Q. Who among the following was a contemporary of Gautam Buddha?
(a) Nagarjuna
(b) Kanishka
(c) Kautila
(d) Mahavir
Ans: (d) Mahavir
Explanation:
Among the given options, (d) Mahavir was a contemporary of Gautam Buddha.
Mahavir, also known as Vardhmana Mahavira, was the founder of Jainism and is considered a contemporary of Gautam Buddha. Both Mahavir and Buddha lived during the same time period in ancient India and made significant contributions to the spiritual and philosophical landscape of the region.
Nagarjuna was a Buddhist philosopher who lived a few centuries after Gautam Buddha, contributing to the development of Mahayana Buddhism. Kanishka was a Kushan emperor who ruled in the 2nd century CE and promoted Buddhism, but he lived several centuries after the time of Buddha. Kautilya, also known as Chanakya, was a political philosopher and advisor to the Maurya emperor Chandragupta, and his lifetime is believed to be before Gautam Buddha’s era.