Correct answer: (c) Perfections whose attainment led to the Bodhisattva path
Explanation
- A
The earliest Dharmashastra texts written in aphoristic (sutra) style
Earliest Dharmasutra. That is Kalpa/sutra literature, not paramita.
- B
Philosophical schools that did not accept the authority of Vedas
Nastika schools. Unrelated label.
- C
Perfections whose attainment led to the Bodhisattva path
Perfections on the Bodhisattva path. Dana, sila, kshanti and the rest.
- D
Powerful merchant guilds of early Medieval South India
South-Indian merchant guilds. Those are nanadesi / manigramam.
Summary. Official key is (c). Paramitas are the Mahayana ‘perfections’ whose practice makes a Bodhisattva — generosity, morality, patience, energy, meditation, wisdom (and expansions to ten).
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