UPSC Prelims 2026 · GS Paper I
Question 3: History and Culture
Consider the following statements : I. Pali texts contain the first definite references to coins, e.g., kahapana, nikkha, kamsa, and kakanika. II. The literary evidence from Pali texts is corroborated by archaeological evidence of punch-marked coins from many sites, most of them made of silver. The above statements have been associated with which of the following ?
- 1.Emergence of urban life
- 2.Transition to money economy
Select the answer using the code given below :
AnswerUPSC’s answer is (c).
Both statements point to coined money in circulation in the Mahajanapada age. Pali texts name coin denominations, and punch-marked silver coins turn up at many sites, which shows exchange was moving from barter towards standardised money. This was also the period of the second urbanisation in the Gangetic plains, with towns, craft production and merchants, and coinage is a standard marker of both. So the evidence is linked to urban life and to a money economy.
- 1. Punch-marked coins and named denominations belong to the era of growing towns and trade.
- 2. Named coins in texts and silver coins in the ground show a transition from barter to money.
How you could have got this
- If you were sure statement 1 is correct, (b) and (d) go: each of them leaves 1 out.
What you needed to know: Punch-marked coins and named denominations belong to the era of growing towns and trade.
- Then, if you were sure statement 2 is correct, (a) goes: it leaves 2 out.
What you needed to know: Named coins in texts and silver coins in the ground show a transition from barter to money.
Only (c) is left. This one needs every statement.
This follows UPSC’s provisional key; the final key could change it.
Which options go is worked out from UPSC’s key and the options, not by a model.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Incomplete: coins point to towns and trade, but also to monetisation.
- (b) Incomplete: coinage shows monetisation, but it is equally tied to town growth.
- (c) Right: textual and archaeological coin evidence links both urbanisation and the shift to a money economy.
- (d) Wrong: the evidence supports both.
Only the provisional key (27 May 2026) was found; the final key replaces it when found.
Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2026, General Studies Paper I, Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.