Put the following major texts in chronological order from earliest to the latest.
(A) Ashtadhyayi
(B) Sushruta Samhita
(C) Natyashastra
(D) Tripitaka
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → (A), (D), (B), (C)
The dates of these ancient texts are approximate, so they are placed by the periods usually given for them:
(A) Ashtadhyayi — Panini’s grammar of Sanskrit, about the 5th–4th century BCE, the earliest of the four
(D) Tripitaka — the Buddhist canon (Vinaya, Sutta and Abhidhamma Pitaka), put together by the Buddha’s followers after his death and finally compiled by about the 3rd century BCE
(B) Sushruta Samhita — the classic text on surgery and medicine, compiled in its present form towards the end of the first millennium BCE
(C) Natyashastra — Bharata’s treatise on drama, dance and music, generally placed between about 200 BCE and 200 CE, the latest of the four