Architecture, sculpture, painting, music, dance, literature and philosophy on one page. For explanations, go back to the [chapter](/history/art-culture/).

{{< callout type="tip" title="How to use this sheet" >}}
Scan it top to bottom in the week before Prelims. **Bold** entries are the facts examiners return to most often.
{{< /callout >}}

## Architecture and Sculpture

| Fact | Detail |
|------|--------|
| Great Bath | Mohenjo-daro |
| Dancing Girl | **Bronze, lost-wax**, Mohenjo-daro |
| Ashokan pillars | Monolithic, polished **Chunar sandstone**, no base |
| **National Emblem** | Sarnath Lion Capital; adopted **26 January 1950**; motto from the **Mundaka Upanishad** |
| Barabar caves | Bihar; for **Ajivikas**; Lomas Rishi façade |
| Sanchi | Ashokan core; toranas 1st century BCE; UNESCO 1989 |
| **Gandhara / Mathura / Amaravati** | **Grey schist, Greco-Roman / red sandstone, indigenous / white limestone, narrative** |
| Ajanta | Buddhist; murals; Vakataka phase (Harishena) |
| **Ellora** | 34 caves: Buddhist, Hindu, Jain; **Cave 16 Kailasa — Rashtrakuta Krishna I** |
| Elephanta | Maheshmurti (Trimurti) |
| Mahabalipuram | **Rathas — Narasimhavarman I**; **Shore Temple — Narasimhavarman II** |
| Early temples | Sanchi Temple 17; **Deogarh Dashavatara**; Bhitargaon (brick) |
| **Nagara / Dravida / Vesara** | **Shikhara + amalaka / vimana + gopuram + wall / hybrid, stellate (Hoysala)** |
| Konark | **Narasimhadeva I** (Eastern Ganga); 24 wheels, 7 horses |
| Brihadeshwara | **Rajaraja I**, c. 1010 |
| Khajuraho | Chandelas; Kandariya Mahadeva |
| Hoysala / Ramappa | UNESCO 2023 / 2021 |
| Gommateshwara | Shravanabelagola; Chamundaraya, c. 983 CE |
| **First true arch / dome** | **Balban's tomb / Alai Darwaza (1311)** |
| Qutb Minar | Begun by Aibak; **completed by Iltutmish** |
| Gol Gumbaz / Charminar | Bijapur (Adil Shahi) / Hyderabad (Qutb Shahi, 1591) |
| Humayun's tomb | Bega Begum; Mirak Mirza Ghiyas; garden tomb |
| Buland Darwaza | Fatehpur Sikri, Akbar |
| Colonial | CSMT — F.W. Stevens; Victoria Memorial — Emerson; Gateway — Wittet; New Delhi — Lutyens, Baker |
| **Chhattisgarh** | **Sirpur Lakshman temple — brick, Vasata**; Tala — Rudra Shiva; **Bhoramdeo — Phani Nagavanshi** |

## Painting

| Fact | Detail |
|------|--------|
| Bhimbetka | Raisen, MP; V.S. Wakankar; UNESCO 2003 |
| **Raigarh rock art** | **Singhanpur, Kabra Pahad**, Ongna, Karmagarh |
| **Jogimara** | **Ramgarh, Surguja**; murals + Brahmi inscription (Sutanuka) |
| Shadanga | Six limbs; Yashodhara's commentary on the Kamasutra |
| Ajanta | Padmapani (Cave 1); tempera on dry plaster |
| Pala | Palm-leaf Buddhist manuscripts, Bengal–Bihar |
| Western Indian | Jain Kalpasutra; protruding eye |
| Humayun | Mir Sayyid Ali, Abdus Samad |
| Akbar | **Hamzanama**; Daswanth, Basawan |
| **Jahangir** | Peak; **Mansur (Nadir-ul-Asr), Abul Hasan (Nadir-uz-Zaman)**, Bishandas |
| Kishangarh | **Bani Thani — Nihal Chand** |
| Basohli / Kangra | Bold, beetle wings / lyrical, Sansar Chand |
| Modern | Ravi Varma (oils, oleographs); **Abanindranath — Bharat Mata (1905)**; Nandalal Bose; PAG 1947 |
| Folk | Warli — Maharashtra; Madhubani — Bihar; Pattachitra — Odisha; Kalamkari — Andhra; Phad — Rajasthan; Pithora — Gujarat/MP; Gond — MP |
| Chhattisgarh folk | Rajwar wall art (Surguja), Godna |

