Culture questions in Prelims rarely stop at monuments. Year after year, UPSC asks which State a dance belongs to, which form is on UNESCO’s intangible heritage list, who composed in which language, which text belongs to which author, and which school of philosophy holds which view. Mains uses the same material for questions on continuity, patronage and the role of the Bhakti and Sangam traditions.

This chapter gathers India’s living arts and its textual and philosophical heritage.

Sub-topic	What to master
Classical dance	The eight forms recognised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, with State, origin and features
Music	Hindustani vs Carnatic; forms, composers, thaat and melakarta
Folk dance, theatre and puppetry	States and features; UNESCO-listed forms
Literature	Vedic, epic and Puranic texts; Sangam; classical Sanskrit; regional and Persian works
Philosophy	Six astika darshanas; Buddhist, Jain and Charvaka schools; Vedanta sub-schools

Topic pages

Then revise with the one-page sheet and test yourself with the practice set.