SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 17 September 2025, Shift 2 · General Awareness · Question 3 of 99

We transcribed this text from the pictures on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; the answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 13 September 2026.

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SSC does not publish CGL question papers or a public answer key. From 2025 the candidate response sheet prints every question and option as a picture, so the text here is transcribed from those pictures for this shift and checked against them independently; where the layout carries meaning, the picture is shown as well. Each answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. SSC released a tentative key for challenge and later its final one, both only to candidates behind a login, and the sheet does not say which of the two it carries. The solutions are written by UnlockIAS.

In the context of Gupta dynasty's taxation, which pair is correct?

(a)Adeya – penalty for libellous speech
(b)Bhaga – king’s share of produce
(c)Hiranya – forced labour
(d)Dhanya – gold bullion fee

Answer

Why

Correct — B. Bhaga means share, and as a tax it was the king's share of the produce.

IGNOU's history course lists bhaga among the well-established taxes named in land-grant inscriptions, beside bhoga (enjoyment), kara (tax in general) and hiranya (tax in cash). The correct pair is option (b).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
Adeya – penalty for libellous speech — Adeya names a due to be handed over, not a punishment. SSC's own key at 19 Sep 2025, 16:00, GA Q.3 glosses it as 'that which is to be surrendered' (tribute/dues).
(c)
Hiranya – forced labour — Hiranya means gold, and as a tax it was the one paid in cash. Forced labour had its own name, vishti.
(d)
Dhanya – gold bullion fee — Dhanya is the Sanskrit word for grain, so it cannot be a gold fee. Payment in gold or cash was hiranya.

Concept

Gupta-period land grants name the dues a village owed, because the grant handed them over to the donee.

IGNOU's course lists the well-established ones as share (bhaga), enjoyment (bhoga), tax in general (kara), tax in cash (hiranya), tolls and customs (sulka) and ferry dues (tara).

Forced labour, vishti, could also be demanded, and in early medieval grants the right to exact it passed to the grantee.

Three options attach real revenue words to the wrong meanings: hiranya is given vishti's, dhanya is given hiranya's, and adeya is turned into a court fine. Knowing each word's literal sense (share, gold, grain) settles all four.

Key facts

Bhaga: the king's share of the produce.
Hiranya: the tax paid in cash. The word itself means gold.
Vishti: forced labour.
Dhanya: grain.

Study next

Bhoga, kara, udranga and uparikara in Gupta land grantsBrahmadeya, agrahara and devadana grantsGupta officials such as the mahasandhivigrahika

Common traps

Pairing hiranya with labour because both are old revenue words. Hiranya is money, and labour is vishti.
Swapping dhanya and hiranya. Dhanya is grain, hiranya is gold or cash.

Here Gupta revenue words are tested as term–meaning pairs. The same words are keyed at 16 Sep 2025, 09:00, GA Q.3 (Vaishthika – forced or corvée labour, with hiranya and dhanya wrongly paired), 19 Sep 2025, 16:00, GA Q.3 (Adeya – dues) and 23 Sep 2025, 09:00, GA Q.5 (Vaishthika – forced labour).

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: History — all 218 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.