Read the following passage carefully and answer the question given below:
By the first century AD, many nomadic tribes had entered India through the mountain-passes in the north west. In the course of time, they were all Indianised. Kanishka, the chief of one of these tribes, built up an empire with Peshawar as the capital. Like Asoka, Kanishka came under the influence of Buddhism and was converted by a celebrated Buddhist scholar Asvaghosha. Kanishka appears to have tried to emulate Asoka. He strenuously worked for the spread of the Buddhist faith. He convened a Buddhist council to discuss grave religious problems. At the time, a big schism had arisen and the Buddhists were divided into two sects-the Hinayana and Mahayana. Of the two, the Mahayana became more popular. The Hinayanists believed in the traditional intellectual doctrine whereas the Mahayanists adopted new interpretations. The Mahayanists started worshipping Buddha as the living saviour and their ritualism had a strong appeal to the ordinary people. Nagarjuna, a great scholar in the court of Kanishka, formulated and propagated the Mahayana ideas. The differences between the two sects were largely reconciled in this council. Charaka, the most celebrated medical scientist of ancient India, is believed to have been Kanishka's court-physician. The Kushan empire built by Kanishka was dissolved by the third century AD.
Choose the word that is opposite in meaning of the word, "Celebrated"
(A) Popular
(B) Renowned
(C) Ordinary
(D) Honour
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → (C) Only
Celebrated means famous and much praised. The passage calls Asvaghosha "a celebrated Buddhist scholar" and Charaka "the most celebrated medical scientist of ancient India".
Example: Lata Mangeshkar was a celebrated singer.
(A) Popular — Incorrect.
- Popular means liked by many people.
- It is close in meaning to celebrated, not opposite.
- Example: Cricket is the most popular sport in India.
(B) Renowned — Incorrect.
- Renowned means famous.
- It is a synonym of celebrated.
- Example: The town is renowned for its silk sarees.
(C) Ordinary — Correct.
- Ordinary means common, with nothing special about it.
- A celebrated person stands out.
- An ordinary one does not, so it is the antonym.
- Example: It was an ordinary day with nothing special to report.
(D) Honour — Incorrect.
- Honour means great respect, or to show such respect.
- It is related to praise and is not the opposite of celebrated.
- Example: The village held a function to honour the brave soldier.
Tip: In this question the options do not follow the order of the statements (Option 1 = (C) Only, Option 2 = (D) Only, Option 3 = (A) Only, Option 4 = (B) Only). NTA often jumbles the options in this way, so after finding the correct statement, read the options carefully and mark the one with the right letter.