Religious & Scientific Literature UPSC PYQ

Sanghabhuti, an Indian Buddhist monk, who travelled to China at the end of the fourth century AD, was the author of a commentary on:

1. APrajnaparamita Sutra
2. BVisuddhimagga
3. CSarvastivada Vinaya
4. DLalitavistara

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?

1. AOnly one
2. BOnly two
3. COnly three
4. DAll four

With reference to Indian history, consider the following texts:
1. Nettipakarana
2. Parishishtaparvan
3. Avadanashataka
4. Trishashtilakshana Mahapurana

Which of the above are Jaina texts?

1. A1, 2 and 3
2. B2 and 4 only
3. C1, 3 and 4
4. D2, 3 and 4

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

1. AKavyalankara
2. BNatyashastra
3. CMadhyama-vyayoga
4. DMahabhashya

Which one of the following explains the practice of 'Vattakirutal' as mentioned in Sangam poems?

1. AKings employing women bodyguards
2. BLearned persons assembling in royal courts to discuss religious and philosophical matters
3. CYoung girls keeping watch over agricultural fields and driving away birds and animals
4. DA king defeated in a battle committing ritual suicide by starving himself to death

Which one of the following statements about Sangam literature in ancient South India is correct?

1. ASangam poems are devoid of any reference to material culture.
2. BThe social classification of Varna was known to Sangam poets.
3. CSangam poems have no reference to warrior ethic.
4. DSangam literature refers to magical forces as irrational.

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

1. AJain monks
2. Bplaywrights
3. Ctemple architects
4. Dphilosophers

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?

1. A1 and 2 only
2. B2 and 3 only
3. C3 only
4. D1, 2 and 3

Which one of the following books of ancient India has the love story of the son of the founder of Sunga dynasty?

1. ASwapnavasavadatta
2. BMalavikagnimitra
3. CMeghadoota
4. DRatnavali

Which one of the following was given classical language status recently?

1. AOdia
2. BKonkani
3. CBhojpuri
4. DAssamese

Consider the following languages:
1. Gujarati
2. Kannada
3. Telugu
Which of the above has/have been declared as 'Classical Language/Languages' by the Government?

1. A1 and 2 only
2. B3 only
3. C2 and 3 only
4. D1, 2 and 3

Match List I with List II and select the correct answer using the code given below the lists:
List I (Book)
A. In Custody
B. Sea of Poppies
C. The Argumentative Indian
D. Unaccustomed Earth
List II (Author)
1. Amartya Sen
2. Amitav Ghosh
3. Anita Desai
4. Jhumpa Lahiri

1. AA-4 B-1 C-2 D-3
2. BA-4 B-2 C-1 D-3
3. CA-3 B-2 C-1 D-4
4. DA-3 B-1 C-2 D-4

Who of the following is the author of a collection of poems called “Golden Threshold”?

1. AAruna Asaf Ali
2. BAnnie Besant
3. CSarojini Naidu
4. DVijayalakshmi Pandit

Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the code given below the Lists:
List-I (Author)
A. Bankimchandra
B. Dinabandhu Mitra
C. Premchand
List-II (Work)
1. Shatranj Ke Khilari
2. Debi Chaudhurani
3. Nil-Darpan
4. Chandrakanta

1. AA-2 B-4 C-1
2. BA-3 B-4 C-2
3. CA-2 B-3 C-1
4. DA-3 B-1 C-4

Among the Indian languages, which one is spoken maximum in the world after Hindi?

1. ATelugu
2. BTamil
3. CBengali
4. DMalayalam

Who among the following translated the Autobiography of Madam Curie in Hindi?

1. AAtal Bihari Vajpayee
2. BLal Bahadur Shastri
3. CChoudhary Charan Singh
4. DGobind Vallabh Pant

Who among the following wrote the poem, Subh-e Azadi?

1. ASahir Ludhiyanvi
2. BFaiz Ahmed Faiz
3. CMuhammad Iqbal
4. DMaulana Abul Kalam Azad

Who among the following wrote the book "Ayodhya : 6 December 1992"?

