Which one of the following statements about Sangam literature in ancient South India is correct ?
- A.Sangam poems are devoid of any reference to material culture.
- B.The social classification of Varna was known to Sangam poets.
- C.Sangam poems have no reference to warrior ethic.
- D.Sangam literature refers to magical forces as irrational.
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, The social classification of Varna was known to Sangam poets. Sangam texts mention Brahmanas, kings and traders, showing that the poets knew of the varna order even though Tamil society was not organised strictly by it. The Sangam corpus, composed roughly between the third century BCE and the third century CE, includes the Ettuthogai and Pattuppattu anthologies and the grammar Tolkappiyam. The poems are grouped as akam, on love and inner life, and puram, on war, kings and public life, and they describe the five tinai landscapes. Option A is wrong because the poems are full of material detail: ports, trade with Rome, crops, crafts, food and ornaments. Option C is wrong because the puram poems celebrate the warrior ethic, heroic death and hero stones. Option D is wrong because the poems treat magical and sacred forces, such as ananku, as real powers, not as irrational ideas. Exam tip: Sangam poems are akam (love) and puram (war and kings); Tolkappiyam is the oldest Tamil grammar.
Practice Questions
View allWith reference to Indian freedom struggle, consider the following events :
1. Mutiny in Royal Indian Navy
2. Quit India Movement launched
3. Second Round Table Conference
What is the correct chronological sequence of the above events ?
- A.1-2-3
- B.2-1-3
- C.3-2-1
- D.3-1-2
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The Second Round Table Conference came in 1931, the Quit India Movement in 1942 and the Royal Indian Navy mutiny in 1946.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following events :
1. The first democratically elected communist party government formed in a State in India.
2. India's then largest bank, 'Imperial Bank of India', was renamed 'State Bank of India'.
3. Air India was nationalised and became the national carrier.
4. Goa became a part of independent India.
Which of the following is the correct chronological sequence of the above events ?
- A.4-1-2-3
- B.3-2-1-4
- C.4-2-1-3
- D.3-1-2-4
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The events run Air India's nationalisation (1953), the birth of the State Bank of India (1955), the Kerala communist government (1957) and Goa's liberation (1961).
Read the full explanation →With reference to educational institutions during colonial rule in India, consider the following pairs :
Institution — Founder
1. Sanskrit College at Benaras — William Jones
2. Calcutta Madarsa — Warren Hastings
3. Fort William College — Arthur Wellesley
Which of the pairs given above is/are correct ?
- A.1 and 2
- B.2 only
- C.1 and 3
- D.3 only
Show answer
Warren Hastings founded the Calcutta Madarsa, but the other two institutions are linked with the wrong founders. Hastings set up the Calcutta Madrasa in 1781 to train Muslim scholars in Arabic and Persian learning and in Islamic law, which the Company courts needed.
Read the full explanation →"Yogavasistha" was translated into Persian by Nizamuddin Panipati during the reign of :
- A.Akbar
- B.Humayun
- C.Shahjahan
- D.Aurangzeb
Show answer
Nizamuddin Panipati rendered the Yogavasistha into Persian in Akbar's time, as part of the emperor's large programme of translating Sanskrit works.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following pairs :
King — Dynasty
1. Nannuka — Chandela
2. Jayashakti — Paramara
3. Nagabhata II — Gurjara-Pratihara
4. Bhoja — Rashtrakuta
How many pairs given above are correctly matched?
- A.Only one pair
- B.Only two pairs
- C.Only three pairs
- D.All four pairs
Show answer
Nannuka–Chandela and Nagabhata II–Gurjara-Pratihara are correct; the other two kings are given the wrong dynasty. Nannuka founded the Chandela line of Jejakabhukti (Bundelkhand) in the ninth century, and his successors built the temples of Khajuraho.
Read the full explanation →