There are three words given which have something in common among themselves. Out of the four alternatives, choose the most appropriate description about these words.
Prakrit : Pali : Sanskrit
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → They are old languages of India
Prakrit, Pali and Sanskrit are ancient Indo-Aryan languages of India:
Sanskrit — the language of the Vedas, the epics and classical literature such as Kalidasa’s works.
Pali — the language of the Buddhist Tripitaka.
Prakrit — the spoken languages of ancient India, used in most of Ashoka’s inscriptions and in the Jain scriptures.
Why the other options are incorrect
Option (1) They are classical languages of Asia and Europe — Incorrect. All three are languages of India; none of them is a language of Europe.
Option (2) The vedas are written in these languages — Incorrect. The Vedas are in Vedic Sanskrit only; Pali and Prakrit are the languages of Buddhist and Jain texts.
Option (4) They are dead languages — Incorrect. Sanskrit is still taught, used in worship and listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, so the three cannot all be called dead.