1. AChandra Shekar
2. BP. V. Narasimha Rao
3. CJaswant Singh
4. DArun Shourie

How is Gabriel García well known?

1. AKnown for research in agriculture
2. BA renowned football coach
3. CA great writer who won the Nobel Prize for Literature
4. DKnown for research in railway engineering

Which of the following is not correctly matched? Prominent Indian Writer : Language

1. ARaja Rao : Telugu
2. BGobind Trimbuk Deshpande : Marathi
3. CSubramaniyam Bharati : Tamil
4. DTara Shankar Joshi : Gujarati

Match List – I with List – II and select the correct answer using the code given below the lists:
List – I ( Author )
A. Amartya Sen
B. Bimal Jalan
C. Arundhati Roy
D. Mani Shankar
List – II ( Book )
1. An Ordinary Person’s Guide to Empire
2. The Argumentative Indian
3. The Future of India
4. Confessions of a Secular Fundamentalist
Code:

1. AA 3 B 2 C 1 D 4
2. BA 3 B 2 C 4 D 1
3. CA 2 B 3 C 1 D 4
4. DA 2 B 3 C 4 D 1

Who is Wole Soyinka ?

1. AA well-known economist
2. BA well-known football player
3. CA well-known industrialist owning steel plants in many parts of the world.
4. DA Nobel Prize winner for literature.

“Lectures from Colombo to Almora” is based on the experiences of which one of the following?

1. AVeer Savarkar
2. BAnnie Besant
3. CRamkrishna Paramhansa
4. DSwami Vivekanand

Match List I (Books) with List II (Authors) and select the correct answer using the codes given below:
List I
A. My Presidential Years
B. The Hindu View of Life
C. Voice of Conscience
D. Without Fear or Favour
List II
1. S. Radhakrishnan
2. V. V. Giri
3. N. Sanjiva Reddy
4. R. Venkataraman

1. AA-2 B-1 C-4 D-3
2. BA-4 B-3 C-2 D-1
3. CA-2 B-3 C-4 D-1
4. DA-4 B-1 C-2 D-3

Consider the following international language
1. Arabic
2. French
3. Spanish
The correct sequence of the language given above in the decreasing order of the number of their speakers is

1. A3-1-2
2. B1-3-2
3. C3-2-1
4. D1-2-3

‘Mrichchhakatika’ an ancient Indian book written by Shudraka deals with

1. AThe love affair of a rich merchant with the daughter of a courtesan
2. BThe victory of Chandragupta II over the Shaka Kshatrapas of western India
3. CThe military expeditions and exploits of Samudragupta
4. DThe love affair between a Gupta King and a princess of Kamarupa

Dilip Kaur Tiwana is well known as a

1. Alitterateur
2. Bmusician
3. Cscientist
4. Dsports person

Match List I (Book) with List II (Author) and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists:
List I (Book)
A. Autobiography of an Unknown Indian
B. India: A Wounded Civilization
C. Confessions of a Lover
D. The English Teacher
List II (Author)
1. Mulk Raj Anand
2. Nirad C. Chaudhuri
3. R. K. Narayan
4. V. S. Naipaul
Codes:

1. A1 3 2 4
2. B2 4 1 3
3. C1 4 2 3
4. D2 3 1 4

Who amongst the following Englishmen first translated the Bhagavad-Gita into English?

1. AWilliam Jones
2. BCharles Wilkins
3. CAlexander Cunningham
4. DJohn Marshall

Match List I (Books) with List II (Authors) and select the correct answer using the codes given below the Lists:
List I
I. My Music, My Life
II. Adha Gaon
III. Radha
IV. The Pilferer
List II
A) Laxman Gaikwad
B) Rahi Masoom Raza
C) Ramakanta Rath
D) Ravi Shankar
Codes:

1. AI-C, II-B, III-D, IV-A
2. BI-D, II-B, III-C, IV-A
3. CI-D, II-A, III-C, IV-B
4. DI-C, II-A, III-D, IV-B

Assertion (A): The Aham and Puram poems of the Padinen Kilukanakku group formed a continuation of the Sangam composition. Reason (R): They were included under the Post-Sangam works as against the Sangam works proper.

