Prelims 2012 · archive
MediumWith reference to the scientific progress of ancient India, which of the statements given below are correct?
- 1.Different kinds of specialized surgical instruments were in common use by 1st century AD.
- 2.Transplant of internal organs in the human body had begun by the beginning of 3rd century AD.
- 3.The concept of sine of an angle was known in 5th century AD.
- 4.The concept of cyclic quadrilaterals was known in 7th century AD.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) 1, 3 and 4 only
Statements 1, 3 and 4 are correct. The Sushruta Samhita (c. 100 CE) describes a large set of specialised surgical instruments. Aryabhata's Aryabhatiya (499 CE) contains the first mention of the sine function. Brahmagupta's 7th-century work gave the formula for the area of a cyclic quadrilateral. There is no evidence of internal-organ transplants in ancient India. Sushruta's celebrated operations were reconstructive, such as rhinoplasty and otoplasty.
- ✓ 1. The Sushruta Samhita, a Sanskrit work on medicine dated c. 100 CE, describes more than 300 kinds of operations and 121 different types of surgical instruments.
- ✗ 2. Sushruta is credited with reconstructive procedures on the nose and ear (rhinoplasty and otoplasty). There is no evidence of internal-organ transplants in ancient India.
- ✓ 3. The first mention of the sine function (ardha-jya, 'half chord') is in Aryabhata's Aryabhatiya of 499 CE, which falls in the 5th century.
- ✓ 4. Brahmagupta's Brahmasphutasiddhanta was composed in 628 CE, in the 7th century. He gave the formula for the area of a cyclic quadrilateral, now known as Brahmagupta's formula.
Remember · Sushruta (c. 100 CE) = surgery, many instruments and plastic surgery, but no organ transplants. Aryabhata (499 CE) = sine. Brahmagupta (628 CE) = cyclic quadrilateral.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Ch 5 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Ch 7 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part I, Ch 3 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 11 · Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Chapter 5 “Brahmagupta devoted a lot of his time to the development in geometry and trigonometry. He discovered a formula, now known as Brahmagupta formula, dealing with the area of a cyclic quadrilateral.”
- NCERT Class 11 · Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Chapter 7 “Susruta, the ayurvedic surgeon is acknowledged even by present day surgeons for his surgical procedures of rhinoplasty and otoplasty.”
- NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part I, Chapter 3 “c. 100 CE Charaka and Sushruta Samhitas, works on medicine (in Sanskrit)”
- NCERT Social Science journal: The Forgotten Mathematical Legacy of Aryabhata ↗ “The first mention of the sine function is to be found in his (one and only) seminal work the Aryabhatiya (499 CE).”
- Sushrutha - our proud heritage (NCBI/PMC) ↗ “It describes more than 300 kinds of operations that call for 42 different surgical processes and 121 different types of instruments.”
Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2012, General Studies paper. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·