1997 General Studies, all questions

UPSC Prelims 1997 · General Studies

Question 52: History and Culture

Which one of the following pairs of composers in different languages and their works on the Mahabharata theme is correctly matched?

aSarladasa — Bengali
bKasirama — Oriya
cTikkana — Marathi
dPampa — Kannada

AnswerThe answer is (d).

Pampa is the great Kannada poet of the tenth century, whose Vikramarjuna Vijaya (also called Pampa Bharata) retells the Mahabharata in Kannada. The other pairs get the language wrong: Sarladasa wrote the Odia Mahabharata, Kasirama (Kashiram Das) the Bengali one, and Tikkana continued the Telugu Mahabharata.

Why each option is right or wrong
  • (a) Sarladasa composed the Mahabharata in Odia, not Bengali.
  • (b) Kasirama (Kashiram Das) composed it in Bengali, not Odia.
  • (c) Tikkana wrote in Telugu, not Marathi.
  • (d) Right: Pampa composed his Mahabharata in Kannada.

Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.

Practise this paper timedPrevious questionNext question

Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 1997, General Studies. UPSC's own paper isn't online; the words are from a published compilation. The paper on upsc.gov.in.