With reference to the foot-post described by Ibn Battuta, consider th…

With reference to the foot-post described by Ibn Battuta, consider the following statements:

(A) Outside each village on the route were three pavilions in which men sat ready to start.
(B) Each runner carried a rod two cubits in length.
(C) The rod carried by each runner had silver bells at the top.
(D) The men in the pavilion got ready when they heard the ringing of the bell.
(E) The courier who started from the city ran with the letter until it reached its destination.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 4

The correct answer is Option (4) → A, B and D only

(A) Outside each village on the route were three pavilions in which men sat ready to start. — Correct. Ibn Battuta writes that outside each well-peopled village stood three pavilions with men ready to run.

(B) Each runner carried a rod two cubits in length. — Correct. The rod each runner carried was two cubits in length.

(C) The rod carried by each runner had silver bells at the top. — Incorrect. The bells at the top of the rod were made of copper. The metal in the statement is changed.

(D) The men in the pavilion got ready when they heard the ringing of the bell. — Correct. The ringing bell was the signal. Hearing it, the men in the pavilion got ready to take the letter.

(E) The courier who started from the city ran with the letter until it reached its destination. — Incorrect. No single courier ran the whole way. At each station one of the waiting men took the letter and ran on to the next dawa, and so on till it reached its destination.

NCERT (2026-27): “5.3 A unique system of communication …
Now, at every third of a mile there is a wellpopulated village, outside which are three pavilions in which sit men with girded loins ready to start. Each of them carries a rod, two cubits in length, with copper bells at the top. When the courier starts from the city he holds the letter in one hand and the rod with its bells on the other; and he runs as fast as he can. When the men in the pavilion hear the ringing of the bell they get ready. As soon as the courier reaches them, one of them takes the letter from his hand and runs at top speed shaking the rod all the while until he reaches the next dawa. And the same process continues till the letter reaches its destination. …”