Prelims 2001 · archive
MediumAssertion (A): Harshavardhana convened the Prayag Assembly.
- Reason (R): He wanted to popularize only the Mahayana form of Buddhism.
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) A is true but R is false
Harsha held a great assembly at Prayaga every five years, where he gave away wealth. But it was not meant to push one school of Buddhism: Harsha gave gifts to many groups and was not exclusively Mahayana, so R is false.
- ✓ (c) A is true. R is false: the assembly was a five-yearly charity gathering, and Harsha, though a Mahayana follower late in life, supported Hinduism earlier.
- ✗ (a) R is not true, so it cannot explain A.
- ✗ (b) R is not true.
Remember · Harsha's Prayaga assembly: quinquennial giving of wealth, not a Mahayana propaganda meet.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 7 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 3 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 7 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Chapter 3 “Every five years, he held an assembly at Prayaga (present-day Prayagraj, at the confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers) where, after performing sacred rites, he gave away much wealth”
- Britannica, Harsha ↗ · reference work “Xuanzang depicts the emperor as a convinced Mahayana Buddhist, though in the earlier part of his reign Harsha appears to have supported orthodox Hinduism.”
Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2001, General Studies paper. UPSC did not publish an answer key for 2001: the answer shown is the one the sources above support. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 24 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·