Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the code given below the Lists: List-I (Unit in use in early India) A. Muhurta B. Raktika C. Angula D. Pada List-II (Content) 1. Measure of weight 2. Measure of time 3. Metre of poetry 4. Measure of length Code:
- (a)A-2 B-1 C-4 D-3
- (b)A-2 B-4 C-1 D-3
- (c)A-3 B-4 C-1 D-2
- (d)A-3 B-1 C-4 D-2
Correct — A, giving A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3. Muhurta is a traditional Indian unit of time (a muhurta is about 48 minutes, one-thirtieth of a day and night), so it pairs with measure of time (2). Raktika, from the ratti seed used by goldsmiths, is a small unit of weight, so it pairs with measure of weight (1). Angula, literally a finger's breadth, is a unit of length, so it pairs with measure of length (4). Pada is a metrical foot, a segment of a verse, so it pairs with metre of poetry (3). Only option A matches all four correctly; the surest discriminators are Muhurta as time (which rules out any option calling it a metre of poetry) and Angula as length (which rules out calling it a weight).
- (b)A-2 B-4 C-1 D-3 — Correct on Muhurta and Pada, but it swaps the middle pair — Angula is a length (a finger's breadth), not a weight, and Raktika is the weight, so B-4 and C-1 are reversed.
- (c)A-3 B-4 C-1 D-2 — Wrongly calls Muhurta a metre of poetry; Muhurta is a well-known unit of time, so any option pairing A with 3 fails at the first step.
- (d)A-3 B-1 C-4 D-2 — Again mislabels Muhurta as a metre of poetry and Pada as a measure of time; in fact Muhurta measures time and Pada is the metrical foot of a verse.
Early Indian texts used distinct customary units for different quantities: muhurta for time, angula for length, the ratti-based rathika for weight, and pada as a unit in prosody. Matching each to what it measures tests familiarity with these traditional standards.
The reliable way through the match is to anchor the two units you are surest of — Muhurta as a division of the day (time) and Angula as a finger-breadth (length) — which alone eliminate every option except A.
- A muhurta is a traditional time unit of roughly 48 minutes, one-thirtieth of a full day and night.
- Angula means finger and denotes a finger's breadth, a small unit of length in Indian metrology.
- The ratti, source of rathika, is the seed of Abrus precatorius, long used by jewellers as a tiny standard of weight for gold and gems.
- In Sanskrit prosody a pada is a quarter of a stanza or a metrical foot, hence a term belonging to the metre of poetry.
Muhurta is time, Raktika is weight, Angula is length and Pada is poetic metre, giving A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3.
- Mistaking Muhurta for anything other than a unit of time — it is the strongest anchor in the match.
- Confusing Angula (a measure of length) with a unit of weight.
Set as a List-I to List-II matching item — lock in Muhurta (time) and Angula (length) first, and the rest of the pairing follows.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
In traditional Indian metrology, the term 'Angula' was a measure of:
- (a)time
- (b)weight
- (c)length
- (d)volume
Answer(c) length — angula means a finger's breadth, a small unit of length.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The unit of time 'Muhurta' in early India was approximately equal to:
- (a)24 minutes
- (b)48 minutes
- (c)an entire day
- (d)3 hours
Answer(b) 48 minutes — a muhurta is about one-thirtieth of a day and night.