Below are 100 exam-style MCQs (with answers) focused on Unit 1 — Cultural History of India (prehistoric → CE 1200, visual evidence, Natyashastra concepts, Vedas, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Cilappadikaram, Bhagavata Purana, Bhakti & related performance traditions). Use them as a timed practice set — they follow UGC-NET format (4 options, one correct answer).
-
The Bhimbetka rock shelters primarily provide evidence of:
A) Urban planning
B) Prehistoric cave paintings of humans and animals
C) Temple architecture
D) Mauryan inscriptions
Answer: B -
The “Dancing Girl” figurine was discovered at:
A) Harappa
B) Mohenjo-Daro
C) Lothal
D) Dholavira
Answer: B -
Which Veda is most closely associated with early melodic chant and the basis of Indian music?
A) Rigveda
B) Samaveda
C) Yajurveda
D) Atharvaveda
Answer: B -
In Vedic ritual context, the term yajna primarily denotes:
A) Court drama
B) Sacrificial ritual often accompanied by chant and action
C) Temple sculpture
D) Folk storytelling
Answer: B -
Which text is called the “Fifth Veda” according to classical Indian theory of drama?
A) Bhagavata Purana
B) Natyashastra
C) Mahabharata
D) Ramayana
Answer: B -
According to the Nāṭyaśāstra, Natya was created by:
A) Shiva
B) Vishnu
C) Brahma
D) Indra
Answer: C -
The Nāṭyaśāstra synthesises the four Vedas into drama. Which Veda supplies the basis for Abhinaya (gesture)?
A) Rigveda
B) Samaveda
C) Yajurveda
D) Atharvaveda
Answer: C -
Rasa in Nāṭyaśāstra theory primarily denotes:
A) A hand gesture
B) A musical mode
C) The aesthetic emotion tasted by the spectator
D) A costume type
Answer: C -
How many principal Rasas are originally enumerated in Nāṭyaśāstra?
A) Six
B) Seven
C) Eight
D) Nine
Answer: C -
Which Rasa was later added (after Bharata) and emphasized by Abhinavagupta?
A) Śṛṅgāra
B) Hāsya
C) Śānta
D) Vīra
Answer: C -
Abhinaya has how many types according to Nāṭyaśāstra?
A) Two
B) Three
C) Four
D) Five
Answer: C -
Which of the following is NOT a type of abhinaya?
A) Angika
B) Vachika
C) Aharya
D) Laya
Answer: D -
Sattvika abhinaya primarily relates to:
A) Costume
B) Vocal music
C) Inner involuntary feelings expressed physically
D) Stage architecture
Answer: C -
Lokadharmi style refers to:
A) Stylized, conventional acting
B) Realistic, life-like acting
C) Temple ritual only
D) Dance without music
Answer: B -
Natyagruha in Nāṭyaśāstra denotes:
A) Musical scale
B) Theatre/playhouse architecture
C) A kind of costume
D) A dramatic genre
Answer: B -
Purvaranga vidhi describes:
A) The finale scene of the play
B) Pre-performance rituals and preliminaries
C) The actor’s autobiography
D) The chorus arrangement
Answer: B -
Karanas (as seen in temple sculpture) are:
A) Musical instruments
B) Fundamental units of movement combining hand and foot
C) Stage props
D) Types of plays
Answer: B -
Which temple site is famous for its sculptural representation of karanas?
A) Konark
B) Khajuraho
C) Elephanta
D) Sanchi
Answer: B -
Ajanta murals are primarily associated with which religious tradition?
A) Hinduism
B) Buddhism
C) Jainism
D) Islam
Answer: B -
The Cilappadikaram is a major classical epic from which linguistic tradition?
A) Sanskrit
B) Pali
C) Tamil
D) Prakrit
Answer: C -
The heroine Kannagi appears in which epic?
A) Ramayana
B) Cilappadikaram
C) Mahabharata
D) Bhagavata Purana
Answer: B -
Bhagavata Purana is most closely associated with narratives of:
A) Rama only
B) Krishna and his Raslila
C) Shiva tandava
D) Buddhist Jataka tales
Answer: B -
Raslila performance tradition primarily enacts episodes from:
A) Ramayana
B) Mahabharata
C) Bhagavata Purana
D) Cilappadikaram
Answer: C -
In Ramayana, who is regarded as the ideal hero (Nayaka) in performance traditions?
