Q 01/05

Which Odisha shrine, called the Black Pagoda by European sailors, is built as a huge stone chariot on carved wheels?

A) Konark Sun Temple

B) Modhera Sun Temple

C) Martand Sun Temple

D) Brihadisvara Temple

Answer · why

A) Konark Sun Temple

Konark Sun Temple was raised around 1250 under King Narasingha Deva I, and its dark tiered tower was logged as the Black Pagoda in sailors' accounts a...

Q 02/05

Which English word for an unstoppable force comes from the deity whose chariot is hauled through Puri each year?

A) Behemoth

B) Juggernaut

C) Leviathan

D) Steamroller

Answer · why

B) Juggernaut

Juggernaut is the early English rendering of Jagannath, and its figurative sense of an unstoppable force became common in English in the mid-19th cent...

Q 03/05

Which Mauryan emperor, sickened by the slaughter of the Kalinga War around 261 BCE, renounced conquest for Buddhism?

A) Ashoka

B) Chandragupta

C) Bindusara

D) Brihadratha

Answer · why

A) Ashoka

Ashoka fought no major war after Kalinga, pledging never again to wage a war of conquest and devoting the rest of his life to ahimsa and dharma-vijaya...

Q 04/05

Which Odisha lagoon, the second largest coastal lagoon in the world, is home to endangered Irrawaddy dolphins?

A) Pulicat Lake

B) Vembanad Lake

C) Chilika Lake

D) Loktak Lake

Answer · why

C) Chilika Lake

Chilika Lake was one of India's first two Ramsar wetlands, listed in 1981, and it supports more than 225 bird species alongside the dolphins.

Q 05/05

Which classical dance from Odisha's temples, revived by four gurus around 1950, is known for its tribhangi pose?

A) Kathak

B) Odissi

C) Kuchipudi

D) Mohiniyattam

Answer · why

B) Odissi

Odissi is often called the oldest surviving classical dance of India, and the tribhangi and chauka poses it uses appear in Jain Kalpasutra manuscripts...