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?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) Only two
Only pairs 2 and 4 are correct: the Hammira-Mahakavya is by Nayachandra Suri and the Nitivakyamrita is by Somadeva (Suri). Devichandragupta is the play of Vishakhadatta, not Bilhana, and the Milinda-panha is a Buddhist dialogue tied to the monk Nagasena, not Nagarjuna.
- ✗ 1. Devichandragupta (Devi-Chandraguptam) is the play of Vishakhadatta, who is better known for the Mudrarakshasa (NCERT names him as that play's author); it is not by Bilhana.
- ✓ 2. The Hammira-Mahakavya, a poem on King Hammira, is by Nayachandra Suri.
- ✗ 3. The Milinda-panha records questions of King Milinda (Menander) answered by the monk Nagasena. NCERT calls it a Buddhist text traditionally attributed to Nagasena, and it is not by Nagarjuna.
- ✓ 4. The Nitivakyamrita is by Somadeva Suri, who also wrote the Yashastilaka.
Remember · Devichandragupta: Vishakhadatta. Hammira-Mahakavya: Nayachandra Suri. Milinda-panha: Nagasena's dialogue with Menander. Nitivakyamrita: Somadeva Suri.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 9 Understanding Society: India and Beyond, Ch 5 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Ch 3 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 9 · Understanding Society: India and Beyond, Chapter 5 “The Milindapanho, a Buddhist text traditionally attributed to Nagasena, describes eight stages of agricultural operations”
- NCERT Class 11 · Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Chapter 3 “Vishakhadatta's Mudraraksasam was written two hundred years later in the A.D. ninth century.”
- Milinda-panha, Encyclopaedia Britannica ↗ · reference work “Composed in northern India in perhaps the 1st or 2nd century ce (and possibly originally in Sanskrit) by an unknown author”
- Tamil Nadu Open University, M.A. History: History of Ancient India (university study material), Gupta Empire ↗ · reference work “Influenced by Visakhadatta’s Devi-Chandraguptam, it has been suggested that Samudragupta was succeeded by his brother, Ramagupta. … Among the other works, Kumarapalacharita (12 A.D.) by Jayasimha, Hammirakavya of Nayachandra”
- IGNOU eGyankosh: History of India from c. 300 CE to 1206, Unit 10 (Rashtrakutas), via Internet Archive copy ↗ · reference work “Later, Somadeva composed the Yashastilaka and Nitivakyamrita.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·