Daily Static Quiz Prelims Practice 2027
Option (b) is correct — Purananuru is puram poetry, addressing public themes of war, heroism, warriors' deaths, chieftains' liberality, and life's transience, and is one of the Ettutogai anthologies, a key source for Sangam political history. Option (a) is wrong — akam poetry deals with interior love themes using the tinai conventions, as in Akananuru and Natrinai, not Purananuru. Option (c) is wrong — the major Tamil grammatical treatise is the Tolkappiyam; Purananuru is a poetry anthology. Option (d) is wrong — Purananuru is Brahmanical and secular with Vedic references; the Buddhist Sangam-era text is Manimekalai, by Sattanar.
- The Cheras ruled from Vanji as their capital and controlled the western coastal region corresponding to modern Kerala.
- The Cholas were based at Uraiyur and later Puhar (Kaveripattinam), the latter serving as a major port on the eastern coast.
- The Pandyas were centred at Korkai initially and later at Madurai, and controlled the pearl fisheries of the Gulf of Mannar.
- The three Muvendar maintained peaceful relations throughout the Sangam period, with warfare confined to conflicts against northern Aryan invaders.
Statements 1, 2 and 3 are correct. The Cheras ruled from Vanji over the western coast, controlling spice trade to the Arabian Sea. Uraiyur was the early Chola capital, with Puhar/Kaveripattinam as their premier port, immortalised in the Silappatikaram. The Pandyas were based at Korkai before Madurai, controlling the Gulf of Mannar's pearl fisheries. Statement 4 is incorrect — Sangam texts like the Purananuru are replete with accounts of warfare among the three Muvendar themselves, such as at Venni and Talaiyanganam, directly inverting the claim of peaceful relations.
Option (c) is correct — Musiri (Muchiri) on the Kerala coast is identified as Mouziris, a thriving Indo-Roman trade hub where Roman ships brought wine, tin, and lead and left with pepper and spices, documented by the "Mouziris papyrus" recording a massive pepper loan. Option (a) is wrong — Korkai was a Pandya port associated with pearl exports, not the pepper trade. Option (b) is wrong — Puhar was the Chola port on the eastern coast, not identified with Mouziris. Option (d) is wrong — Tondi was a separate Chera port, not equated with Mouziris in classical sources.
- A. Tolkappiyam 1. Sattanar; Buddhist epic sequel to Silappatikaram
- B. Silappatikaram 2. Tolkappiyar; oldest surviving Tamil grammatical work
- C. Manimekalai 3. Thiruvalluvar; didactic text on virtue, wealth and love
- D. Tirukkural 4. Ilango Adigal; Tamil epic centred on Kannagi and Kovalan
The Tolkappiyam, attributed to Tolkappiyar, is the oldest extant Tamil text on phonology, grammar, and poetics. The Silappatikaram, by Ilango Adigal, follows Kovalan and Kannagi, ending in Kannagi's destruction of Madurai. The Manimekalai, by Sattanar, is a Buddhist epic and direct sequel to Silappatikaram. The Tirukkural, by Thiruvalluvar, is a didactic work of 1330 couplets on virtue, wealth, and love — giving A-2, B-4, C-1, D-3.
Option (d) is correct — the Marutam tinai (fertile agricultural landscape) is paired with the marutam flower (Arjuna tree) and the theme of infidelity and estrangement, as the hero returns to the heroine after unfaithfulness with a courtesan. Option (a) is wrong — Kurinji (mountains) pairs with the kurinji flower and union/joyful love, while Mullai (pastoral) pairs with the mullai/jasmine flower and patient waiting; this option swaps both. Option (b) is wrong for the same reason, inverted again. Option (c) is wrong — Neytal (coastal) is associated with the neytal flower (blue water lily), not the lotus, though the anguished-waiting theme is correct.