## Music and Dance

| Fact | Detail |
|------|--------|
| **Natyashastra** | Bharata; **8 rasas** (shanta added later); UNESCO Memory of the World, April 2025 |
| Brihaddeshi / Sangita Ratnakara | Matanga / Sarangadeva (13th century) |
| **Thaat / Melakarta** | **10, Bhatkhande / 72, Venkatamakhin** |
| Dhrupad | Oldest form; Man Singh Tomar |
| Khayal | Sadarang, Adarang; **Gwalior** oldest gharana |
| Thumri | Lucknow, Wajid Ali Shah |
| Carnatic | **Purandara Dasa — Pitamaha**; Trinity: Tyagaraja, Dikshitar, Syama Sastri |
| Instrument classes | Tata (string), Sushira (wind), Avanaddha (membrane), Ghana (solid) |
| Bharat Ratna musicians | **M.S. Subbulakshmi 1998 (first)**, Ravi Shankar 1999, Lata Mangeshkar and Bismillah Khan 2001, Bhimsen Joshi 2009, Bhupen Hazarika 2019 |
| **Classical dances** | **SNA: 8** — Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Manipuri, Mohiniyattam, **Sattriya (2000)**; Ministry of Culture adds **Chhau** |
| Kathakali / Mohiniyattam | Kerala, male dance-drama / Kerala, female solo |
| Kuchipudi | Andhra; tarangam on brass plate |
| Manipuri | Ras Lila; no ghungroo |
| Chhau | Mayurbhanj (no masks), Seraikella, Purulia; UNESCO 2010 |
| **Raigarh gharana** | **Kathak; Raja Chakradhar Singh; Chakradhar Samaroh at Ganesh Chaturthi** |
| **Khairagarh** | **Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya, inaugurated 14 Oct 1956** |
| UNESCO ICH (India) | **16 elements** as of 2026; **Deepavali, 10 Dec 2025** (latest); Garba 2023; Durga Puja 2021 |

## Literature and Philosophy

| Fact | Detail |
|------|--------|
| Satyameva Jayate | **Mundaka Upanishad** |
| Gayatri mantra / Purusha Sukta | Rigveda Mandala 3 / Mandala 10 |
| Vedangas | Shiksha, Kalpa, Vyakarana, Nirukta, Chhandas, Jyotisha |
| Bhagavad Gita | **Bhishma Parva**; 18 chapters, 700 verses |
| Kalidasa | Shakuntalam, Meghaduta, Raghuvamsha, Kumarasambhava |
| Mudrarakshasa / Mrichchhakatika | **Vishakhadatta / Shudraka** |
| Harshacharita, Kadambari | Banabhatta |
| Rajatarangini | **Kalhana, 1148–49** |
| Sangam | Tolkappiyam; Tirukkural (Tiruvalluvar); **Silappadikaram (Ilango Adigal)**, Manimekalai (Sattanar) |
| Hindi bhakti | **Tulsidas — Awadhi**; **Surdas — Braj**; Jayasi — Padmavat |
| Persian / Turki | Akbarnama — Abul Fazl; Humayun-nama — Gulbadan Begum; **Baburnama — Turki** |
| Awards | Sahitya Akademi 1954; first Jnanpith 1965 (G. Sankara Kurup) |
| Classical languages | **11** (5 added October 2024) |
| **Six darshanas** | **Nyaya — Gautama; Vaisheshika — Kanada; Samkhya — Kapila; Yoga — Patanjali; Mimamsa — Jaimini; Vedanta — Badarayana** |
| Vedanta | Advaita — Shankara; Vishishtadvaita — Ramanuja; Dvaita — Madhva; Dvaitadvaita — Nimbarka; **Shuddhadvaita — Vallabha (Champaran, CG)** |
| Heterodox | Charvaka (perception only), Jainism, Buddhism, Ajivika (Makkhali Gosala) |
| CG writers | Muktibodh, P.P. Bakshi, **Vinod Kumar Shukla — 59th Jnanpith (for 2024); died 23 Dec 2025** |

## Don't Confuse

| This | vs | That |
|------|----|------|
| Ajanta — Buddhist, paintings | vs | Ellora — three faiths, Kailasa temple |
| Lakshman temple, **Sirpur** — brick | vs | Lakshmana temple, **Khajuraho** — stone |
| Bhimbetka — MP | vs | Singhanpur, Kabra Pahad — Raigarh, CG |
| Kathak — North, Hindustani | vs | Kathakali — Kerala, dance-drama |
| Raigarh — Kathak gharana | vs | Khairagarh — music university |
| Samkhya — Kapila | vs | Vaisheshika — Kanada |
| Champaran, CG — Vallabhacharya | vs | Champaran, Bihar — Gandhi, 1917 |

{{< callout type="warning" title="Favourite MCQ traps" >}}
- Qutb Minar was **completed by Iltutmish**, not Aibak.
- **Bhoramdeo is Phani Nagavanshi**, not Kalachuri.
- The Sangeet Natak Akademi lists **eight** classical dances; Chhau is the ninth only in the Ministry of Culture list.
- Mughal painting peaked under **Jahangir**, not Akbar.
- Bharata's Natyashastra has **eight** rasas; *shanta* was added later.
{{< /callout >}}

---
Source: https://cgpscnotes.in/history/art-culture/quick-revision/

History Indian Art, Literature and Culture

Indian Art, Literature and Culture — Quick Revision

One-page CGPSC quick revision for Indian Art, Literature and Culture: monuments, schools of painting, music, dance, texts and darshanas in tables.

