UPSC Prelims 2018— Question 74

**Concept and analysis:** Maitreya is regarded in Buddhist traditions as the future Buddha who will appear in the world and attain enlightenment after the teachings of the historical Buddha have declined. Avalokiteshvara, Lokesvara and Padmapani are names or forms associated with bodhisattva traditions rather than the future Buddha described in the question. The question is testing precise UPSC-level identification rather than a broad association. The key is to distinguish the exact institutional, constitutional, historical, geographical, economic or scientific feature being asked. **Option-wise evaluation** **Option A:** Incorrect. Avalokiteshvara is a different institution, place, definition, proposition or description and does not satisfy the specific requirement of the question. **Option B:** Incorrect. Lokesvara is a different institution, place, definition, proposition or description and does not satisfy the specific requirement of the question. **Option C:** Correct. Maitreya directly matches the concept or factual identification established in the analysis. **Option D:** Incorrect. Padmapani is a different institution, place, definition, proposition or description and does not satisfy the specific requirement of the question. **UPSC takeaway:** The safest way to solve this type of question is to anchor the answer in the defining feature of the concept and then test every option against that feature. Closely related institutions or terms are often used as distractors. In statement-based questions, do not judge the option as a whole before checking each statement independently. In factual questions, compare the wording of each option with the exact definition, location, institutional role, chronology or scientific property. The correct answer follows from that verification rather than from familiarity with a keyword.