Gaja Dwar, Ashwa Dwar, Garuda Dwar, Makar Dwar, Shardula Dwar and Hamsa Dwar are located in a building at
- (a)New Delhi
- (b)Varanasi
- (c)Aurangabad
- (d)Thanjevur
Correct — A, New Delhi. Gaja Dwar (elephant), Ashwa Dwar (horse), Garuda Dwar (eagle), Makar Dwar, Shardula Dwar and Hamsa Dwar (swan) are the six ceremonial gates of the new Parliament Building (Sansad Bhavan) in New Delhi, which was inaugurated on 28 May 2023. Each gate carries a sculpted guardian animal drawn from Indian tradition, so the building described stands in New Delhi.
- (b)Varanasi — Varanasi is famous for its riverfront ghats and the Kashi Vishwanath temple, but the animal-named ceremonial gates belong to the new Parliament in New Delhi, not to any Varanasi building.
- (c)Aurangabad — Aurangabad is known for the Ajanta and Ellora caves and the Bibi-ka-Maqbara; it has no building with these six named gates.
- (d)Thanjevur — Thanjavur is renowned for the Brihadeeswara (Chola) temple; the Gaja, Ashwa and Garuda gates are not located there.
The new Parliament Building (Sansad Bhavan) in New Delhi, built under the Central Vista redevelopment, has a triangular design and six entrances. Three of these are ceremonial gates for the President, Vice-President and Prime Minister/Speaker, and the entrances are each flanked by an auspicious sculpted animal — the Gaja, Ashwa, Garuda, Makara, Shardula and Hamsa.
The clue is the set of Sanskrit animal names attached to 'Dwar' (gate). These are a widely reported feature of the new Parliament House inaugurated in 2023, which is in New Delhi. The other options are temple and heritage towns unconnected to these gates.
- The new Parliament Building (Sansad Bhavan), New Delhi, was inaugurated on 28 May 2023.
- Its gates are named Gaja, Ashwa, Garuda, Makara, Shardula and Hamsa, each with a guardian animal sculpture.
- It was built under the Central Vista redevelopment project and has a triangular plan.
- The Sengol (a sceptre) was installed near the Lok Sabha Speaker's chair at the inauguration.
- Being lured by temple towns (Varanasi, Thanjavur) because the gate names sound religious.
- Confusing the animal gate-names with the figures on a South Indian temple gopuram.
Asked as a current-affairs/GK item on a distinctive feature of a recently built landmark.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The new Parliament Building of India, inaugurated in 2023, is located in
- (a)Mumbai
- (b)New Delhi
- (c)Nagpur
- (d)Hyderabad
Answer(b) New Delhi — part of the Central Vista redevelopment.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The ceremonial sceptre installed in the new Parliament Building at its inauguration is called the
- (a)Sengol
- (b)Ashoka Danda
- (c)Rajdand
- (d)Kalash
Answer(a) Sengol — installed near the Lok Sabha Speaker's chair.