Civil Services Prep

Prelims 2023 · Ancient History · Question 6

With reference to ancient Indian History, consider the following pairs: Literary work — Author: 1. Devichandragupta — Bilhana 2. Hammira-Mahakavya — Nayachandra Suri 3. Milinda-panha — Nagarjuna 4. Nitivakyamrita — Somadeva Suri. How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

  1. Only one
  2. Only two
  3. Only three
  4. All four

Answer

Only two

  1. Devichandragupta — Bilhana: Incorrect. Devichandragupta is generally attributed to Vishakhadatta, not Bilhana.
  2. Hammira-Mahakavya — Nayachandra Suri: Correct. This Sanskrit mahakavya on Hammira of Ranthambore was written by Nayachandra Suri.
  3. Milinda-panha — Nagarjuna: Incorrect. Milinda-panha is a Buddhist text recording the dialogue of King Menander (Milinda) and Nagasena, not Nagarjuna.
  4. Nitivakyamrita — Somadeva Suri: Correct. This work on polity/ethics is attributed to Somadeva Suri.

Hence, only two pairs are correctly matched.

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