Previous Year Question

With reference to the cultural history of India, which one of the following is the correct description of the term ‘Paramitas’?

The earliest Dharmashastra texts written in aphoristic (Sutra) style

Philosophical schools that did not accept the authority of the Vedas

Perfections whose attainment led to the Bodhisattva path

Powerful merchant guilds of early medieval South India

Correct Answer: C

Detailed Solution

In Buddhist tradition, Pāramitā signifies a spiritual ‘perfection’ cultivated by a Bodhisattva on the path towards Buddhahood. This is directly supported by original Buddhist Sanskrit texts.

The Bodhisattvabhūmi, preserved in the Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon, explicitly states that a Bodhisattva progressively fulfils the six pāramitās on the way to unsurpassed perfect enlightenment. The same primary text enumerates them as:

Dāna Pāramitā — Generosity
Śīla Pāramitā — Moral conduct
Kṣānti Pāramitā — Patience/forbearance
Vīrya Pāramitā — Energy or effort
Dhyāna Pāramitā — Meditation
Prajñā Pāramitā — Wisdom

There is further direct textual confirmation in Prajñāpāramitā literature. The Sanskrit material preserved in Göttingen's academic digital corpus explicitly speaks of a Bodhisattva training in prajñāpāramitā, dhyānapāramitā, vīryapāramitā, kṣāntipāramitā, śīlapāramitā and dānapāramitā.

The IGNCA, a Government of India institution, similarly describes the paramitas as perfections cultivated by a Bodhisattva. Some Mahayana formulations expand the six-fold list by adding upāya, praṇidhāna, bala and jñāna, producing a list of ten perfections. Thus, six- and ten-paramita schemes can both occur in Buddhist traditions, while the fundamental idea remains the same: spiritual perfections of the Bodhisattva path.

Option A is incorrect. Early texts laying down Dharma in aphoristic form are the Dharmasutras. UGC-INFLIBNET specifically discusses texts such as the Apastamba Dharmasutra and Gautama Dharmasutra under this tradition. They are not Paramitas.

Option B is incorrect. In classifications of Indian philosophy, schools that do not accept the authority of the Vedas are grouped under Nāstika Darśanas. INFLIBNET explicitly distinguishes Āstika systems, which accept Vedic authority, from Nāstika systems, which do not.

Option D is also incorrect. Organised merchant associations are described through terms such as śreṇi or guild in historical sources; INFLIBNET's account of early Indian commerce likewise discusses merchants organised into trade guilds or śreṇis. This has no connection with the term Pāramitā.

The key conceptual link is therefore:

Pāramitā → Perfection → Bodhisattva Path → Buddhahood

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