Match the composition with the writers.
| List I Compositions | List II Writers | ||
| (A) | Arthashastra | (I) | Banabhatta |
| (B) | Harshacharita | (II) | Megasthenes |
| (C) | Prayag Prashasti | (III) | Kautilya |
| (D) | Indica | (IV) | Harishena |
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → (A)-(III), (B)-(I), (C)-(IV), (D)-(II)
(A) Arthashastra — this matches (III) Kautilya. Parts of the Arthashastra were probably composed by Kautilya or Chanakya, traditionally believed to be the minister of Chandragupta Maurya.
(B) Harshacharita — this matches (I) Banabhatta. It is a biography of Harshavardhana, the ruler of Kanauj, composed in Sanskrit by his court poet, Banabhatta.
(C) Prayag Prashasti — this matches (IV) Harishena. The Prayaga Prashasti (the Allahabad Pillar Inscription) was composed in Sanskrit by Harishena, the court poet of Samudragupta.
(D) Indica — this matches (II) Megasthenes. Megasthenes was a Greek ambassador to the court of Chandragupta Maurya; his account of India, the Indica, survives in fragments.
Note: The title Indica is not given in the NCERT book (2026-27), which speaks of ‘the account of Megasthenes’. Indica is the title of that account; it is explained here for the benefit of the students.
NCERT (2026-27): “3.1 Finding out about the Mauryas … Historians have used a variety of sources to reconstruct the history of the Mauryan Empire. These include archaeological finds, especially sculpture. Also valuable are contemporary works, such as the account of Megasthenes (a Greek ambassador to the court of Chandragupta Maurya), which survives in fragments. Another source that is often used is the Arthashastra, parts of which were probably composed by Kautilya or Chanakya, traditionally believed to be the minister of Chandragupta.… 4.2 Divine kings … The Prayaga Prashasti (also known as the Allahabad Pillar Inscription) composed in Sanskrit by Harishena, the court poet of Samudragupta, arguably the most powerful of the Gupta rulers (c. fourth century CE), is a case in point.… …The Harshacharita is a biography of Harshavardhana, the ruler of Kanauj (see Map 3), composed in Sanskrit by his court poet, Banabhatta (c. seventh century CE).…” |