Consider the following pairs: Site Well known for Besnagar Shaivite cave shrine Bhaja Buddh

Question

Consider the following pairs:    Site Well known for     Besnagar Shaivite cave shrine   Bhaja Buddhist cave shrine   Sittanavasal Jain cave shrine    How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

Accepted Answer

Besnagar: Vaishnavite cave shrine. Hence pair 1 is not correctly matched.During the second century BC to third century AD, many rulers from West Asia and Central Asia like the Indo-Greeks, the Shakas, the Parthians, the Kushans assimilated into Indian culture and adopted Indian religions. Some adopted Vaishnavism, which means they worship Lord Vishnu, the God of protection and preservation. The Greek ambassador called Heliodorus set up a pillar in honour of Lord Vasudeva at Besnagar near Vidhisa in MP around the middle of the second century BC.Bhaja: Buddhist cave shrine. Hence pair 2 is correctly matched. Bhaja caves are Buddhist caves in Pune. They have apsidal vault roof chaitya halls.Sittanavasal: Jain cave shrine. Hence pair 3 is correctly matched. Located in a tiny hamlet of Sittanavasal in the Pudukkottai district of Tamil Nadu, Sittanavasal Cave is a Jain complex of caves dating back to the 2nd century. It is believed that it was the settlement of certain monks from the eastern parts of India, who came here to preach lessons of Jainism and spread the positives of ascetic life. Later on, this site became a major Jain center. Sittanavasal Cave is generally considered a rock-cut monastery and houses several murals made out of vegetable and mineral dyes in numerous colours. These paintings are definitely masterpieces in their own ways considering the period in which they were made.Source Citation:Bhaja Caves - NCERT: Introduction to Indian Art Part-I; Chapter 4Sittanavasal Caves - NCERT: Introduction to Indian Art Part-I; Ch-5