Prelims 2022 · Q94
Medium"Yogavāsistha" was translated into Persian by Nizamuddin Panipati during the reign of:
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) Akbar
UPSC's key is Akbar (1556-1605). Akbar ran a translation bureau at Fatehpur Sikri that turned major Sanskrit works into Persian; we could not confirm the date of the Yogavasistha translation from an official source.
- ✓ (a) Akbar had Sanskrit classics rendered into Persian, including the Mahabharata (Razmnama) and the Ramayana. UPSC's official key gives Akbar for this question; we could not confirm the date of the Yogavasistha translation from an official source, so we do not explain it here.
- ✗ (b) Humayun's rule was short and unsettled (he lost the throne and regained it), and it is not associated with a Sanskrit-to-Persian translation programme.
- ✗ (c) Shah Jahan is remembered for architecture such as the Taj Mahal; the large state-backed translation bureau is an Akbar-era feature.
Remember · Akbar's translation bureau put Sanskrit works into Persian: Mahabharata as Razmnama, Ramayana, Bhagavad Gita and Panchatantra.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Ch 2 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 8 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Chapter 2 “He established a 'house of translation' at Fatehpur Sikri where he had major Sanskrit texts translated into Persian, including the Mahabharata (Razmnama in Persian, or the 'Book of War'), the Ramayana”
- IGNCA Kalanidhi Reference Library — Bibliography on Yoga (lists Nizam Panipati as translator of the Yoga Vasistha) ↗ “Panipati, Nizam, tr. Yoga Vasistha. 181.45 YOG. G2020 6 Valmiki Yoga-vasishtha. 181.45 VAL. G1941”
- UGC e-PG Pathshala (ebooks.inflibnet.ac.in): Yogavasistha ↗ · reference work “This was one of the earliest works of Hindu philosophy translated into Persian as Muntakhab-i Jug-basasht”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·