A teacher in Lucknow shows her class some pages from a long eleventh-century work on the subcontinent, written in Arabic by a scholar who lived at Ghazni. She tells them that the style is plain and easy to follow, and that the work covers a wide range of topics. One student notices that most chapters seem to follow a fixed plan, though not every chapter does. The teacher then asks the class to work out how large the work is and how its chapters are arranged.
Which of the following describes the fixed plan that most chapters of this work follow?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → A question, then a description based on Sanskritic traditions, then a comparison with other cultures
Option (1) A question, then a description based on Sanskritic traditions, then a comparison with other cultures — Correct. Al-Biruni usually began with a question, followed it with a description based on Sanskritic traditions, and ended with a comparison with other cultures. Some scholars link this almost geometric plan to his mathematical mind.
Option (2) A description based on Sanskritic traditions, then a question, then a comparison with other cultures — Incorrect. The parts are right but the order is wrong. In his plan the question comes first and the description follows it.
Option (3) A comparison with other cultures, then a description based on Sanskritic traditions, then a question — Incorrect. This turns the plan upside down. The comparison with other cultures came at the end, and the question at the start.
Option (4) A question, then a comparison with other cultures, then a description based on Sanskritic traditions — Incorrect. In Al-Biruni's chapters the description based on Sanskritic traditions follows the opening question, and the comparison with other cultures comes at the end.
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