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Q9 (IAS/2021) History & Culture › Art & Architecture › Buddhist art and architecture Official Key

Which one of the following statements is correct?

Result
Your answer: —  ·  Correct: A
Explanation

The correct answer is Option 1.

The Ajanta Caves are a series of 29 Buddhist rock-cut monuments located in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra. These caves are carved into the vertical cliffs of a horseshoe-shaped ravine formed by the Waghora River. The river descends in a series of waterfalls, which can be viewed from the caves, confirming the geographical association.

The other options are incorrect due to the following reasons:

  • Sanchi Stupa: Located in Raisen district near the Betwa River, not the Chambal River.
  • Pandu-lena Caves: These are Buddhist caves located near Nashik on the Trirashmi hills; they are not situated in a gorge of the Narmada River.
  • Amaravati Stupa: Situated on the banks of the Krishna River in Andhra Pradesh, not the Godavari River.

Thus, only Option 1 accurately describes the topographical setting of the heritage site.

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Don’t just practise – reverse-engineer the question. This panel shows where this PYQ came from (books / web), how the examiner broke it into hidden statements, and which nearby micro-concepts you were supposed to learn from it. Treat it like an autopsy of the question: what might have triggered it, which exact lines in the book matter, and what linked ideas you should carry forward to future questions.
Q. Which one of the following statements is correct? [A] Ajanta Caves lie in the gorge of Waghora river. [B] Sanchi Stupa lies in the gorg…
At a glance
Origin: Mostly Current Affairs Fairness: Low / Borderline fairness Books / CA: 0/10 · 5/10
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This question exposes the 'Site-Geography Linkage' trend. UPSC has moved beyond asking 'Which State?' to 'Which River/Hill?'. While the skeleton flags this as web-heavy, the correct answer is actually a direct line from the NCERT Class XI Fine Arts textbook, proving that standard sources are often deeper than they appear.

How this question is built

This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.

Statement 1
Are the Ajanta Caves located in the gorge of the Waghora River?
Origin: Web / Current Affairs Fairness: CA heavy Web-answerable

Web source
Presence: 5/5
"The Ajanta Caves are located in Maharashtra, India and indeed they lie in the gorge of the Waghora river."
Why this source?
  • Explicitly states that the Ajanta Caves lie in the gorge of the Waghora river.
  • Also locates the Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra, India, tying the site to the regional river gorge.

History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 9: Cultural Development in South India > 9.4Ajanta > p. 128
Strength: 5/5
“The Ajanta caves are situated at a distance of about 100 km north of Aurangabad in Maharashtra. Totally 30 caves have been scooped out of volcanic rocks. Though chiefly famous for mural paintings, there are some sculptures too. The Hinayana sect of Buddhism started the excavation of caves in Ajanta. The patrons were the kings who ruled the Deccan plateau during the period c. 200 BCE to 200 CE. Inscriptions speak of the patrons who range from kings to merchants.”
Why relevant

Gives the precise regional location: Ajanta caves are about 100 km north of Aurangabad in Maharashtra.

How to extend

A student can place Ajanta on a map relative to Aurangabad and then check whether the Waghora River runs through that mapped area and forms a gorge at the site.

History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 9: Cultural Development in South India > II. Elora - Ajanta and Mamallapuram > p. 127
Strength: 4/5
“Aurangabad district in Maharashtra is the centre of the groups of caves in Ellora and Ajanta. The Ellora group of caves are famous for sculptures while the Ajanta group of caves are famous for paintings. The dates of these temples range from c. 500 to c. 950 CE. But the activity of creating cave temples may have started two hundred years earlier. The first cave temple was created for the Ajivikas. Some of the temples are incomplete.”
Why relevant

States that Ajanta is in Aurangabad district, the same administrative area as nearby cave groups.

How to extend

Use district-level maps showing rivers in Aurangabad district to see if the Waghora River passes by the Ajanta site and whether a gorge is present.

