Master Answer WritingSign in

UPSC 2019 GS-I · 10 marks · 150 words

Highlight the Central Asian and Greco-Bactrian elements in Gandhara art.

What a top answer must contain

These are the checkable specifics from the marking standard for this question — the actual case, committee, datum or thinker, not an instruction to “give examples”.

  • Greco-Bactrian: wavy hair, sharp features, Apollo-like Buddha, toga-style drapery with heavy folds, acanthus and Corinthian capitals
  • Central Asian: Kushan patronage (Kanishka), donor figures in tunic-trouser-boots, Bactrian dress on reliquaries
  • Bimaran and Kanishka caskets as the datable objects to name
  • Materials: grey schist, later stucco — distinguishes Gandhara from Mathura's red sandstone
  • Synthesis point: the first anthropomorphic Buddha image, halo and ushnisha borrowed from Hellenistic conventions

The band thresholds and the pre-scored sample answers behind this standard stay private — they are the calibration your copy is placed against.

Now write it, and find out what you actually scored

Attempt this question — typed or photographed — and it is marked against the standard above in under a minute: six parameter scores, a blunt verdict, and the points you missed. 50 free credits on signup, no card.

Write this answerSee a marked copy first

More from UPSC GS-I