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Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I

Class 11 · Art & Culture

Ch 1 · Language and Literature of India

Real UPSC Prelims questions from 2016–2026, linked to this book. Try each one first, then open the answer. 2026 answers follow UPSC's provisional answer key.

Prelims 2021 · Q41

With reference to the history of ancient India, Bhavabhuti, Hastimalla and Kshemeshvara were famous

(a)Jain monks
(b)playwrights
(c)temple architects
(d)philosophers

Show answer

UPSC's answer: (b)

NCERT answers it: Class 11 Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Ch 1 (Language and Literature of India).

How to solve it with NCERT: Class 11 Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, ch 1, names Bhavabhuti among the great Sanskrit playwrights, with Bhasa, Kalidasa and Shudraka. The question groups all three names together, so they are playwrights. Answer (b).

Beyond NCERT: Kshemishvara, for example, wrote the Sanskrit play Chandakaushika, about the truthful King Harishchandra. Source: IGNOU (egyankosh.ac.in), Unit 16 'Languages and Literature'

Hindi version: UPSC's official question paper (2021), question 41 ↗

Prelims 2024 · Q63

Which one of the following is a work attributed to playwright Bhasa?

(a)Kavyalankara
(b)Natyashastra
(c)Madhyama-vyayoga
(d)Mahabhashya

Show answer

UPSC's answer: (c)

NCERT answers it: Class 11 Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Ch 1 (Language and Literature of India).

Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India (ch 1) lists Bhasa's plays, including the Madhyamavyayoga. So (c).

Hindi version: UPSC's official question paper (2024), question 63 ↗

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