The 13th Century text Lekhapaddhati gives us information on which one of the following topics?
- (a)Art of writing
- (b)Essay writing
- (c)Legal document
- (d)Epigraphic style
Correct — C, Legal document. Lekhapaddhati is a 13th-century collection from the Gujarat region that preserves model or specimen legal documents — templates for sale deeds, loan bonds, mortgage and lease agreements, and similar deeds. Because it records the standard forms of everyday legal and commercial transactions, historians use it as a rich source for the social and economic life of medieval western India. So it primarily gives information on legal documents.
- (a)Art of writing — Though 'Lekha' relates to writing, the text is not a manual on the art of writing or calligraphy; it is a set of ready-made legal deed formats.
- (b)Essay writing — It contains no essays or literary composition; its content is standardised legal and commercial documents.
- (d)Epigraphic style — Epigraphy is the study of inscriptions on stone or metal; Lekhapaddhati is a manuscript of document templates, not a guide to inscription styles.
Lekhapaddhati (literally, a 'manual/method of writing documents') is a formulary — a collection of model legal and administrative documents — compiled in western India and dated broadly to the 13th century (with materials of varying dates). It illustrates how deeds, contracts and revenue records were drafted, and is a valued source for medieval social and economic history.
The name suggests something about writing, which is why 'art of writing' is planted as a trap. The substance of the text, however, is templates of legal deeds, so the correct topic is legal documents.
- Lekhapaddhati is a collection of model/specimen legal documents from the Gujarat region.
- It includes formats for sale deeds, loan bonds, mortgages, leases and agreements.
- It is broadly dated to the 13th century CE.
- Historians use it to reconstruct medieval social and economic life in western India.
- Choosing 'art of writing' because the name 'Lekha' hints at writing.
- Confusing document formularies with epigraphy (the study of inscriptions).
As a 'which topic does the text deal with' recall, testing whether the student knows Lekhapaddhati is a legal-document formulary.
In which of the following relief sculpture inscriptions is 'Ranyo Ashoka' (King Ashoka) mentioned along with the stone portrait of Ashoka?
- (a) Kanganahalli
- (b) Sanchi
- (c) Shahbazgarhi
- (d) Sohgaura
Answer(a) Kanganahalli
Adjacent theme — written and inscribed sources of Indian history. Where Lekhapaddhati is a documentary source, this UPSC item tests an epigraphic (inscription) source, the sibling category the question distinguishes.
Consider the following statements about ancient Indian inscriptions : 1. The earliest inscriptions are in Sanskrit. 2. Kharosthi script, used in inscriptions in the north-west, was deciphered with the help of coins of Indo-Greek kings who ruled over the area. 3. Most of the inscriptions mention grand, unique events, and routine agricultural practices do not find mention. How many of the above statements is/are correct ?
- (a) 1
- (b) 2
- (c) 3
- (d) None
Answer(b) 2
A later NDA item on inscriptions as historical sources — the epigraphic counterpart to the documentary source (Lekhapaddhati) tested here.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Lekhapaddhati, a 13th-century text of western India, is best described as a collection of
- (a)devotional hymns
- (b)model legal and commercial documents
- (c)royal genealogies
- (d)astronomical tables
Answer(b) model legal and commercial documents (deeds, bonds, agreements).
- practice — not a real PYQ
The study of ancient and medieval inscriptions on stone or metal is called
- (a)numismatics
- (b)epigraphy
- (c)palaeography
- (d)cartography
Answer(b) epigraphy — distinct from document collections like Lekhapaddhati.