Daily Static Quiz Prelims Practice 2027
Option (b) is broadly correct — the Vishaya was the principal Gupta administrative unit, comparable to a district, headed by a Vishayapati assisted by a council (Adhikarana) including representatives of local guilds, merchants, and citizens, reflecting local participatory governance absent under the Mauryas. Option (a) is wrong — Gupta administration was significantly more decentralised, with feudatory chiefs (Samantas) enjoying autonomy and the empire held together more by loyalty and matrimonial alliances than rigid bureaucracy. Option (c) is wrong — Gupta rulers used elaborate titles like Maharajadhiraja, Paramabhattaraka, and Paramadaivata, reflecting an exalted conception of kingship. Option (d) is wrong — Agrahara and Devadana land grants are extensively documented through copper plate inscriptions, a primary source for Gupta history.
- The Gupta period saw a significant decline in the status of women, with practices such as child marriage becoming more prevalent and widow remarriage being actively discouraged.
- The caste system became more rigid during the Gupta period, with the emergence of numerous sub-castes (Jatis) and the consolidation of untouchability.
- The Vakataka alliance through marriage with the Guptas illustrates that inter-dynastic matrimonial diplomacy was an important instrument of Gupta foreign policy.
- Chinese pilgrim Fa-Hien, who visited India during the Gupta period, described the people of the Gangetic plain as prosperous, with mild governance and no death penalty.
All four statements are correct. The Gupta period saw increasing restrictions on women — child marriage, discouragement of widow remarriage, and the Manusmriti's growing prominence. It also witnessed the proliferation of Jatis and hardening caste hierarchies, with Fa-Hien himself noting the marginalisation of Chandalas. Chandragupta II's daughter Prabhavati Gupta was married to the Vakataka king Rudrasena II, giving the Guptas influence over the Deccan — a textbook case of matrimonial diplomacy. And Fa-Hien's account (c. 399–414 CE) describes the northern Indian population as prosperous and law-abiding under lenient governance, with no capital punishment.
Reason (R): The Gupta period witnessed remarkable achievements in literature, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and sculpture, alongside relative political stability and economic prosperity.
Both A and R are correct, and R explains A. The "Golden Age" label for the Gupta period (c. 320–550 CE) reflects specific achievements — Kalidasa's literary works, Aryabhata's calculation of pi and heliocentric insights, Varahamihira's astronomical compendium, the Sushruta and Charaka medical traditions, the Ajanta cave paintings, and the Sarnath Buddha sculpture — which directly explain why the era earns the designation, making R the precise causal explanation for A.
Option (b) is correctly matched — the Allahabad Pillar inscription, composed by court poet Harishena, is the most detailed source on Samudragupta's military campaigns, his digvijaya policy, and his Ashwamedha sacrifice asserting imperial legitimacy. Option (a) is wrong — it was Chandragupta II, not Chandragupta I, who conquered the Western Kshatrapas and extended control over Malwa, Saurashtra, and Gujarat. Option (c) is wrong — Chandragupta II is known for his western conquests and cultural patronage, not naval campaigns. Option (d) is wrong — Chandragupta I founded the imperial Gupta line through his Licchavi matrimonial alliance; Skandagupta was a much later ruler who repelled the Huna invasions.
Option (b) is correct — the inscription is a prashasti composed by Harishena, describing Samudragupta's four categories of conquered rulers, his dharma-vijaya policy, and his personal accomplishments as a musician (earning him the epithet Kaviraja), making it the single most important source for Gupta imperial history. Option (a) is wrong — land grant records were preserved on copper plates, not pillar inscriptions, and this is a royal eulogy, not an administrative record. Option (c) is wrong — Samudragupta was a devotee of Vishnu (Paramabhagavata), not a Buddhist convert; the Buddhist reference is limited to gifts from the Sri Lankan king. Option (d) is wrong — while the pillar itself is an original reused Ashokan pillar, Samudragupta's addition is in Sanskrit verse (prashasti style), not prose.