A) Ravana
B) Rama
C) Hanuman
D) Vibhishana
Answer: B -
Which Mahabharata episode is frequently enacted as a dramatic spectacle illustrating fate and dharma?
A) Gita discourse only
B) Yudhisthira’s dice game and Draupadi’s disrobing
C) Abduction of Sita
D) Krishna’s Raslila
Answer: B -
The Bhagavad Gita is located in which book of the Mahabharata?
A) Adi Parva
B) Sabha Parva
C) Bhishma Parva (or BhG in Bhishma Parva)
D) Sauptika Parva
Answer: C -
The Nāṭyaśāstra attributes Rasa arising from combination of:
A) Gita + Nritya only
B) Bhava + Vibhava + Anubhava + Vyabhicaribhava
C) Costume + Music only
D) Dialogue only
Answer: B -
Which scholar wrote an encyclopedic commentary Abhinavabharati on Nāṭyaśāstra?
A) Bharata Muni
B) Abhinavagupta
C) Nandikeshvara
D) Sarangadeva
Answer: B -
Abhinavagupta’s key contribution to Rasa theory was to see Rasa as:
A) A social pastime
B) Aestheticized spiritual bliss (transcendental experience)
C) Pure entertainment
D) Musical notation
Answer: B -
Which classical Tamil text contains explicit references to music and dance practice in an urban setting?
A) Ramayana
B) Manimekalai
C) Cilappadikaram
D) Mahabharata
Answer: C -
The Devadasi tradition is most closely linked historically with:
A) Tibetan Buddhism
B) South Indian temples and ritual dance practice
C) Mughal court dance
D) European opera
Answer: B -
Which of the following is an early example of narrative mural painting in India?
A) Mughal miniatures
B) Ajanta cave paintings
C) Tanjore paintings (modern)
D) Kalighat paintings
Answer: B -
In the evolution of Indian theatre, Natya served primarily for:
A) Only royal entertainment
B) Social education, ritual communication and aesthetic experience
C) Trade negotiations
D) Military training
Answer: B -
The Rigveda contributes primarily to which element in Nāṭyaśāstra synthesis?
A) Gita (music)
B) Pathya (speech/poetry) and meter (text)
C) Abhinaya (gesture)
D) Rasa (emotion)
Answer: B -
Which of the following Purāṇas is central to Vaishnava devotional theatre?
A) Shiva Purana
B) Bhagavata Purana
C) Markandeya Purana
D) Matsya Purana
Answer: B -
The representation of dance in stone (temple friezes) demonstrates which continuity?
A) That dance was never a live art
B) The codification of movement vocabulary (karanas, hasta) from text into visual form
C) That sculpture replaced dance
D) That all dances were secular
Answer: B -
Natyashastra’s chapter on Rasas is generally placed around which chapter number?
A) Chapter 1
B) Chapter 6 (approximately)
C) Chapter 20
D) Chapter 36
Answer: B -
Which text provides a detailed manual of gestures and mime often used by dancers?
A) Sangita Ratnakara
B) Abhinaya Darpana
C) Ragamala
D) Natya Parijat
Answer: B -
Abhinaya Darpana is traditionally attributed to:
A) Bharata Muni
B) Nandikeshvara (or Nandikeśvara)
C) Kalidasa
D) Abhinavagupta
Answer: B -
Which of the following dance forms traces its codified repertoire to temple ritual and bhakti tradition in Odisha?
A) Bharatanatyam
B) Odissi
C) Kathakali
D) Kathak
Answer: B -
The musical elements of early drama are most directly traced to which Veda?
A) Atharvaveda
B) Samaveda
C) Rigveda
D) Yajurveda
Answer: B -
The concept of Sahridaya denotes:
A) A stage manager
B) A sensitive spectator capable of experiencing Rasa
C) A type of performer
D) A musical instrument
Answer: B -
Which epic’s episodes form the basis of Ramleela performance tradition?
