animal or human form. Many sculptures at Sanchi are visual representations of these Jataka stories (e.g., the Vessantara Jataka).

Ans: Early temples (around the 3rd century CE) were simple structures. The core was a small square room called the Garbhagriha, with a single doorway for the worshipper to enter and offer prayers to the image. Later, a tall structure known as the Shikhara was built over the central shrine.

Ans: The Kailashnatha temple at Ellora (Maharashtra) is world-famous because an entire temple, complete with intricate sculptures and pillars, was carved out of a single massive piece of rock. The chief sculptor reportedly exclaimed in awe, "Oh how did I make it!"

Ans: A 'Theri' is a respected older nun who has attained liberation in Buddhism. The Therigatha is a unique Buddhist text, part of the Sutta Pitaka, containing verses composed by these bhikkhunis, giving us a rare glimpse into women's spiritual and social experiences.

Ans: A Kutagarashala was literally a "hut with a pointed roof" or in groves where traveling mendicants halted. Here, philosophical debates among teachers of various sects (like Buddha, Mahavira, Ajivikas) took place regarding the nature of the world.

Ans: In Buddhist art and literature, the Bodhi tree is the sacred fig tree at Bodh Gaya under which Siddhartha Gautama meditated and attained enlightenment, thereby becoming the Buddha.

Ans: Initially, some art historians who did not know about Buddhist texts thought Sanchi sculptures just depicted rural life. But historians like James Fergusson carefully studied the Buddhist texts (Jatakas) and matched the texts with the carved panels to decipher their true narrative meaning.