With reference to ancient Indian History, consider the following pairs

With reference to ancient Indian History, consider the following pairs:

Literary workAuthor
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?

Only one
Only two
Only three
All four
This question was previously asked in
UPSC IAS – 2023
The pairs are:
1. Devichandragupta : Bilhana – Incorrect. Devichandragupta is a Sanskrit play attributed to Vishakhadatta. Bilhana was the court poet of the Chalukya king Vikramaditya VI and wrote Vikramankadevacharitam.
2. Hammira-Mahakavya : Nayachandra Suri – Correct. This is a famous epic poem about the life of Hammira Deva of Ranthambore.
3. Milinda-panha : Nagarjuna – Incorrect. Milinda-panha is a Buddhist text containing a dialogue between the Indo-Greek king Milinda (Menander I) and the Buddhist monk Nagasena. Nagarjuna was a significant philosopher of Mahayana Buddhism but not the author of Milinda-panha.
4. Nitivakyamrita : Somadeva Suri – Correct. This is a work on political science and ethics written by the Jain monk Somadeva Suri.
Therefore, only pairs 2 and 4 are correctly matched.
Identifying key literary works and their authors from ancient and medieval India is important for history sections in competitive exams. Specific texts like Milinda-panha are significant for understanding the interaction between Indian and Hellenistic cultures and Buddhist philosophy.
Vishakhadatta is also known for Mudrarakshasa. Somadeva Suri’s Nitivakyamrita is an important source for understanding the political and administrative ideas of the time, particularly influenced by Jain philosophy. Nayachandra Suri’s Hammira-Mahakavya provides historical information about the Chauhan dynasty of Ranthambore.