RAS question
The concept of 'Dependent Origination' (Pratityasamutpada) is central to:
Correct answer: (D) Buddhism.
Dependent Origination, or Pratityasamutpada, is a central Buddhist doctrine that explains phenomena as arising from conditions and links suffering, rebirth and liberation to that causal chain.
Explanation
Pratityasamutpada is central to Buddhism because it expresses the Buddha's doctrine that phenomena do not arise independently; they arise in dependence on conditions. Britannica describes paticca-samuppada as the law or chain of dependent origination and calls it a fundamental Buddhist concept explaining the causes of suffering and the sequence that carries a being through rebirth, old age and death. The doctrine is commonly expressed through a chain of 12 nidanas, or causes. Its significance is not limited to bondage: when the relevant conditions cease, the resulting phenomenon also ceases. That makes dependent origination the conceptual basis for ending suffering and moving towards nirvana, and ties Pratityasamutpada specifically to Buddhism rather than another Indian philosophical school.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Sankhya is centred on Purusha and Prakriti, not on the Buddhist causal doctrine of dependent origination.
- (B) Ajivika is associated with Niyati, or determinism, which is a different explanatory principle from conditional arising and cessation.
- (C) Jainism's central concept is Anekantavada, so it is not the school for which Pratityasamutpada is the defining doctrine.
Concept
RAS preparation requires recognition of core doctrines of ancient Indian religious and philosophical traditions. Terms such as Pratityasamutpada, Anekantavada, Niyati, Purusha and Prakriti distinguish closely placed schools in Ancient Indian History.