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.
Mahayana ideas were formulated by:
(A) Kanishka
(B) Asoka
(C) Nagarjuna
(D) Charaka.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → (C) Only
The passage says, "Nagarjuna, a great scholar in the court of Kanishka, formulated and propagated the Mahayana ideas." To formulate is to work out and state an idea or plan with care.
(A) Kanishka — Incorrect.
- Wrong link: Kanishka convened the council and spread the faith.
- He did not formulate its ideas.
(B) Asoka — Incorrect.
- Wrong link: Asoka is named only as the ruler whom Kanishka tried to emulate.
(C) Nagarjuna — Correct.
- He formulated and propagated the Mahayana ideas.
(D) Charaka — Incorrect.
- Wrong link: Charaka was a medical scientist, believed to be Kanishka's court physician.
Tip: In this question the options do not follow the order of the statements (Option 1 = (C) Only, Option 2 = (A) Only, Option 3 = (D) 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.