Buddha was considered 9th incarnation of Vishnu. No tribe from Central Asia persecuted Buddhists. Gupta dynasty did not oppose Buddhism. However, they did not give them patronage.

Dhrupad is primarily a spiritual and devotional music and it uses Sanskrit syllables from mantras.

All statements are correct, hence the option (d) is correct.

Guru Nanak Dev was born in 1469. Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi in 1526. When Babur took over and established the Mughal dynasty, Nanak was travelling to different parts of India and preaching Sikhism. Babur once met Guru Nanak during one of his travel.

Ibadat Khana at Fatehpur Sikri was the hall in which Akbar held discussions with scholars of various religions on every Thursday to debate on religious issues raised by Akbar.

In medieval India, the designations ‘Mahattara’ and ‘Pattakila’ were used for village headmen.

States such as Champaka (Chamba), Durgara (Jammu), Trigarta (Jalandhar), Kuluta (Kulu), Kumaon and Garhwal managed to remain outside the main areas of conflict in the northern plains.

In the fourteenth and fifteenth century gun powder was used for military purpose in India and even artillery in its rudimentary form was known. The Babur’s first real expedition took place in India in 1519 when he captured Bhera. The Delhi Sultanate’s greatest contribution to Indian fine arts was the introduction of Islamic architectural features, including true domes and arches, and the integration of Indian and Islamic styles of architecture. The Timurid dynasty was a Sunni Muslim dynasty. Members of the Timurid dynasty were strongly influenced by the Persian culture and had established two well-known empires in history, namely the Timurid Empire (1370-1507) in Persia and Central Asia and the Mughal Empire (1526-1857) in the Indian subcontinent.

Vijayanagara or “city of victory” was the name of both a city and an empire. The empire was founded in the fourteenth century. In its heyday it stretched from the river Krishna in the north to the extreme south of the peninsula, (Krishna-Tungabhadra doab). It was founded by Harihara 1 and Bukka, in 1336.

In India, Banjara people were transporters of goods from one place to another and the goods they transported included salt, grains, firewood and cattle.Thus, Banjaras were trader-nomads.

In 1837, British archeologist and historian James Prinsep decoded the edicts of emperor Ashoka. Prinsep’s inscription proved to be a series of edicts issued by a king calling himself “Beloved-of-the- Gods, King Piyadasi.”

The concept of Bodhisattva is central to the Mahayana doctrines of Buddhism. The term ‘bodhisattva’ literally means ‘one who has enlightenment as his/her essence’. A bodhisattva is a being who is destined for enlightenment rather than one who has gained it already. A bodhisattva is also normally thought of as consciously working towards enlightenment: you can’t call someone a bodhisattva just because they might be enlightened in the future if they haven’t started making an effort yet. For this reason, the earliest use of the term ‘bodhisattva’ refers to Siddhartha Gautama before he gained enlightenment, and also in his previous lives.
Thus, Boddhisattva is central to Mahayan sect of Buddhism. Hence first statement is wrong. While 2nd and 3rd are correct.

First and second statements are wrong because Ajanta (Buddhist caves) was built from 2nd Century BCE to 5th Century CE, while Mahabalipuram (Hindu temple) was built during 7-8th Centuries by Pallava Kings. Third statement is correct- both are rock cut monuments.

The Persian wheel is a mechanical water lifting device operated usually by draught animals like bullocks, buffaloes or camels. It is used to lift water from water sources typically open wells. In Sanskrit the word Araghatta has been used in the ancient texts to describe the Persian Wheel. The ‘ara-ghatta’ comes from the combination of the words ‘ara’ meaning spoke and ‘ghatta’ meaning pot.

The Maagadha and the suutas were associated with memorizing of chronicles, dynastic histories and Epic tales.

Khajuraho is located in the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh. Tirupati is located in Rayalaseema region.

(i) Siddhas means the refined monotheistic creed existed. Sittar implies an expert in occultism, alchemy and so on with magic or superstitious powers.
(ii) The lingayats believed that on death the devotee will be reunited with Shiva and not return to this world. Therefore instead of cremating the body, they ceremonially bury their dead.
(iii) They criticised the caste system and questioned belief in the theory of rebirth.
(iv) Certain practices were encouraged by the lingayats such as post-puberty marriages and widow remarriage. Knowledge of the Virashaiva tradition has been derived from vachanas (sayings) composed in Kannada by those who had joined.

(i) In reign of Krishna Deva, land revenue was the main source of income of the government. To assess the proper revenue entire land was classified into four parts: the wet land, the dry land, the orchards and the woods. The government also levied other taxes like the grazing tax, the customs duty, tax on gardening and industries taxes on manufacture of various articles.
(ii) From the travelogue written by Persianenvoy Abdur Razzaqin the court of Vijaynagar, we find both statements are correct.