A) Mahabharata
B) Ramayana
C) Bhagavata Purana
D) Harivamsa
Answer: B -
Which of these is an example of medieval devotional theatre developed under Bhakti currents?
A) Noh theatre
B) Ramlila and Raslila
C) Kabuki
D) Commedia dell’arte
Answer: B -
Khajuraho sculptures belong broadly to which century range?
A) 2nd–4th century CE
B) 9th–12th century CE
C) 15th–17th century CE
D) 18th–19th century CE
Answer: B -
Which of the following is true about Mahabharata’s dramaturgical elements?
A) It contains only poetry with no dramatic scenes
B) It includes episodes with dialogue, scene structure and moral conflict used for dramatization
C) It forbids performance of its episodes
D) It is only a musical text
Answer: B -
The Nalopakhyana (story of Nala and Damayanti) in Mahabharata is often used in performance to exemplify:
A) Courtly dance-display of conjugal love and tragedy (Shringara and Karuna rasas)
B) Pure comic relief
C) Military drill
D) Agricultural ritual
Answer: A -
Which regional dramatic form prominently uses episodes from Bhagavata Purana?
A) Yakshagana
B) Kabuki
C) Peking Opera
D) Noh
Answer: A -
The sculpted image of Nataraja primarily represents which god?
A) Vishnu
B) Shiva as cosmic dancer
C) Brahma
D) Indra
Answer: B -
Which practice demonstrates the integration of ritual and performative elements in South India historically?
A) Court theatre only
B) Devadasi system (temple dancers as ritual performers)
C) European ballet troupes
D) Street theatre only
Answer: B -
The idea of art as a vehicle of moksha (liberation) is emphasized by which commentator?
A) Bharata Muni
B) Abhinavagupta
C) Kalidasa
D) Nandikeshvara
Answer: B -
Which Purana’s tenth skandha is the main source of Krishna’s life and Rasa episodes?
A) Bhagavata Purana
B) Vishnu Purana
C) Shiva Purana
D) Brahma Vaivarta Purana
Answer: A -
Which epic’s court scenes have been dramatized in the Indian theatre tradition as morality plays about governance?
A) Iliad
B) Mahabharata
C) Beowulf
D) Odyssey
Answer: B -
The term Nāṭya literally connotes:
A) Silent painting
B) Acting/drama (with elements of dance and music)
C) Stone carving
D) Royal decree
Answer: B -
Which classical work provides the earliest systematic treatment of acting, stagecraft and aesthetics?
A) Sangita Ratnakara
B) Natyashastra
C) Abhinaya Darpana
D) Rasamanjari
Answer: B -
Vyabhicaribhava are:
A) Permanent dominant emotions
B) Transitory/emergent emotions supporting Rasa
C) Types of musical instruments
D) Stage props
Answer: B -
Which of the following is a feature of Gupta period art important for performance studies?
A) Decline of narrative art
B) Refinement of human form and graceful postures in sculpture and painting
C) Absence of music scenes
D) Solely military motifs
Answer: B -
In Tamil performance tradition, Pann denotes:
A) A costume type
B) A melodic mode/scale system used in ancient Tamil music
C) A dramatic genre
D) A stage prop
Answer: B -
Which of the following is an early dramatized Purana episode in North India?
A) Krishna’s childhood in Bhagavata Purana (Raslila)
B) Sita’s marriage scene in Cilappadikaram
C) Nala’s exile in Rigveda
D) Buddha’s sermons in Yajurveda
Answer: A -
The term Sahrdaya is central to which aesthetic theorist’s commentaries?
A) Kalidasa
B) Abhinavagupta (and classical commentators)
C) Tulsidas
D) Bhartrihari
Answer: B -
Which archaeological site contains terracotta musicians and dancers indicating performance culture?
A) Sanchi
B) Harappa (Indus sites)
C) Meenakshi temple
D) Qutub Minar
Answer: B -
Ardhachandra poses in sculpture are associated with which art form?
A) Architecture only
B) Dance postures depicted in sculpture (classical movement vocabulary)
C) Calligraphy
D) Weaving
Answer: B -
Which of these is a primary reason epics were suitable for theatrical adaptation?
