Read the passage and answer the question :
Art historians had to acquire familiarity with hagiographies of the Buddha in order to understand Buddhist sculpture. According to hagiographies, the Buddha attained enlightenment while meditating under a tree. Many early sculptors did not show the Buddha in human form - instead, they showed his presence through symbols. The empty seat was meant to indicate the meditation of the Buddha, and the Stupa was meant to represent the Mahaparinibbana.
What do you understand by 'Hagiography'?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Biography of a saint or religious teacher.
Option (1) Branch of sculpture to study the postures of Buddha. — Incorrect. A hagiography is a written text, not a branch of sculpture. Art historians read hagiographies in order to understand Buddhist sculpture, but the two are different things.
Option (2) Biography of a saint or religious teacher. — Correct. A hagiography is a biography of a saint or religious leader. It often praises the saint’s achievements and may not always be literally accurate, but it tells us about the beliefs of the followers of that tradition.
Option (3) Autobiography of Buddha. — Incorrect. An autobiography is written by the person himself. The hagiographies of the Buddha were written down by others, many of them at least a century after his time, to preserve memories of the teacher.
Option (4) A picture book on Buddhist pilgrimages. — Incorrect. A hagiography tells the life of a saint; it is not a book of pictures, and it is not about pilgrimages.
NCERT (2026-27): “4. The Buddha and the Quest for Enlightenment … Historians have also tried to reconstruct details of his life from hagiographies. Many of these were written down at least a century after the time of the Buddha, in an attempt to preserve memories of the great teacher.… Hagiography is a biography of a saint or religious leader. Hagiographies often praise the saint’s achievements, and may not always be literally accurate. They are important because they tell us about the beliefs of the followers of that particular tradition.” |