Read the passage and answer the question:

Al-Biruni was born in 973, in Khwarizm in present-day Uzbekistan. Khwarizm was an important centre of learning, and Al-Biruni received the best education available at the time. He was well-versed in several languages: Syriac, Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, and Sanskrit. Although he did not know Greek, he was familiar with the works of Plato and other Greek philosophers, having read them in Arabic translations. In 1017, when Sultan Mahmud invaded Khwarizm, he took several scholars and poets back to his capital, Ghazni; Al-Biruni was one of them.

Al-Biruni’s description of the caste system in India was deeply influenced by which of the following?

Normative Sanskritic texts.

The correct answer is Option 2 - Normative Sanskritic texts.

Al-Biruni’s description of the caste system was deeply influenced by his study of normative Sanskrit texts which laid down the rules governing the system from the point of view of the Brahmanas. However, in real life the system was not quite as rigid. For instance, the categories defined as antyaja (literally, born outside the system) were often expected to provide inexpensive labour to both peasants and zamindars. In other words, while they were often subjected to social oppression, they were included within economic networks.