History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 7: The Guptas > Rock-cut and Structural Temples > p. 98
Strength: 4/5
“The rock-cut caves continue the old forms to a great extent but possess striking novelty by bringing about extensive changes in the ornamentation of the facade and in the designs of the pillars in the interior. The most notable groups of the rock-cut caves are found at Ajanta and Ellora (Maharashtra) and Bagh (Madhya Pradesh). The Udayagiri caves (Odisha) are also of this type. The structural temples have the following attributes: (1) flat-roofed square temples; (2) flat-roofed square temple with a vimana (second storey); (3) square temple with a curvilinear tower (shikara) above; (4) rectangular temple; and (5) circular temple.”
Why relevant

Notes that Ajanta is a notable rock-cut cave group, and such caves are often hewn into cliff faces or escarpments.

How to extend

Knowing rock-cut caves are typically carved into cliffs, a student can look for topographic evidence (cliffs/gorges) at Ajanta and see if the Waghora forms such a gorge.

Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 3: The Drainage System of India > Tapi River > p. 20
Strength: 3/5
“Having a length of 700 km and a basin area of 66,900 sq km, the river Tapi rises from the Satpura Range and flows westward almost parallel to Satpura. At Khandwa-Burhanpur Gap, the Narmada and Tapi come close to each other. Below Jalgaon, the river, like the Narmada, flows in a rift valley but in a much constricted form between the Satpura Range to the north and the Ajanta Range to the south. Below the city of Surat, it makes an estuary and merges into the Gulf of Khambat.”
Why relevant

Mentions the 'Ajanta Range' in the context of regional river valleys and rift valleys, indicating a named local physiographic feature.

How to extend

A student can correlate the Ajanta Range on physical maps with the course of the Waghora River to judge whether the river cuts a gorge at the cave location.

THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART I, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 4: Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings > Paintings from the past > p. 102
Strength: 3/5
“While stone sculpture survives the ravages of time and is therefore most easily available to the historian, other visual means of communication, including paintings, were also used in the past. Those that have survived best are on walls of caves, of which those from Ajanta (Maharashtra) are the most famous. The paintings at Ajanta depict stories from the Jatakas. These include depictions of courtly life, processions, men and women at work, and festivals. The artists used the technique of shading to give a three-dimensional quality. Some of the paintings are extremely naturalistic. Another motif is that of a woman surrounded by lotuses and elephants (Fig.”
Why relevant

Describes Ajanta paintings surviving on cave walls, implying caves are exposed in rock faces (cliffs) rather than being wholly subterranean.

How to extend

Combine this with satellite or topographic imagery to see if those rock faces are part of a gorge formed by a nearby river such as the Waghora.

Statement analysis

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Statement analysis

This statement analysis shows book citations, web sources and indirect clues. The first statement (S1) is open for preview.

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Statement analysis

This statement analysis shows book citations, web sources and indirect clues. The first statement (S1) is open for preview.

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SIMILAR QUESTIONS

CAPF · 2010 · Q58 Relevance score: 5.13

Which of the following statements is/are correct ? 1. The Ajanta caves have been painted with scenes from Jainism. 2. The crowning achievements of Ellora caves is the colossal monolithic Kailasanath temple. 3. The Ajanta caves have been built over a period of eight centuries by different rulers. Select the correct answer using the code given below :

IAS · 2013 · Q82 Relevance score: 1.56

Consider the following historical places : 1. Ajanta Caves 2. Lepakshi Temple 3. Sanchi Stupa Which of the above places is/are also known for mural paintings?

IAS · 2006 · Q96 Relevance score: 1.55

Which one of the following statements is not correct?

CDS-I · 2013 · Q42 Relevance score: 1.29

Statement I : Lomash Rishi and Sudama caves in the Barabar Hills, modelled on wooden architectural prototypes, arc examples of the earliest cave architecture in India, Statement II : Barabar Hills caves were dedicated by Chandragupta Maurya to Ajivika monks.

IAS · 2005 · Q27 Relevance score: 1.09

Which of the following statements is not correct?