Read the passage and answer the following question:
The tradition of erecting stupas may have been pre-Buddhist, but they came to be associated with Buddhism. Since they contained relics regarded as sacred, the entire stupa came to be venerated as an emblem of both the Buddha and Buddhism... Asoka distributed portions of Buddha's relics to every important town and ordered the construction of stupas over them. By the 2nd century BCE, a number of stupas, including those at Bharhut, Sanchi and Sarnath had been built.
Match List I with List II:
| List I | List II | ||
| (A) | Buddha's Birth | (I) | Bodh Gaya |
| (B) | Buddha's Enlightenment | (II) | Sarnath |
| (C) | Buddha's First Sermon | (III) | Kusinagara |
| (D) | Buddha's 'Nibbana' | (IV) | Lumbini |
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → A-IV, B-I, C-II, D-III
(A) Buddha’s Birth — this matches (IV) Lumbini. Buddhist literature names Lumbini as the place where the Buddha was born.
(B) Buddha’s Enlightenment — this matches (I) Bodh Gaya. The Buddha attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya.
(C) Buddha’s First Sermon — this matches (II) Sarnath. He gave his first sermon at Sarnath.
(D) Buddha’s ‘Nibbana’ — this matches (III) Kusinagara. He attained nibbana at Kusinagara. Gradually, each of these places came to be regarded as sacred.
Note: A same/similar question was asked in CUET (UG) in the papers below.
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
| – | – | – | 27-05 S1 09-06 S1* 12-06 S2* | – |
* A similar question.
NCERT (2026-27): “7. Stupas … Buddhist literature mentions several chaityas. It also describes places associated with the… Buddha’s life – where he was born (Lumbini), where he attained enlightenment (Bodh Gaya), where he gave his first sermon (Sarnath) and where he attained nibbana (Kusinagara). Gradually, each of these places came to be regarded as sacred.…” |