A) Short length only
B) Narrative structure, distinct characters, emotional arcs (rasas) and public familiarity
C) Lack of moral complexity
D) Absence of dialogues
Answer: B -
The Natyashastra emphasizes which function of theatre?
A) Economic profit only
B) Education, entertainment and spiritual uplift (Shiksha, Vihara, Moksha)
C) Military instruction
D) Political propaganda only
Answer: B -
Which dance form evolved historically in Assam out of Vaishnava devotional theatre?
A) Bharatanatyam
B) Sattriya
C) Kathakali
D) Kuchipudi
Answer: B -
Which of the following best describes the relationship between sculpture and performance in Indian art history?
A) Sculpture replaces performance
B) Sculpture records and codifies movement vocabulary and iconography used in live performance
C) Sculpture rejects any link to performance
D) Sculpture is only religious text
Answer: B -
Dasarupaka refers to:
A) Ten types of plays described in classical dramaturgy
B) Ten types of musical instruments
C) Ten types of costumes
D) Ten stages of life
Answer: A -
The concept of Sadharanikarana in Rasa theory denotes:
A) Costume design
B) Universalisation of emotion from individual to aesthetic experience
C) A musical rhythm
D) Stage lighting technique
Answer: B -
Which text is an important medieval source for music and performing arts (12th century)?
A) Bharata Muni’s Natyashastra
B) Sangita Ratnakara (Sarangadeva)
C) Abhinaya Darpana
D) Rasamanjari
Answer: B -
Which region’s folk theatre tradition is Yakshagana?
A) West Bengal
B) Karnataka (Coastal Karnataka)
C) Tamil Nadu
D) Assam
Answer: B -
The character Hanuman in Ramayana is often depicted in performance to embody which primary Rasa?
A) Hasya only
B) Vira (heroism/devotion) and Karuna in moments of pity
C) Bhayanaka
D) Bibhatsa
Answer: B -
In the Mahabharata, which character’s ethical crisis is central to many dramatic adaptations?
A) Bhima
B) Yudhishthira (dice episode and exile)
C) Shakuni only
D) Drona only
Answer: B -
Which Purana contains extensive theistic stories that became stage repertory for Vaishnava performances?
A) Shiva Purana
B) Bhagavata Purana
C) Agni Purana
D) Garuda Purana
Answer: B -
Abhinaya Darpana provides detailed classification of:
A) Stage architecture only
B) Hand gestures (Hasta), head, eyes movements, and expressions used in dance-drama
C) Musical scales only
D) Costume patterns only
Answer: B -
Which movement emphasized personal devotion and had a profound effect on vernacular performance?
A) Tantra only
B) Bhakti movement
C) Hellenistic movement
D) Renaissance movement
Answer: B -
The Pattabhisheka episode (coronation) of Rama is categorized in performances often as exemplifying:
A) Hasya Rasa
B) Vira and Santa (heroic and peaceful) Rasas
C) Bibhatsa only
D) Bhayanaka only
Answer: B -
Which of the following is NOT a source for reconstructing ancient performance practices?
A) Rock-art and cave paintings
B) Temple sculpture and reliefs
C) Contemporary newspaper reports from prehistoric era
D) Literary texts (Vedas, epics, treatises)
Answer: C -
The term Angika literally refers to:
A) Instrumental music
B) Body/physical expression in performance
C) Vocal recitation
D) Stage management
Answer: B -
Rasotpatti refers to:
A) The process of Rasa emergence and realisation in the audience
B) A costume type
C) A temple architecture style
D) A musical instrument
Answer: A -
Which South Indian classical dance’s repertoire historically includes items derived from temple rituals and textual prescriptions?
A) Odissi only
B) Bharatanatyam (with temple origins)
C) Ballet
D) Flamenco
Answer: B -
In Mahabharata dramaturgy, who is primarily associated with strategic deception that is often staged dramatically?
A) Vidura
B) Shakuni (dice manipulator)
C) Satyaki
D) Yuyutsu
Answer: B -
The earliest tangible visual evidence for performance in India is dated to roughly:
A) 20th century CE
B) Neolithic/Chalcolithic and prehistoric periods (Bhimbetka, Indus)
C) 15th century CE
D) 5th century CE only
Answer: B -
Hasyarasa corresponds to which dominant actor/audience reaction?