1. ABoth A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A
2. BBoth A and R are true, but R is not a correct explanation of A
3. CA is true, but R is false
4. DA is false, but R is true

The first writer to use Urdu as the medium of poetic expression was

1. AAmir Khusru
2. BMirza Ghalib
3. CBahadur Shah Zafar
4. DFaiz

Match List I with List II and select the correct answer using the codes given below the Lists:
List I (Writers)
I. Sashi Tharoor
II. Amitav Ghosh
III. Anita Desai
IV. Vikram Chandra
List II (Books)
A) Clear Light of Day
B) Circle of Reason
C) Love and Longing in Bombay
D) Show Business

1. AI-D, II-C, III-B, IV-A
2. BI-C, II-D, III-A, IV-B
3. CI-D, II-C, III-A, IV-B
4. DI-C, II-D, III-B, IV-A

Match List I with List II and select the correct answer using the codes given below the Lists:
List I (Books)
I. The First Indian War of Independence
II. Anand Math
III. Life Divine
IV. Sadhana
List II (Authors)
A) Rabindranath Tagore
B) Sri Aurobindo
C) Bankim Chandra Chatterji
D) Vinayak Damodar Savarkar

1. AI-D, II-C, III-B, IV-A
2. BI-C, II-D, III-A, IV-B
3. CI-D, II-A, III-C, IV-B
4. DI-C, II-B, III-A, IV-D

Which one of the following languages belongs to the Austric group?

1. AMarathi
2. BLadakhi
3. CKhasi
4. DTamil

Which of the following pairs are correctly matched?
I. Mrichchhakatikam — Shudraka
II. Buddhacharita — Vasuvandhu
III. Mudrarakshasha — Vishakhadatta
IV. Harshacharita — Banabhatta
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

1. AI, II, III and IV
2. BI, III and IV
3. CI and IV
4. DII and III

Which one of the following pairs of composers in different languages and their works on the Mahabharata theme is correctly matched?

1. ASarladasa — Bengali
2. BKasirama — Oriya
3. CTikkana — Marathi
4. DPampa — Kannada

Which one of the following scripts of ancient India was written from right to left?

1. ABrahmi
2. BNandnagari
3. CSharada
4. DKharosthi

Match List I with List II and select the correct answer by using the codes given below the lists:
List I (Author)
I. Varahamihira
II. Visakhadatta
III. Sudraka
IV. Bilhana
List II (Text)
A) Prabandha Chintamani
B) Mrchchhakatikam
C) Brhat-Samhita
D) Devi Chandraguptam
E) Vikramankadevacharita
Codes:

1. AI-C, II-D, III-E, IV-B
2. BI-C, II-D, III-B, IV-E
3. CI-E, II-C, III-D, IV-A
4. DI-A, II-C, III-E, IV-B

Which one of the following works has recently been made into a full-length feature film?

1. AR. K. Narayan’s Malgudi Days
2. BSalman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children
3. CVikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy
4. DUpamanyu Chatterjee’s English August

Which one of the following is an important historical novel written during the latter half of the nineteenth century?

1. ARast Goftar
2. BDurgesh Nandini
3. CMaharatha
4. DNibandhamala

The term apabhramsa was used in medieval Sanskrit texts to denote

1. Aoutcastes among the Rajputs
2. Bdeviations from Vedic rituals
3. Cearly forms of some of the modern Indian languages
4. Dnon-Sanskrit verse metres

Which one of the following texts of ancient India allows divorce to a wife deserted by her husband?

1. AKamasutra
2. BManavadharmashastra
3. CSukra Nitisara
4. DArthashastra