Given below are two statements: one is labelled Assertion (A) and the other is…
2025
Given below are two statements: one is labelled Assertion (A) and the other is labelled Reason (R).
Assertion (A): Sila Bhattarika, Vijayanka, Prabhudevi, Queen Nayanika, Queen Prabhavati Gupta, and Sanghamitra are examples of learned Buddhist women scholars.
Reason (R): Lord Buddha allowed women to join the Sangha at the request of King Ashoka and Yashodhara.
In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below.
Answer: C. (A) is true, but (R) is false. — ConceptIn an assertion–reason item, first determine the truth value of each statement independently. Test the explanatory link only when both statements are…
- A.
Both (A) and (R) are true, and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
- B.
Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
- C.
(A) is true, but (R) is false.
- D.
(A) is false, but (R) is true.
Attempted by 1 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Concept
In an assertion–reason item, first determine the truth value of each statement independently. Test the explanatory link only when both statements are true.
For a previous-year examination item, the issuing body’s final answer key is canonical for the intended classification; a historically broad label should still be stated with its scope and limitations.
Application
Assertion (A): This is the wording used in the UGC NET item. NTA’s official final key accepts the truth-value combination “(A) true and (R) false,” so the examination treats (A) as true. Its wording reflects a broad, period-based educational classification of the listed learned women; individual historical studies may not describe every listed figure’s religious identity specifically as Buddhist.
Reason (R): Women’s admission to the Buddhist Sangha belongs to the Buddha’s lifetime. Mahapajapati Gotami repeatedly sought admission, and Ananda interceded with the Buddha. Emperor Ashoka lived centuries later, so the claimed request by Ashoka and Yashodhara is historically impossible. Thus, (R) is false.
Cross-check / Contrast
NTA’s final key for the exact item fixes the examination-intended truth values as (A) true and (R) false.
The chronology independently rules out (R): Ashoka cannot have requested a decision made during the Buddha’s lifetime. The broad wording of (A) is therefore read in the official examination’s classification sense, not as a precise religious biography of every named woman.
Result
(A) is true in the official examination’s intended classification, while (R) is false.