Ancient literature and language — UPSC Prelims PYQs

13 questions in this bank come from Ancient literature and language, spanning UPSC Prelims papers from 2011 to 2024. Every question here carries all four options, the correct answer and a full explanation.

It has appeared in 8 of the last 16 papers, most heavily in 2024 with 3 questions. That is a steady presence rather than a guaranteed one.

The themes examined most often within it are Indian authors and their works (6), Sangam literature and cultural practices (4), Languages and historical texts in India (3), Administrative divisions in ancient India (1) and Advancements in ancient ship-building technology (1). Those counts are of questions in which the theme is examined, not merely mentioned.

Questions here are spread across History (10) and General Studies (Uncategorized) (3). Between them they draw on 15 distinct themes, so this is a broader area than a single revision note can cover. That is 0.9% of the 1433 questions in the bank — useful for deciding how much revision time it deserves.

It has come up more often lately — roughly 1.8 questions a year across the last five papers, against 0.4 before that.

It was not examined in 8 of those papers. Each question below links to its full explanation and to related questions on the same theme from other years, so a weak area can be worked through in one pass rather than hunted for paper by paper.

UPSC Prelims 20243 questions

UPSC Prelims 20232 questions

UPSC Prelims 20221 question

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

UPSC Prelims 20212 questions

UPSC Prelims 20201 question

History
With reference to the book “Desher Katha” written by Sakharam Ganesh Deuskar during the freedom struggle, consider the following statement: 1. It warned against the Colonial States hypnotic conquest of the mind. 2. It inspired the performance of swadeshi street plays and folk songs. 3. The use of ‘desh’ by Deuskar was in the specific context of the region of Bengal. Which of the statements given above are correct?

UPSC Prelims 20162 questions

UPSC Prelims 20141 question

History
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?

UPSC Prelims 20111 question

History
India maintained its early cultural contacts and trade links with Southeast Asia across the Bay of Bengal. For this pre-eminence of the early maritime history of the Bay of Bengal, which of the following could be the most convincing Solution/Solutions?