Daily Static Quiz Prelims Practice 2027
Harishena, Samudragupta's court poet, composed the Prayag Prashasti inscribed on the Allahabad Pillar. Kalidasa was instead a poet and dramatist associated with Chandragupta II, Ravikirti composed the Aihole Inscription for the Chalukya king Pulakeshin II (a common confusion), and Amarasimha wrote the Amarakosha, a Sanskrit lexicon.
- Nalanda Mahavihara is traditionally believed to have been founded under the Gupta ruler Kumaragupta I.
- The Chinese pilgrim Fa-Hien visited India during the reign of Chandragupta II.
Statement 1 is correct — Kumaragupta I (5th century CE) is credited with founding Nalanda Mahavihara, which later became a major centre of Buddhist learning. Statement 2 is correct too, since Fa-Hien visited India during the reign of Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya), whereas Hiuen Tsang came much later, during Harsha's reign — swapping the two pilgrims is a frequent trap.
Pair (a) is incorrectly matched — Mrichchhakatika (The Little Clay Cart) was actually written by Shudraka, while Amarasimha wrote the Amarakosha. Pairs (b), (c), and (d) are all correct — Aryabhata wrote the Aryabhatiya on mathematics and astronomy, explaining the rotation of the Earth and eclipses; Varahamihira wrote the Brihat Samhita, an encyclopaedic work on astronomy, astrology and natural phenomena; and Kalidasa wrote Abhijnanashakuntalam, his most celebrated play.
- Assertion (A): Samudragupta is often called the "Napoleon of India".
- Reason (R): Historian V.A. Smith gave him this title on the basis of his extensive military campaigns recorded in the Prayag Prashasti.
Assertion A is correct — Samudragupta is widely known as the "Napoleon of India". Reason R is correct and directly explains A, since V.A. Smith used this title because of Samudragupta's campaigns, which the Prayag Prashasti records as covering Aryavarta, the Dakshinapatha kingdoms and frontier states, so the title comes directly from this military record.
- Gupta gold coins were called Dinaras.
- Some coins of Samudragupta depict him playing the veena.
- Ujjain was the first capital of the Gupta Empire.
Statement 1 is correct — the Guptas issued the largest number of gold coins in ancient India, called Dinaras. Statement 2 is correct too, since Samudragupta's lyricist-type coins show him playing the veena, reflecting his patronage of music. Statement 3 is incorrect — Pataliputra was the main Gupta capital, while Ujjain gained importance only later as a secondary centre under Chandragupta II after his conquest of the Shakas.
