Deck 3: The Architecture of Ancient India and Southeast Asia

Question 1

Which of the following is true about the ancient architecture in India and Southeast Asia?

A) There were very few structures erected for religious purposes.
B) Palaces were constructed of the most durable materials available.
C) There were influences of oriental cultures.
D) Houses were constructed of durable materials, such as stone and brick.
E) Temples were the primary buildings erected in durable materials.

Answer 1

Temples were the primary buildings erected in durable materials.

Question 2

The city of Mohenjo-Daro dates back to the:

A) fourth century BCE.
B) third century BCE.
C) first century BCE.
D) second century BCE.
E) None of the answers is correct.

Answer 2

third century BCE.

Question 3

The linga and yoni consist of:

A) an upright stone with a concentric circle base.
B) concentric circles with trilithons.
C) an upright stone and a sacrificial pit.
D) a sacrificial pit and a trilithon.
E) All of the answers are correct.

Answer 3

an upright stone with a concentric circle base.

Question 4

Chaityas are:

A) tree-like sculptures.
B) monasteries.
C) village memorials.
D) mounds of earth.
E) None of the answers is correct.

Question 5

The Great Stupa at Sanchi includes a:

A) torana.
B) chatra.
C) harmica.
D) verdica.
E) All of the answers are correct.

Question 6

The great cave temple at Karli:

A) was carved out of living rock.
B) contains a stupa at the end of an axis.
C) includes a nave and side aisles.
D) is entered through a vestibule with paired columns.
E) All of the answers are correct.

Question 7

The colossal Buddha at Bamiyan was:

A) stolen by the Persians.
B) destroyed by the Taliban.
C) moved to higher ground when the Aswan dam was built.
D) lost during the Nazi takeover in the 1930s.
E) None of the answers is correct.

Question 8

Most Hindu temple designs include forms that are symbolic of the:

A) mandala.
B) garbhagriha.
C) bodhi tree.
D) holy mountain.
E) None of the answers is correct.

Question 9

The Vishnu Temple at Bhitargaon is unusual for incorporating:

A) corbeled construction.
B) true-arch construction.
C) post-and-beam construction.
D) cyclopean stone construction.
E) All of the answers are correct.

Question 10

Which of the following is true about the Lingaraja Temple at Bhubaneshwar?

A) The plan of the temple is an elaboration of the two-celled form.
B) The plan of the temple is similar to that of Buddhist shrines.
C) It is raised on a rectangular platform anchored by four small shrines at the corners.
D) Its domed top is cut from a single piece of granite in a form that resembles a Buddhist stupa.
E) It is one of the largest religious structures ever built.

Question 11

In Southern India, Hindu temples featured:

A) walls with engaged columns or pilasters.
B) roofs with rounded finials.
C) massive gateway entrances.
D) multi-columned halls.
E) All of the answers are correct.

Question 12

Typical of carved human figures at the Kandariya Mahadeva Temple in Khajuraho is:

A) an emphatic frontality.
B) the use of chiaroscuro.
C) the use of contrapposto.
D) a swaying S-shaped posture.
E) None of the answers is correct.

Question 13

The Dharmaraja Ratha, Bhima Ratha, and Arjuna Ratha at Mahabalipuram are:

A) significantly influenced by the architecture of Buddhist shrines.
B) assembled from basalt blocks.
C) carved into the side of a mountain.
D) surrounded by concentric galleries and built on a pyramid base.
E) monolithic temples and cut from granite outcroppings.

Question 14

A ratha is a:

A) type of mandala.
B) wheeled cart or chariot.
C) stone roof made to resemble thatch.
D) type of barrel vault.
E) None of the answers is correct.

Question 15

The Brihadeshvara Temple complex at Tanjore includes:

A) a great hall.
B) an entrance gateway, or gopura.
C) a main shrine, or garbhagriha.
D) a shrine of Chandeshvara.
E) All of the answers are correct.

Question 16

The architecture of Angkor Wat is a fusion of:

A) Indian and Vietnamese traditions.
B) Indian religion and Khmer traditions.
C) Vietnamese and Khmer traditions.
D) Indian and Malaysian traditions.
E) None of the answers is correct.

Question 17

The Vedas contain:

A) the ten commandments of Hinduism.
B) hymns and prescriptions for rituals.
C) instructions for building a stupa.
D) instructions for laying out a Hindu city.
E) None of the answers is correct.

Question 18

The origins of the stupa can be traced to:

A) symbolism of male and female genitalia.
B) Alexander the Great.
C) the desire to reach nirvana.
D) a simple mound of rubble and earth that was erected over relics.
E) None of the answers is correct.

Question 19

The practice of circumambulation involved walking:

A) to a ring of pilgrimage sites.
B) around the bodhi tree.
C) in circles of ever-diminishing sizes.
D) around the village altar.
E) None of the answers is correct.

Question 20

The bodhi tree is given significance in the Buddhist religion because:

A) its wood is used to build altars.
B) Buddha achieved enlightenment sitting under it.
C) Buddha used its branches to build his first altar.
D) Buddha was buried under one.
E) All of the answers are correct.

Question 21

Viharas were small Buddhist:

A) temples.
B) monasteries.
C) schools.
D) cemeteries.
E) None of the answers is correct.

Question 22

The fence around a stupa is called a:

A) nirvana.
B) chaitya.
C) verdica.
D) veronica.
E) None of the answers is correct.

Question 23

The Hindu temple:

A) is organized around the garbhagriha.
B) is aligned on the cardinal points, representing the four corners of the earth.
C) symbolizes the sacred mountain.
D) includes a central vertical axis.
E) All of the answers are correct.

Question 24

Sculpted images at Hindu temples depicting sexual intercourse:

A) represent Tantric practices.
B) are vestiges of paganism.
C) symbolize the union of the human and the divine.
D) were forbidden by the tenth century.
E) represent Tantric practices and symbolize the union of the human and the divine.

Question 25

Which of the following is true about most Hindu temples?

A) They have a major entrance that faces north.
B) They include forms that are symbolic of the sacred cave and the cosmic axis.
C) They have a large enclosed space for congregational worship.
D) They are encircled by a two-tiered ambulatory.
E) They have a bent-axis entry design that creates a swastika.

Question 26

Compare the design and organization of the Brihadeshvara Temple at Tanjore to that of the temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

Question 27

Discuss the influence of Buddhist traditions on the architecture of early Hindu temples.

Question 28

Discuss the parts and organization of the stupa in Buddhist shrines, and explain how it was used for Buddhist religious practices.