UPSC Prelims 2018 · Question 71 of 99
UPSC Prelims 2018 question on Sthanakvasi Jainism
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2018
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectArt and Culture
- TopicBuddhism and Jainism
- DifficultyMedium
- TypeDirect
With reference to the religious practices in India, the 'Sthanakvasi' sect belongs to
Show answer
Answer: B. Jainism
Analysis
The Sthanakvasi sect belongs to Jainism, so the answer is (b).
Sthanakavasi is a sect of Svetambara Jainism founded by a merchant named Lavaji in 1653. It holds that idol worship is not essential to the purification of the soul and the attainment of nirvana or moksha. It is essentially a reformation of the sect founded on the teachings of Lonka, a fifteenth century Jain reformer, and Sthanakavasins accept thirty-two of the Jain Agamas, the Svetambara canon.
Options (c) and (d) point to Vaishnavism and Shaivism, both strongly image centred traditions, which sit awkwardly with a sect defined by rejecting idol worship. Option (a) is the nearest genuine confusion, since Buddhism and Jainism are often paired in the syllabus.
Source
Times of India report on Jains chanting the Navkar Mantra for world peace.
How to crack it
Fuse the static and the news hook by tracking the sect names that surface in festival and community reporting, since that is where UPSC finds them. For the static half, learn the Jain sectarian tree in one pass: Digambara and Svetambara, and within Svetambara the aniconic reform strands. Recognising the vasi and panth suffixes as Jain reform sect markers narrows the field even when the name is unfamiliar.