With reference to the cultural history of India, consider the following pairs:
1. Parivrajaka : Renunciant and Wanderer
2. Shramana : Priest with a high status
3. Upasaka : Lay follower of Buddhism
Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
Explanation
– Pair 1 is correctly matched: In ancient India, a Parivrajaka was a homeless wandering ascetic, mendicant, or renunciant who had severed worldly ties to pursue spiritual truth.
– Pair 2 is incorrectly matched: A Shramana (strivers/ascetics) was an ascetic monk belonging to non-Vedic, heterodox traditions (such as Buddhism, Jainism, and Ajivika) who rejected Vedic rituals, sacrificial authority, and the hereditary social supremacy of the Brahmanical priesthood. They were not high-status priests.
– Pair 3 is correctly matched: In the Buddhist tradition, an Upasaka (male) or Upasika (female) denoted a dedicated lay follower or householder who took refuge in the Triple Gem (Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha) and observed moral precepts without ordaining as a monastic Bhikkhu.
Hence, pairs 1 and 3 are correctly matched — Option B.