SSC
Drukpa Tshe-zhi, a Buddhist festival celebrated in Sikkim, commemorates:
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Answer: Option D — The Buddha's first sermon
Detailed Solution
Drukpa Tshe-zhi is a Buddhist festival of Sikkim that commemorates the first sermon of the Buddha, in which he taught the Four Noble Truths to his first five disciples at the Deer Park in Sarnath, near Varanasi, after attaining enlightenment at Bodh Gaya. It is celebrated on the fourth day (tshe-zhi) of the sixth month (drukpa) of the Tibetan calendar, which usually falls in July or August.
The Buddha's first sermon is known as the Dhammachakkappavattana Sutta, or "the Turning of the Wheel of Dharma". In it, he taught the Four Noble Truths: that life involves suffering (dukkha); that suffering has a cause, which is craving or desire; that suffering can end (nirvana); and that there is a path to end suffering, the Noble Eightfold Path (right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration). This sermon set in motion the spread of Buddhism, and the wheel (dharmachakra) became one of its main symbols. The Ashoka Chakra in the Indian national flag is based on this symbol, taken from the Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath.
On Drukpa Tshe-zhi, Buddhists in Sikkim visit monasteries to offer prayers, light butter lamps and listen to teachings. Prayers are held at monasteries such as Rumtek and the Tsuklakhang in Gangtok. Many devotees go on a pilgrimage to sacred places, such as the Deer Park in Gangtok, which has a statue of the Buddha preaching his first sermon. A yak race is also held at the Tsomgo (Changu) Lake on this occasion.
Other Buddhist festivals of Sikkim include Saga Dawa (birth, enlightenment and parinirvana), Lhabab Dhuechen (the Buddha's descent from heaven), Pang Lhabsol (worship of Kanchenjunga), Bumchu and Losoong.
Why not the other options?
- ✗The birth of Guru Padmasambhava is celebrated at the Hemis festival and the tsechus.
- ✗The worship of Mount Kanchenjunga takes place at Pang Lhabsol.
- ✗The founding of Rumtek Monastery is not the theme of this festival.
Quick tip
Remember: Drukpa Tshe-zhi = Sikkim, the Buddha's first sermon at Sarnath (the Four Noble Truths) and the sixth Tibetan month.
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Festivals & Fairs of India — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Festivals & Fairs of India, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the religious, harvest, tribal and cultural festivals of India, the fairs (melas) held across the country, and the states, communities and seasons linked to them. It also includes festivals listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage, such as Kumbh Mela and Durga Puja in Kolkata. Most questions ask which state celebrates a festival, which tribe it belongs to, or what event it marks. Harvest festivals are especially common: Pongal (Tamil Nadu), Onam (Kerala), Bihu (Assam), Lohri and Baisakhi (Punjab) and Nuakhai (Odisha). Fairs such as the Pushkar camel fair (Rajasthan) and the Sonepur cattle fair (Bihar) are also frequently tested. Revise festivals state by state. Practise the festivals and fairs questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.