UP Board class 10 English chapter 8 – “The Sermon At Benares” solutions are available on this page. It covers all the question answers of this chapter. This solution is aligned with the latest syllabus of 2024-25 session.
Chapter 8 of the UP Board Class 10 English book, The Sermon at Benares, introduces readers to the teachings of Lord Buddha, focusing on the universal truth of life and death. The chapter recounts how Siddhartha Gautama, born a prince, left his royal life after witnessing human suffering, and ultimately attained enlightenment as the Buddha. His first sermon in Benares shares a profound message on the inevitability of death and the futility of grief. Through the story of Kisa Gotami, who mourned the loss of her son, Lord Buddha teaches that acceptance of death is crucial for peace and liberation from suffering.
UP Board Class 10 English Chapter 8 Solutions
| Subject | English |
| Class | 10th |
| Chapter | 8. The Sermon At Benares |
| Author | [Source: Betty Renshaw Values and Voices: A College Reader (1975)] |
| Board | UP Board |
Thinking About the Text
Page No: 113
Question 1: When her son dies, Kisa Gotami goes from house to house. What does she ask for? Does she get it? Why not?
Answer: Kisa Gotami, in her grief, asked for medicine to bring her dead son back to life. However, no one could provide such medicine, as it is impossible to cure death. She did not get what she asked for because death is inevitable and cannot be reversed.
Question 2: Kisa Gotami again goes from house to house after she speaks with the Buddha. What does she ask for? Does she get it? Why not?
Answer: After speaking with Buddha, Kisa Gotami asked for a handful of mustard seeds from a house that had never experienced death. Despite her efforts, she couldn’t find such a house because death touches every family, showing her that death is a universal truth.
Question 3: What does Kisa Gotami understand the second time that she failed to understand the first time? Was this what Buddha wanted her to understand?
Answer: The second time, Kisa Gotami realized that death is a natural and inevitable part of life, affecting everyone. This understanding, that all living beings must die, was precisely what Buddha wanted her to learn.
Question 4: Why do you think Kisa Gotami understood this only the second time? In what way did Buddha change her understanding?
Answer: Initially, Kisa Gotami was blinded by her personal grief. On her second journey, she learned that death spares no one, as every household had experienced loss. Buddha helped her see this by asking her to find mustard seeds from a home untouched by death, guiding her to accept mortality.
Question 5: How do you usually understand the idea of selfishness? Do you agree with Kisa Gotami that she was being selfish in her grief?
Answer: Selfishness usually means thinking only about oneself. Kisa Gotami, in her grief, was consumed by the loss of her son and wanted to bring him back, overlooking the fact that death is a natural part of life. In this way, she acknowledged her grief was selfish, as she only saw her pain.
