Which one of the following pairs is NOT correctly matched ? (Tirthankar) – (Nirvan Place)
- (a)Rishabhanath – Ashtapad
- (b)Vasupujya – Sammedashikhar
- (c)Neminath – Urjayanta
- (d)Mahavira – Pavapuri
Correct — B, the mismatched pair. Vasupujya, the 12th Tirthankara, attained nirvana (moksha) at Champapuri (Champa, near Bhagalpur in present-day Bihar) — NOT at Sammed Shikhar. He is in fact one of only four Tirthankaras who did NOT attain liberation on Sammed Shikhar (Shikharji / Parasnath Hill), where the other twenty did. Because the question asks which pair is NOT correctly matched, option (b) is the answer. The other three pairs are correct: Rishabhanath (Adinath, the 1st Tirthankara) attained nirvana on Ashtapada (identified with Mount Kailash); Neminath (Aristanemi, the 22nd) on Mount Girnar, whose peak is called Urjayanta/Ujjayanta; and Mahavira (the 24th and last) at Pavapuri in Bihar.
- (a)Rishabhanath – Ashtapad — Correctly matched, so it cannot answer a 'NOT correctly matched' question. Rishabhanath (Adinath), the first Tirthankara, is traditionally said to have attained nirvana on Mount Ashtapada (identified with Kailash).
- (c)Neminath – Urjayanta — Correctly matched. Neminath (Aristanemi), the 22nd Tirthankara, attained nirvana on Mount Girnar in Gujarat, whose summit is known as Urjayanta / Ujjayanta.
- (d)Mahavira – Pavapuri — Correctly matched. Mahavira, the 24th and last Tirthankara, is traditionally held to have attained nirvana at Pavapuri (Pava) in present-day Bihar.
Jainism recognises 24 Tirthankaras (ford-makers). Sammed Shikhar (Shikharji), on the Parasnath Hill of Jharkhand, is the holiest Jain pilgrimage site because 20 of the 24 Tirthankaras are believed to have attained moksha there. The four exceptions each have their own site: Rishabhanath at Ashtapada, Vasupujya at Champapuri, Neminath at Girnar, and Mahavira at Pavapuri. Knowing these four exceptions is the whole key to this question.
The trap is that the paper offers Sammed Shikhar for Vasupujya, and since Sammed Shikhar is the nirvana site of the great majority of Tirthankaras, that pairing 'feels' right. But Vasupujya is precisely one of the four exceptions — his site is Champapuri — so (b) is the mismatch. Memorise the four non-Sammed-Shikhar Tirthankaras and the answer is immediate.
- 20 of the 24 Jain Tirthankaras are believed to have attained nirvana at Sammed Shikhar (Shikharji), on Parasnath Hill, Jharkhand.
- The four exceptions: Rishabhanath → Ashtapada (Kailash); Vasupujya → Champapuri; Neminath → Girnar (Urjayanta); Mahavira → Pavapuri.
- Vasupujya was the 12th Tirthankara; his nirvana site was Champapuri (Bihar), not Sammed Shikhar — the source of the wrong pair.
- Mahavira (24th) and Parshvanath (23rd) are the two historically attested Tirthankaras; Rishabhanath (Adinath) is regarded as the first.
Vasupujya's nirvana site is Champapuri, one of the four exceptions to Sammed Shikhar — so pair (b) is the mismatch.
- Assuming every Tirthankara attained nirvana at Sammed Shikhar — four did not
- Confusing Ashtapada (Rishabhanath) with Girnar/Urjayanta (Neminath)
UPPSC and UPSC pose Jainism as 'which pair is NOT correctly matched' (Tirthankara ↔ site or emblem) or as statement-based items on Mahavira and Parshvanath — memorise the exceptions.
Consider the following statements: 1. Vardhamana Mahavira's mother was the daughter of Lichchhavi chief Chetaka. 2. Gautama Buddha's mother was a princess from the Kosha-lan dynasty. 3. Parshvanatha, the 23rd Tirthankara, belonged to Banaras. Which of these statements is/are correct?
- (a) Only 1
- (b) Only 2
- (c) 2 and 3
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer(c) 2 and 3
Same concept — identifying the Jain Tirthankaras and the traditions attached to them (here Parshvanath as the 23rd Tirthankara of Banaras and Mahavira's Lichchhavi kinship), the very body of Tirthankara knowledge this UPPSC pair-matching item tests.
- practice — not a real PYQ
At which of the following places is Lord Mahavira traditionally believed to have attained nirvana?
- (a)Kundagrama
- (b)Pavapuri
- (c)Sammed Shikhar
- (d)Vaishali
Answer(b) Pavapuri — Mahavira attained nirvana at Pavapuri in Bihar (Kundagrama/Vaishali is associated with his birth).
- practice — not a real PYQ
Most of the twenty-four Jain Tirthankaras are believed to have attained nirvana at which hill?
- (a)Mount Girnar
- (b)Mount Abu
- (c)Sammed Shikhar (Parasnath Hill)
- (d)Mount Ashtapada
Answer(c) Sammed Shikhar (Parasnath Hill) — 20 of the 24 Tirthankaras are said to have attained moksha there.