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UPSC CSE Prelims 2020 · GS Paper I · Question 36 · Post-Mauryan kingdoms & the Guptas

प्राचीन भारत के विद्वानों/साहित्यकारों के संदर्भ में, निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार कीजिए :

UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2020, General Studies Paper I, Question 36 — Post-Mauryan kingdoms & the Guptas.

Prelims 2020 · Q36

Post-Mauryan kingdoms & the Guptas Medium

प्राचीन भारत के विद्वानों/साहित्यकारों के संदर्भ में, निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार कीजिए :

  1. 1.पाणिनि पुष्यमित्र शुंग से संबंधित है ।
  2. 2.अमरसिंह हर्षवर्धन से संबंधित है ।
  3. 3.कालिदास चन्द्र गुप्त – II से संबंधित है ।

उपर्युक्त कथनों में से कौन-सा/से सही है/हैं ?

Read this question in English

With reference to the scholars/litterateurs of ancient India, consider the following statements:

1. Panini is associated with Pushyamitra Shunga.

2. Amarasimha is associated with Harshavardhana.

3. Kalidasa is associated with Chandra Gupta – II.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only · (b) 2 and 3 only · (c) 3 only · (d) 1, 2 and 3

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (c) केवल 3

UPSC's key counts only statement 3 as correct. NCERT places Kalidasa in the Gupta age, Panini lived several centuries before the Shungas, and Harsha's seventh-century court is known for Banabhatta.

  • ✗ 1. Panini, author of the Sanskrit grammar Ashtadhyayi, is dated to about 500 BCE. Pushyamitra Shunga founded the Shunga dynasty around 185 BCE, more than three centuries later.
  • ✗ 2. Harshavardhana ruled Kanauj from about 606 to 647 CE, and NCERT names Banabhatta as his court poet. UPSC's official key treats this statement as incorrect; we could not confirm the detail from an official source, so we do not explain it here.
  • ✓ 3. NCERT places Kalidasa's works in the Gupta age and describes Chandragupta II as surrounding himself with learned men, poets and artists. UPSC's key counts this statement correct.

Remember · Panini c. 500 BCE (grammar); Kalidasa in the Gupta age; Harsha's court poet was Banabhatta.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part I, Ch 3 (practise this chapter) · Class 9 Understanding Society: India and Beyond, Ch 5 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part I, Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part I, Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 7 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Ch 7 (practise this chapter) · Class 7 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Ch 7 (practise this chapter)

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2020, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·

Cite this question: UPSC CSE Prelims 2020, Q36 — minimalistias.com/pyqs/prelims/2020/q36

In the UPSC syllabus: Post-Mauryan kingdoms & the Guptas › Scholars & literature of the age See it and tick it covered →

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