Art & Culture › Literature & Languages – UPSC Prelims PYQs

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

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

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?

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

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

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 ?

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

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

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?

Match List I with List II and select the correct answer using the code given below the lists:

1. Amartya Sen
2. Amitav Ghosh
3. Anita Desai
4. Jhumpa Lahiri

List I (Book) A. In Custody B. Sea of Poppies C. The Argumentative Indian D. Unaccustomed Earth

List II (Author)

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

Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the code given below the Lists:

1. Shatranj Ke Khilari
2. Debi Chaudhurani
3. Nil-Darpan
4. Chandrakanta

List-I (Author) A. Bankimchandra B. Dinabandhu Mitra C. Premchand

List-II (Work)

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

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

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

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

How is Gabriel García well known?

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

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:

Who is Wole Soyinka ?

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

Match List I (Books) with List II (Authors) and select the correct answer using the codes given below:

1. S. Radhakrishnan 2. V. V. Giri 3. N. Sanjiva Reddy 4. R. Venkataraman

List I A. My Presidential Years B. The Hindu View of Life C. Voice of Conscience D. Without Fear or Favour

List II

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

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

Dilip Kaur Tiwana is well known as a

Match List I (Book) with List II (Author) and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists:

1. Mulk Raj Anand B. India: A Wounded Civilization
2. Nirad C. Chaudhuri C. Confessions of a Lover
3. R. K. Narayan D. The English Teacher 4. V. S. Naipaul

List I (Book)

List II (Author)

A. Autobiography of an Unknown Indian

Codes:

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

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:

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.

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

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

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

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

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:

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

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

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:

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

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

The term apabhramsa was used in medieval Sanskrit texts to denote

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