5 min read Updated Oct 2026 #quick revision#cgpsc#art and culture

Architecture, sculpture, painting, music, dance, literature and philosophy on one page. For explanations, go back to the chapter.

How to use this sheet

Scan it top to bottom in the week before Prelims. Bold entries are the facts examiners return to most often.

Architecture and Sculpture

Fact	Detail
Great Bath	Mohenjo-daro
Dancing Girl	Bronze, lost-wax, Mohenjo-daro
Ashokan pillars	Monolithic, polished Chunar sandstone, no base
National Emblem	Sarnath Lion Capital; adopted 26 January 1950; motto from the Mundaka Upanishad
Barabar caves	Bihar; for Ajivikas; Lomas Rishi façade
Sanchi	Ashokan core; toranas 1st century BCE; UNESCO 1989
Gandhara / Mathura / Amaravati	Grey schist, Greco-Roman / red sandstone, indigenous / white limestone, narrative
Ajanta	Buddhist; murals; Vakataka phase (Harishena)
Ellora	34 caves: Buddhist, Hindu, Jain; Cave 16 Kailasa — Rashtrakuta Krishna I
Elephanta	Maheshmurti (Trimurti)
Mahabalipuram	Rathas — Narasimhavarman I; Shore Temple — Narasimhavarman II
Early temples	Sanchi Temple 17; Deogarh Dashavatara; Bhitargaon (brick)
Nagara / Dravida / Vesara	Shikhara + amalaka / vimana + gopuram + wall / hybrid, stellate (Hoysala)
Konark	Narasimhadeva I (Eastern Ganga); 24 wheels, 7 horses
Brihadeshwara	Rajaraja I, c. 1010
Khajuraho	Chandelas; Kandariya Mahadeva
Hoysala / Ramappa	UNESCO 2023 / 2021
Gommateshwara	Shravanabelagola; Chamundaraya, c. 983 CE
First true arch / dome	Balban’s tomb / Alai Darwaza (1311)
Qutb Minar	Begun by Aibak; completed by Iltutmish
Gol Gumbaz / Charminar	Bijapur (Adil Shahi) / Hyderabad (Qutb Shahi, 1591)
Humayun’s tomb	Bega Begum; Mirak Mirza Ghiyas; garden tomb
Buland Darwaza	Fatehpur Sikri, Akbar
Colonial	CSMT — F.W. Stevens; Victoria Memorial — Emerson; Gateway — Wittet; New Delhi — Lutyens, Baker
Chhattisgarh	Sirpur Lakshman temple — brick, Vasata; Tala — Rudra Shiva; Bhoramdeo — Phani Nagavanshi

Painting

Fact	Detail
Bhimbetka	Raisen, MP; V.S. Wakankar; UNESCO 2003
Raigarh rock art	Singhanpur, Kabra Pahad, Ongna, Karmagarh
Jogimara	Ramgarh, Surguja; murals + Brahmi inscription (Sutanuka)
Shadanga	Six limbs; Yashodhara’s commentary on the Kamasutra
Ajanta	Padmapani (Cave 1); tempera on dry plaster
Pala	Palm-leaf Buddhist manuscripts, Bengal–Bihar
Western Indian	Jain Kalpasutra; protruding eye
Humayun	Mir Sayyid Ali, Abdus Samad
Akbar	Hamzanama; Daswanth, Basawan
Jahangir	Peak; Mansur (Nadir-ul-Asr), Abul Hasan (Nadir-uz-Zaman), Bishandas
Kishangarh	Bani Thani — Nihal Chand
Basohli / Kangra	Bold, beetle wings / lyrical, Sansar Chand
Modern	Ravi Varma (oils, oleographs); Abanindranath — Bharat Mata (1905); Nandalal Bose; PAG 1947
Folk	Warli — Maharashtra; Madhubani — Bihar; Pattachitra — Odisha; Kalamkari — Andhra; Phad — Rajasthan; Pithora — Gujarat/MP; Gond — MP
Chhattisgarh folk	Rajwar wall art (Surguja), Godna

