Great Preachers: Mahavira and Buddha

Solutions for History & Civics, Class 6, ICSE

Answer In Brief

6 questions

Question 1

State any two causes that led to the rise of Jainism and Buddhism.

Answer In Brief

Answer:

Two causes that led to the rise of Jainism and Buddhism were:

  1. During the Later Vedic Age, complex rituals, superstitions and ceremonies began to dominate the practice of worship. Rituals became expensive and elaborate. Thus, common people felt burdened by such practices.
  2. The caste system became rigid, and it created inequality in society. The lower castes were denied the right to practise religion.

Question 2

What does jina mean?

Answer In Brief

Answer:

Jina means 'the conqueror of self'. Vardhamana Mahavira attained the perfect knowledge or kaivalya at the age of 42, after refraining from worldly pleasures for years. Therefore, he was called Mahavira (the great hero) or jina (the conqueror of self).

Question 3

What were Mahavira's teachings?

Answer In Brief

Answer:

Mahavira placed the jina higher in importance than God. Mahavira taught that right faith, right knowledge, and right conduct, called the triratnas (three jewels), were the path to liberation. He emphasized ahimsa (non-violence), believing that all living and non-living things had souls. He preached five main principles:

  1. Ahimsa (non-violence): not to injure any living being
  2. Satya: to speak the truth
  3. Asteya: not to steal
  4. Tyaga: not to own property
  5. Brahmacharya: to lead a life of celibacy

Question 4

Mention two examples of the contribution made by Jainism to Indian architecture.

Answer In Brief

Answer:

Two examples of the contribution made by Jainism to Indian architecture were:

  1. The Jaina temple, called Dilwara Temple, at Mount Abu in Rajasthan is famous for its intricate carvings and architecture.
  2. Gomateshwara statue at Shravanabelagola near Mysore is another noteworthy Jaina monument.

Question 5

What led to the Buddha's Great Renunciation?

Answer In Brief

Answer:

The Four Great Sights, an old man, a sick man, a dead man, and a peaceful ascetic, deeply moved Siddharth. Realising life’s miseries, he left his palace in search of truth. This marked the Great Renunciation.

Question 6

What were the two major branches of Buddhism?

Answer In Brief

Answer:

The two major branches of Buddhism are:

  1. Mahayana Buddhism
  2. Hinayana Buddhism

Answer In Detail

3 questions

Question 1

What were the principles of Buddha's teachings?

Answer In Detail

Answer:

Buddha's teachings were based on the principles of ahimsa or non-violence, love and compassion for all living beings. The Buddha urged his followers to avoid living a life of extremes and to follow the Middle Path.

Question 2

What was the contribution of Buddhism to Indian culture?

Answer In Detail

Answer:

The spread of Buddhism enriched Indian culture in the following ways:

  1. The teachings of Buddha have been compiled into three books called Tripitakas (three baskets). Another contribution to literature are the tales from the Jataka, which describe the previous births of the Buddha.
  2. Many educational centres such as Nalanda, Valabhi and Vikramashila were famous for Buddhist learning.
  3. Many beautiful stupas at Sanchi, Valabhi and Nalanda were built.
  4. Gandhara sculptures and paintings at Ellora and Ajanta are great examples of Buddhist art.
  5. The Buddhists built structures called chaityas (prayer halls), stupas and viharas (monasteries).

Question 3

State the differences between Jainism and Buddhism.

Answer In Detail

Answer:

Differences between Jainism and Buddhism

JainismBuddhism
Mahavira asked followers to lead an austere life.Buddha prescribed the Middle Path.
Jainism recognises the existence of gods, but gave them lesser importance than jina.Buddhism does not recognise the existence of god.
Liberation from worldly bonds could be attained by following the three jewels (triratna), namely, right knowledge, right faith and right action.Human misery can be eliminated by following the Eight-fold Path.
The early Jainas preached in Prakrit.Pali language was used to spread the message of the Buddha in the early times.
Jainism spread within the Indian subcontinent.Buddhism spread to different parts of the world.
The two sects of Jainism were digambaras and shvetambaras.Buddhism later took two major forms, namely, Mahayana and Hinayana.

Multiple Choice Questions

5 questions

Question 1

Choose the most appropriate option to complete this statement: Mahavira at the age of 42 attained Kaivalya, which means ............... .

  1. education.
  2. perfect knowledge
  3. philosophy
Multiple Choice Questions

Answer:

perfect knowledge

Question 2

Replace the underlined word to correct the statement: Mahavira preached Jainism in Greek.

  1. Prakrit.
  2. Sanskrit.
  3. Pali.
Multiple Choice Questions

Answer:

Prakrit.

Question 3

The Buddha gave his first sermon at:

  1. Sarnath.
  2. Takshila.
  3. Bodhgaya.
Multiple Choice Questions

Answer:

Sarnath.

Question 4

The Four Noble Truths can lead one to attain:

  1. salvation.
  2. suffering.
  3. sorrow.
Multiple Choice Questions

Answer:

salvation.

Question 5

The teaching of Mahavira was compiled into:

  1. Puranas.
  2. Tripitaka.
  3. Angas.
Multiple Choice Questions

Answer:

Angas.

Reflective Learning

2 questions

Question 1

If Buddha did not believe in the existence of God, then what was the central theme of Buddha's preaching?

Reflective Learning

Answer:

Although Buddha did not believe in the existence of God, the central theme of his preaching was to help people end suffering and attain peace and happiness through the Four-Noble truths and the Eight-fold path. His teachings were based on ahimsa or non-violence, love and compassion for all living beings. The Buddha urged his followers to avoid living a life of extremes and to follow the Middle Path.

Question 2

'The Buddha urged his followers to avoid living a life of extremes.' Give any one example of what this entails.

Reflective Learning

Answer:

One example of avoiding a life of extremes, as taught by the Buddha is:
Not living a life of too much luxury or too much hardship.

Buddha advised his followers to follow the Middle Path, which means living a balanced life — neither giving in to all desires nor punishing the body with severe suffering.