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English Language & Literature — CBSE Class 10 board question

Q1. [3]
Why did Kisa Gotami, despite her desperate efforts to find a solution for her grief, ultimately become weary and hopeless ? (The Sermon at Benares)
Previously asked in CBSE board exam
2026 2/3/1 Q8 (iii)
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-15 07:15 · grounding rag
Model Answer

Kisa Gotami became weary and hopeless because she could not find a single house where no one had died. The Buddha had asked her to bring mustard-seed from a house untouched by death. At every door, people told her, "The living are few, but the dead are many." There was no house but some beloved one had died in it. Failing at every door made her realise that death is universal and unavoidable, leaving her exhausted and without hope of finding a remedy for her grief.

Source: The Sermon at Benares, The Story of Kisa Gotami

Explanation

The examiner wants three things here: (1) what Kisa Gotami was searching for (mustard-seed from a death-free house), (2) why she could not get it (every house had suffered a death), and (3) the resulting emotion (weariness and hopelessness). Quoting the phrase "the living are few, but the dead are many" directly from the text earns credit. Do not drift into the Buddha's sermon — stay focused on her personal journey in this part of the story.

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Previous-year CBSE Grade 10 board exam questions, organised by subject and chapter, each with a model answer — free to read and print.