A) Sorrow
B) Laughter and comic delight
C) Fear
D) Disgust
Answer: B -
Which classical text prescribes stage types and audience arrangements (kakshya vibhag etc.)?
A) Sangita Ratnakara
B) Natyashastra
C) Abhinava Bharati
D) Cilappadikaram
Answer: B -
The tradition of Ramlila primarily belongs to which cultural practice?
A) Court ballet
B) Folk/community theatrical enactment of Ramayana episodes during festivals
C) Buddhist monastic chanting
D) Persian miniature theatre
Answer: B -
The representation of Nataraja at Chidambaram symbolizes:
A) Agricultural ritual
B) Cosmic dance of creation, preservation and dissolution
C) Royal coronation only
D) Market ritual
Answer: B -
Which form of evidence helps trace the musical instruments used in early Indian performance?
A) Literary descriptions, sculptural reliefs and terracotta/bronze finds
B) Photographs from prehistoric times
C) European traveler accounts before 1000 BCE
D) None of the above
Answer: A -
The Dasarupaka classification is concerned with:
A) Ten types of Rasa only
B) Ten types of plays/dramatic genres in classical dramaturgy
C) Ten musical modes
D) Ten temple types
Answer: B -
Bhakti poetry turned many narratives into performable songs called:
A) Shlokas only for reading
B) Kirtans and Bhajans (sung and often enacted)
C) Philosophical tracts only
D) Legal codes
Answer: B -
Which text is considered a bridge between textual theory and practical gesture (widely used by dancers)?
A) Natyashastra only
B) Abhinaya Darpana (practical manual of gesture)
C) Ramayana only
D) Mahabharata only
Answer: B -
Which of the following is a hallmark of Gupta period dramaturgy and aesthetics?
A) Baroque excess
B) Refinement, idealized human form and codified bhavas in art and literature
C) Decline of narrative forms
D) Complete secularization of art
Answer: B -
The Anubhava in Rasa theory means:
A) Cause of an emotion
B) Manifested/expressed effect or external signs of emotion (observable)
C) A musical rhythm
D) A dramatic genre
Answer: B -
Which region developed Kathakali, heavily influenced by Kerala temple and ritual traditions?
A) Maharashtra
B) Kerala
C) Assam
D) Punjab
Answer: B -
Which epic character’s exile narrative has been a major source for performative enactment and moral discourse?
A) Arjuna only
B) Rama (Ramayana) and Pandavas (Mahabharata) both (exile episodes staged widely)
C) Ravana only
D) Krishna only
Answer: B -
Dharma as dramatized in epics often functions to:
A) Provide purely comic entertainment
B) Pose ethical dilemmas and instruct audiences through enacted outcomes
C) Propagate only royal decrees
D) Avoid moral questions
Answer: B -
Temple dance sculptures often served as:
A) Manuals for performers and visual codification of movement vocabulary
B) Mere decoration without functional value
C) Records of agriculture
D) Military manuals
Answer: A -
Which classical commentator emphasized the role of the ‘Sahridaya’ (sensitive viewer) in experiencing Rasa?
A) Bharata Muni
B) Abhinavagupta
C) Kalidasa
D) Tulsidas
Answer: B -
The evolution from folk ritual to classical codified forms typically involved:
A) Total discontinuity with folk forms
B) Gradual institutionalization, codification, and textualization of movement/music/gesture
C) Immediate replacement by foreign forms
D) Only oral transmission with no texts
Answer: B -
Natyashastra’s treatment of stagecraft includes specification for:
A) Only actor’s costumes
B) Theatre dimensions, audience divisions, prologue conventions (Nandi/Kakshya), and stage devices
C) Only music composition
D) Only poetic meters
Answer: B -
The integration of epic narrative with dance and theatre achieves which classical function in Indian society?
A) Entertainment alone
B) Moral instruction, communal bonding, and spiritual uplift (multi-functional role)
C) Solely economic gain
D) Only private enjoyment of elites
Answer: B