Music and Dance

Fact	Detail
Natyashastra	Bharata; 8 rasas (shanta added later); UNESCO Memory of the World, April 2025
Brihaddeshi / Sangita Ratnakara	Matanga / Sarangadeva (13th century)
Thaat / Melakarta	10, Bhatkhande / 72, Venkatamakhin
Dhrupad	Oldest form; Man Singh Tomar
Khayal	Sadarang, Adarang; Gwalior oldest gharana
Thumri	Lucknow, Wajid Ali Shah
Carnatic	Purandara Dasa — Pitamaha; Trinity: Tyagaraja, Dikshitar, Syama Sastri
Instrument classes	Tata (string), Sushira (wind), Avanaddha (membrane), Ghana (solid)
Bharat Ratna musicians	M.S. Subbulakshmi 1998 (first), Ravi Shankar 1999, Lata Mangeshkar and Bismillah Khan 2001, Bhimsen Joshi 2009, Bhupen Hazarika 2019
Classical dances	SNA: 8 — Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Manipuri, Mohiniyattam, Sattriya (2000); Ministry of Culture adds Chhau
Kathakali / Mohiniyattam	Kerala, male dance-drama / Kerala, female solo
Kuchipudi	Andhra; tarangam on brass plate
Manipuri	Ras Lila; no ghungroo
Chhau	Mayurbhanj (no masks), Seraikella, Purulia; UNESCO 2010
Raigarh gharana	Kathak; Raja Chakradhar Singh; Chakradhar Samaroh at Ganesh Chaturthi
Khairagarh	Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya, inaugurated 14 Oct 1956
UNESCO ICH (India)	16 elements as of 2026; Deepavali, 10 Dec 2025 (latest); Garba 2023; Durga Puja 2021

Literature and Philosophy

Fact	Detail
Satyameva Jayate	Mundaka Upanishad
Gayatri mantra / Purusha Sukta	Rigveda Mandala 3 / Mandala 10
Vedangas	Shiksha, Kalpa, Vyakarana, Nirukta, Chhandas, Jyotisha
Bhagavad Gita	Bhishma Parva; 18 chapters, 700 verses
Kalidasa	Shakuntalam, Meghaduta, Raghuvamsha, Kumarasambhava
Mudrarakshasa / Mrichchhakatika	Vishakhadatta / Shudraka
Harshacharita, Kadambari	Banabhatta
Rajatarangini	Kalhana, 1148–49
Sangam	Tolkappiyam; Tirukkural (Tiruvalluvar); Silappadikaram (Ilango Adigal), Manimekalai (Sattanar)
Hindi bhakti	Tulsidas — Awadhi; Surdas — Braj; Jayasi — Padmavat
Persian / Turki	Akbarnama — Abul Fazl; Humayun-nama — Gulbadan Begum; Baburnama — Turki
Awards	Sahitya Akademi 1954; first Jnanpith 1965 (G. Sankara Kurup)
Classical languages	11 (5 added October 2024)
Six darshanas	Nyaya — Gautama; Vaisheshika — Kanada; Samkhya — Kapila; Yoga — Patanjali; Mimamsa — Jaimini; Vedanta — Badarayana
Vedanta	Advaita — Shankara; Vishishtadvaita — Ramanuja; Dvaita — Madhva; Dvaitadvaita — Nimbarka; Shuddhadvaita — Vallabha (Champaran, CG)
Heterodox	Charvaka (perception only), Jainism, Buddhism, Ajivika (Makkhali Gosala)
CG writers	Muktibodh, P.P. Bakshi, Vinod Kumar Shukla — 59th Jnanpith (for 2024); died 23 Dec 2025

Don’t Confuse

This	vs	That
Ajanta — Buddhist, paintings	vs	Ellora — three faiths, Kailasa temple
Lakshman temple, Sirpur — brick	vs	Lakshmana temple, Khajuraho — stone
Bhimbetka — MP	vs	Singhanpur, Kabra Pahad — Raigarh, CG
Kathak — North, Hindustani	vs	Kathakali — Kerala, dance-drama
Raigarh — Kathak gharana	vs	Khairagarh — music university
Samkhya — Kapila	vs	Vaisheshika — Kanada
Champaran, CG — Vallabhacharya	vs	Champaran, Bihar — Gandhi, 1917

Favourite MCQ traps

Qutb Minar was completed by Iltutmish, not Aibak.
Bhoramdeo is Phani Nagavanshi, not Kalachuri.
The Sangeet Natak Akademi lists eight classical dances; Chhau is the ninth only in the Ministry of Culture list.
Mughal painting peaked under Jahangir, not Akbar.
Bharata’s Natyashastra has eight rasas; shanta was added later.

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