With reference to the Indian history of art and culture, consider the following pairs: 1. A grand image of Buddha's Mahaparinirvana with numerous celestial musicians above and the sorrowful figures of his followers below - Ajanta 2. A huge image of Varaha Avatar (boar incarnation) of Vishnu, as he rescues Goddess Earth from the deep and chaotic waters, sculpted on rock - Mount Abu 3. "Arjuna's Penance" / "Descent of Ganga" sculpted on the surface of huge boulders - Mamallapuram Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

States Ajanta caves were embellished with murals of extraordinary beauty and large Buddha statues as part of the Mahayana tradition.

A student could check whether Mahayana mural programs at major cave complexes commonly include narrative scenes of the Buddha’s life (like Mahaparinirvana) and then inspect Ajanta catalogues for such a mural.

Describes Ajanta architecture (chaityas with Buddha statue at rear) and the classical sculptural image of the Buddha in caves.

Use this to infer Ajanta’s suitability for major Buddha iconography (including reclining/Parinirvana types) and compare known Parinirvana sculptures/paintings at rock-cut sites.

Says Ajanta paintings depict narrative episodes (Jatakas), courtly life, processions and naturalistic scenes — showing Ajanta artists painted complex multi-figure compositions.

Since Mahaparinirvana is a multi-figure narrative scene, a student could reasonably expect Ajanta’s mural repertoire might include such a composition and then look for specific plates or site inventories.

Explains that Buddhist narratives (e.g., mahaparinibbana) are conveyed both by symbols and by hagiographic knowledge used by art historians to interpret sculpture and scenes.

Combine this rule with knowledge of visual conventions for Parinirvana (reclining Buddha, mourners, celestial beings) to guide searching Ajanta imagery or scholarly catalogs for matching iconography.

Notes presence of divine/semidivine figures (various goddesses) carved in Ajanta caves, indicating the site includes celestial/otherworldly figures in its iconography.

Use this to support plausibility that celestial musicians (devas/gandharvas) could appear in Ajanta mural programs, then verify by checking site images or descriptions of specific panels.

Gives a concrete example of a large Varaha (boar) rock/stone image at Aihole, showing that monumental Varaha sculptures exist in India.

A student could note that large Varaha images occur at multiple sites and then check whether Mount Abu is known for similar monumental Varaha carving.

Mentions the great Boar (Varaha) at the entrance of a cave at Udayagiri — another instance of a prominent cave/rock Varaha image.

Use the pattern of cave-associated Varaha sculptures to assess whether Mount Abu (which has rock-cut sites) might also host such an image.

Describes a famous massive rock-surface sculpture at Mahabalipuram and notes art historians use textual traditions to identify subjects, implying large open-air rock reliefs are a known category.

Compare known large rock-reliefs (Mahabalipuram) with Mount Abu’s rock-art traditions or maps to judge plausibility of a Varaha relief there.

Documents the widespread Indian tradition of rock-cut shrines (Ellora, Elephanta, Kailasanath at Ellora), showing rock-hewn monumental sculpture is common across regions.

Combine this general rule (rock-cut monumental sculpture widespread) with geographical knowledge of Mount Abu to evaluate whether such a work could plausibly be there.

Gives an example (Belur temple) of Varaha iconography integrated into temple sculpture, indicating Varaha scenes are common in temple/rock art repertoire.

A student can use the commonness of Varaha scenes in southern and central sites to check if Mount Abu’s sculptural program includes similar Puranic scenes.