Arrange the following major textual traditions of India in chronological order, beginning with the earliest to the most recent.
(A) Natyashastra of Bharata Muni
(B) Manusmriti in Sanskrit
(C) Ashtadhyayi of Panini
(D) Charaka and Sushruta Samhitas
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → (C), (B), (D), (A)
The four works are placed by the period in which each was composed (all dates are approximate):
(C) Ashtadhyayi of Panini — c. 500 BCE. Panini’s grammar of Sanskrit, the earliest of the four.
(B) Manusmriti in Sanskrit — c. 200 BCE to 200 CE. The best known of the Dharmashastras, the Sanskrit texts on social norms and duties.
(D) Charaka and Sushruta Samhitas — c. 100 CE. The classical texts of Ayurveda, on medicine and surgery.
(A) Natyashastra of Bharata Muni — c. 300 CE. The treatise on drama, music and dance, the latest of the four.