With reference to the epic ‘Mahabharata’, identify the incorrect statement:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → In 1951-52, the archaeologist Dayalal Sahni excavated at a village named Indraprastha in Meerut (Uttar Pradesh)
Option (1) Sanskrit used in the Mahabharata is far simpler than that of the Vedas — Correct statement (not the answer). The Sanskrit of the epic is far simpler than that of the Vedas or of the prashastis, so it was probably widely understood.
Option (2) It is described as an itihasa within early Sanskrit tradition — Correct statement (not the answer). Itihasa literally means ‘thus it was’, which is why the term is generally translated as ‘history’.
Option (3) In 1951-52, the archaeologist Dayalal Sahni excavated at a village named Indraprastha in Meerut (Uttar Pradesh) — Incorrect statement (the answer). In 1951-52 it was B.B. Lal who excavated at a village named Hastinapura in Meerut. Its location in the upper Ganga doab, where the Kuru kingdom lay, suggests that it may have been the capital of the Kurus mentioned in the epic. Both the archaeologist and the village are changed in this option.
Option (4) It contains vivid descriptions of battles, forests, palaces and settlements — Correct statement (not the answer). Like any major epic, the Mahabharata describes battles, forests, palaces and settlements in vivid detail.
NCERT (2025-26): “6.1 Language and content … Let us look at the language of the text. The version of the Mahabharata we have been considering is in Sanskrit (although there are versions in other languages as well). However, the Sanskrit used in the Mahabharata is far simpler than that of the Vedas, or of the prashastis discussed in Chapter 2. As such, it was probably widely understood.… 6.1 Language and content … Interestingly, the text is described as an itihasa within early Sanskrit tradition. The literal meaning of the term is ‘thus it was’, which is why it is generally translated as ‘history’.… 6.3 The search for convergence … The Mahabharata, like any major epic, contains vivid descriptions of battles, forests, palaces and settlements. In 1951-52, the archaeologist B.B. Lal excavated at a village named Hastinapura in Meerut (Uttar Pradesh). Was this the Hastinapura of the epic? While the similarity in names could be coincidental, the location of the site in the Upper Ganga doab, where the Kuru kingdom was situated, suggests that it may have been the capital of the Kurus mentioned in the text.…” |