UPHESC Assistant Professor Asian Culture 2025 PYQs

Concept: Bhadravarman I of Champa (late 4th century, Chinese Fan Hu-ta) is described as a scholar versed in the four Vedas.

1. He founded the Shiva temple of Bhadreshvara at My Son – the first sacred centre of Champa.
2. His Sanskrit inscriptions are among the earliest in Vietnam.
3. Suryavarman and Jayavarman are mainly Khmer (Cambodian) kings.

Short trick: Bhadravarman – Bhadreshvara – four Vedas.

Concept: Angkor Wat was built by the Khmer king Suryavarman II (12th century) as a Vishnu temple.

1. Funan (1st–6th c.) and Chenla (6th–8th c.) preceded the Khmer empire of Angkor.
2. The Sena dynasty ruled Bengal, not Cambodia.

Short trick: Angkor Wat – Khmer – Suryavarman II – Vishnu.

Concept: The Ananda Temple at Pagan was built by King Kyanzittha (r. 1084–1112/13), completed c. 1105.

1. Its plan is said to be inspired by the Nandamula cave temple described by Indian monks.
2. Anawrahta (Aniruddha) founded the Pagan empire and Theravada there; Alaungsithu built Thatbyinnyu; Narathu built Dhammayangyi.

Short trick: Ananda – Kyanzittha; Pagan founder – Anawrahta.

Concept: Kukai (posthumously Kobo Daishi) founded Shingon ('True Word', esoteric/Vajrayana Buddhism) in 806 AD, centred on Mount Koya.

1. Saicho founded Tendai (Mt. Hiei).
2. Genku (Honen) founded Jodo (Pure Land).
3. Dogen founded Soto Zen.

Short trick: Heian pair: Saicho–Tendai, Kukai–Shingon.

Concept: Pashupatinath, the great Shiva temple, stands on the Bagmati river in Kathmandu, Nepal (UNESCO Kathmandu Valley site).

1. Pashupati ('lord of animals') is the national deity of Nepal.

Short trick: Kathmandu + Bagmati = Pashupatinath.

Concept: Lhasa ('place of the gods') is the capital of Tibet, home of the Potala Palace and Jokhang temple.

1. Arimardanapura = Pagan (Myanmar).
2. Hariharalaya = early Khmer capital (Roluos).
3. Phnom Penh = capital of Cambodia.

Short trick: Lhasa – Potala – Tibet.

Concept: Dr. Sun Yat-sen, leader of the 1911 Revolution and founder of the Kuomintang, is called the 'Father of the Nation' of modern China.

1. He gave the Three Principles of the People: nationalism, democracy, people's livelihood.
2. Hu Shih led the literary (New Culture) movement; Duan Qirui was a warlord premier.

Short trick: 1911 + Three Principles = Sun Yat-sen.

Concept: Fa-Hien (Faxian) came to India (399–414 AD, reign of Chandragupta II) specifically to obtain complete copies of the Vinaya Pitaka (monastic rules).

1. He found Vinaya texts at Pataliputra and copied them.
2. The other options are later Mahayana/Tantric texts.

Short trick: Fa-Hien's mission = Vinaya (discipline).

Concept: Taoism, based on Lao-tzu's Tao Te Ching (c. 6th–4th century BC), is an indigenous Chinese religion-philosophy.

1. Buddhism originated in India.
2. Zen (Chan) is only a school of Buddhism (a sect, not a separate religion); 'Zen' is its Japanese name.
3. Catholic Christianity arose in West Asia/Rome.

Short trick: Native Chinese: Taoism and Confucianism.

Concept: Samye, the first Buddhist monastery of Tibet, was built c. 779 AD under King Trisong Detsen with Shantarakshita and Padmasambhava.

1. It was modelled on Odantapuri vihara of Bihar.
2. Jagdal (Jagdala) was a Pala vihara in Bengal; Salban vihara is at Mainamati (Bangladesh).

