'Aryamanjushrimulakalpa' is related to which of the following?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — A or D (both accepted). The Aryamanjushrimulakalpa is a Sanskrit Buddhist text centred on the bodhisattva Manjushri, the embodiment of wisdom — its core content (bodhisattva doctrine, praise of Manjushri) is Mahayana. But the text also contains ritual material — mandalas, mantras and prophecy — that places it among the texts bridging toward Vajrayana (tantric) Buddhism. Because it genuinely carries both characters, the commission granted grace and accepted both (a) Mahayana and (d) Vajrayana.

Why the other options are wrong — (b) Hinayana is the older, more conservative early-Buddhist tradition; this text's Mahayana-bodhisattva and tantric content has no connection to that lineage.  (c) Theravada is the surviving school of the same older Hinayana tradition — like Hinayana, it is unrelated to this Mahayana-Vajrayana text.

Concept: Buddhism is broadly grouped into an older tradition (Hinayana, whose surviving form is Theravada) and a later Mahayana tradition, out of which Vajrayana (tantric Buddhism) developed with its own ritual apparatus of mandalas and mantras. Some texts sit at the boundary between Mahayana and Vajrayana rather than fitting cleanly into one — the Aryamanjushrimulakalpa is one such text.

State PCS 2023 Q68 — History PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2023 Q68 — History PYQ with Answer