Language & Literature MCQs for UPSC Prelims

Correct answer: D - Mundaka Upanishad

The national motto 'Satyameva Jayate' is taken from the Mundaka Upanishad. It does not originate in the Katha, Chandogya or Aitareya Upanishads. Hence Mundaka Upanishad.

Correct answer: A - Odia

Odia was conferred classical language status in 2014, becoming the sixth Indian language to be so recognised (after Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam) and the first from the Indo-Aryan family. Konkani, Bhojpuri and Assamese had not been granted this status at the time of the 2015 exam, so they are wrong (Assamese was recognised only much later, in 2024).

Correct answer: D - Maagadha

The maagadha, along with the suta, was the traditional bard and chronicler of ancient India whose hereditary profession was to memorise and recite genealogies, dynastic histories and epic tales in royal courts. A shramana was a wandering ascetic of the non-Vedic renunciant traditions such as Buddhism and Jainism. A parivraajaka was likewise a homeless wandering religious mendicant, and an agrahaarika is connected with agrahara villages granted to Brahmins, none of which involved professional memorisation of chronicles.

Correct answer: B - The social classification of Varna was known to Sangam poets.

Sangam poetry shows awareness of northern Brahmanical ideas, and terms reflecting the Varna scheme appear in the corpus, with Brahmanas figuring in several poems, so the second option is correct. The poems are in fact rich in details of material culture such as agriculture, trade, towns and ornaments, so the first option is wrong. The puram genre is built precisely around war, heroism and the warrior ethic, so the third option is wrong. Belief in magical and sacred forces, such as ananku, pervades the poems and is never dismissed as irrational, so the fourth option is wrong.

Correct answer: D - tribal languages

Halbi, Ho and Kui are tribal languages spoken by communities largely in central and eastern India, so the terms pertain to tribal languages, option (d). Halbi is an Indo-Aryan language of the Bastar region, while Ho and Kui are Austroasiatic and Dravidian tribal tongues respectively. They are not dance forms (a), musical instruments (b), or prehistoric cave paintings (c), making option (d) correct.

Correct answer: B - playwrights

Bhavabhuti (author of Malatimadhava and Uttararamacharita), Hastimalla and Kshemeshvara were all celebrated Sanskrit dramatists, so the correct description is playwrights. They were not ascetics, so 'Jain monks' is wrong; they are remembered for literary drama rather than designing temples, so 'temple architects' is wrong; and although their works carry ideas, they are classed as writers of plays, not as systematic philosophers, so that option is also incorrect.

Correct answer: B - Malavikagnimitra

Kalidasa's play Malavikagnimitra narrates the romance of Agnimitra, the son of Pushyamitra Sunga (founder of the Sunga dynasty), with Malavika. Swapnavasavadatta by Bhasa deals with King Udayana and Vasavadatta, Meghadoota is Kalidasa's lyric poem about a yaksha's message, and Ratnavali by Harsha concerns Udayana and Ratnavali, none of which involve the Sunga prince. Hence Malavikagnimitra is correct.

Correct answer: C - 2 and 3 only

As of 2014 the Government had declared Tamil, Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Odia as Classical Languages. Among the languages listed, Kannada and Telugu were classical, so statements 2 and 3 are correct. Gujarati has not been granted classical status, so statement 1 is wrong. Hence 2 and 3 only.