Short trick: Samye – Trisong Detsen – Shantarakshita.

Concept: Confucius (551–479 BC) was born in Qufu in the state of Lu (modern Shandong province).

1. Qufu has the Temple, Cemetery and Kong Family Mansion (UNESCO).
2. Tongli, Dali and Fenghuang are scenic old towns elsewhere.

Short trick: Lu state → Qufu → Confucius.

Concept: Lamaism is the name for Tibetan (Vajrayana) Buddhism, in which lamas (spiritual teachers, e.g. the Dalai Lama) hold central authority.

1. It later spread to Mongolia, but its home is Tibet.

Short trick: Lama = Tibetan guru → Lamaism = Tibet.

Concept: The Indianised kingdom of Champa (2nd–17th century) lay in central and southern Vietnam.

1. Its religious centre was My Son; capitals included Indrapura and Vijaya.
2. Funan/Kambuja were in Cambodia.

Short trick: Champa = Cham people = central Vietnam.

Concept: The six Nara schools each continued an Indian/Chinese Buddhist school.

1. Sanron ('three treatises' of Nagarjuna/Aryadeva) = Madhyamika → a–iv.
2. Jojitsu = Satyasiddhi-shastra of Harivarman → b–i.
3. Hosso = Yogachara/Vijnanavada (via Xuanzang) → c–iii.
4. Ritsu = Vinaya (monastic discipline, brought by Ganjin/Jianzhen) → d–ii.

Short trick: Ritsu = Rules (Vinaya); Hosso = Mind-only (Yogachara).

Concept: Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in Hanoi on 2 September 1945, after Japan's surrender.

1. The August Revolution (1945) of the Viet Minh preceded it.
2. War with France followed (1946–54); the southern 'Republic of Vietnam' was formed only in 1955, which is not among the options.

Short trick: 2 September 1945 – Ba Dinh Square – Ho Chi Minh.

Concept: The Indrapura line of Champa traced its descent from the sage Bhrigu; its founder, known from the Dong Duong inscription, was Indravarman (II), c. 875 AD.

1. Sri Mara (c. 2nd century) founded the first Champa dynasty, not the Bhrigu line.
2. Fan Hu-ta is the Chinese name of Bhadravarman I (2nd dynasty).
3. Jayavarman I belongs to Chenla/Kambuja.

Short trick: Bhrigu-vamsha = Indrapura = Indravarman.

Concept: The earliest Buddha image of Vietnam is the bronze Buddha of Dong Duong in Quang Nam province, in Amaravati style (c. 3rd–4th century AD).

1. Its Amaravati style shows early contact with Andhra.
2. My Son is a Shaiva temple complex; Po Nagar (Nha Trang) is a temple of the goddess Bhagavati.

Short trick: Dong Duong bronze Buddha – Quang Nam – Amaravati style.

Concept: Yukan (湯灌, literally 'hot-water pouring') is the ritual washing of the dead body with warm water before encoffining.

1. After yukan the body is dressed in a white kyokatabira robe (a separate step).
2. Cremation (kaso) comes later.

Short trick: Yu = hot water → Yukan = bathing the dead.

Concept: The Tra Kieu inscription of Prakashadharma (Vikrantavarman I, 7th century) of Champa records his (re)building of a temple of the poet-sage Valmiki.

1. It is the only known ancient temple dedicated to Valmiki and proves the popularity of the Ramayana in Champa.
2. Suryavarman and Jayavarman Parameshvara are Khmer kings.

Short trick: Valmiki temple – Tra Kieu – Prakashadharma.

Concept: About 70% of Sri Lankans follow Theravada Buddhism, which reached the island through Mahinda in Ashoka's time.

1. Hindus (~12%), Muslims (~10%) and Christians (~7%) are minorities.
2. 'Sinhalese' is an ethnic group/language, not a religion.

Short trick: Sri Lanka = Theravada Buddhist majority.