Read the passage and answer the questions:
The Sudarshana Lake and Pandya chief visits the Forest
The Sudarshana lake was an artificial reservoir. We know about it from a rock inscription (c. second century CE) in Sanskrit, composed to record the achievements of the ruler Rudradaman. The inscription mentions that the lake, with embankments and water channels, was built by a local governor during the rule of the Mauryas. However, a terrible storm broke the embankments and water gushed out of the lake. Rudradaman, who was then ruling in the area, claimed to have got the lake repaired using his own resources, without imposing any tax on his subjects. Another inscription on the same rock (c. fifth century) mentions how one of the rulers of the Gupta dynasty got the lake repaired once again.
The excerpt for the Pandya chief is an epic written in Tamil. When he visited the forest, people came down the mountains, singing and dancing … just as the defeated show respect to the victorious king, so did they bring gifts - ivory, fragrant wood, fans made of the hair of deer, honey, sandalwood, red ochre, antimony, turmeric, cardamom, pepper, etc. …they brought coconuts, mangoes, medicinal plants, fruits, onions, sugarcane, flowers, nuts, bananas, baby tiger, lions, elephants, monkeys, bear, deer, musk deer, fox, peacocks, musk cat, speaking parrots, etc. …
Which Tamil epic contains an excerpt on the Pandya chief’s visit to the forest?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Silappadikaram
The passage calls it only “an epic written in Tamil”. The epic is the Silappadikaram, and the excerpt describes the gifts – ivory, fragrant wood, honey, spices, fruits and animals – that the people of the forest brought to Senguttuvan when he visited them.
NCERT: Themes in Indian History Part I — Chapter 2: Kings, Farmers and Towns (2025-26)
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