Q: Which one of the following is a work attributed to playwright Bhasa?
(a)Kavyalankara
(b)Natyashastra
(c)Madhyama-vyayoga
(d)Mahabhashya
Loading...
Literature & Languages — UPSC Prelims Previous Year Questions
41 questions from UPSC CSE Prelims GS Paper 1 on Literature & Languages (Art & Culture). Spanning from 1996 to 2024. Practice with show/hide answers and detailed explanations.
41
Questions
21
Years
27
Easy
13
Moderate
Year-wise Distribution
What UPSC Asks About Literature & Languages
Based on 41 questions across 21 years, UPSC has consistently tested aspirants' understanding of Literature & Languages within the broader Art & Culture syllabus. The questions range from factual recall to application-based analysis.
Recent trends show UPSC moving towards statement-based questions that combine multiple aspects of Literature & Languages. Aspirants should focus on understanding concepts rather than memorizing isolated facts.
Related Art & Culture Sub-topics
All Literature & Languages Questions
Q: Which one of the following explains the practice of ‘Vattakirutal’ as mentioned in Sangam poems?
(a)Kings employing women bodyguards
(b)Learned persons assembling in royal courts to discuss religious and philosophical matters
(c)Young girls keeping watch over agricultural fields and driving away birds and animals
(d)A king defeated in a battle committing ritual suicide by starving himself to death
Q: With reference to ancient Indian History, consider the following pairs : Literary work : Author 1. Devichandragupta : Bilhana 2. Hammira-Mahakavya : Nayachandra Suri 3. Milinda-panha : Nagarjuna 4. Nitivakyamrita : Somadeva Suri How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?
(a)Only one
(b)Only two
(c)Only three
(d)All four
Q: प्राचीन दक्षिण भारत में संगम साहित्य के बारे में, निम्नलिखित कथनों में कौन-सा एक, सही है ? (a) संगम कविताओं में भौतिक संस्कृति का कोई सन्दर्भ नहीं है । (b) कृषि का सामाजिक वर्णन संगम कवियों के द्वारा हुआ । (c) संगम कविताओं में समर शैली का कोई सन्दर्भ नहीं है । (d) संगम साहित्य में जादुई ताकतों को असमान बताया गया है ।
(a)कथन (a)
(b)कथन (b)
(c)कथन (c)
(d)कथन (d)
Q: प्राचीन भारत के इतिहास के संदर्भ में, भवभूति, हर्ष एवं शेखर क्यों प्रसिद्ध थे?
(a)जैन साधु
(b)नाटककार
(c)मन्दिर वास्तुशिल्पी
(d)दार्शनिक
Q: With reference to the scholars/litterateurs of ancient India, consider the following statements: 1. Panini is associated with Pushyamitra Shunga. 2. Amarasimha is associated with Harshavardhana. 3. Kalidasa is associated with Chandra Gupta – II. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a)1 and 2 only
(b)2 and 3 only
(c)3 only
(d)1, 2 and 3
Q: Which one of the following books of ancient India has the love story of the son of the founder of Sunga dynasty?
(a)Swapnavasavadatta
(b)Malavikagnimitra
(c)Meghadoota
(d)Ratnavali
Q: Which one of the following was given classical language status recently?
(a)Odia
(b)Konkani
(c)Bhojpuri
(d)Assamese
Q: Consider the following languages: 1. Gujarati 2. Kannada 3. Telugu Which of the above has/have been declared as 'Classical Language/Languages' by the Government?
(a)1 and 2 only
(b)3 only
(c)2 and 3 only
(d)1, 2 and 3
Q: Match List I with List II and select the correct answer using the code given below the lists: List I (Book) A. In Custody B. Sea of Poppies C. The Argumentative Indian D. Unaccustomed Earth List II (Author) 1. Amartya Sen 2. Amitav Ghosh 3. Anita Desai 4. Jhumpa Lahiri
(a)A-4 B-1 C-2 D-3
(b)A-4 B-2 C-1 D-3
(c)A-3 B-2 C-1 D-4
(d)A-3 B-1 C-2 D-4
Q: Who of the following is the author of a collection of poems called “Golden Threshold”?
(a)Aruna Asaf Ali
(b)Annie Besant
(c)Sarojini Naidu
(d)Vijayalakshmi Pandit
Q: Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the code given below the Lists: List-I (Author) A. Bankimchandra B. Dinabandhu Mitra C. Premchand List-II (Work) 1. Shatranj Ke Khilari 2. Debi Chaudhurani 3. Nil-Darpan 4. Chandrakanta
(a)A-2 B-4 C-1
(b)A-3 B-4 C-2
(c)A-2 B-3 C-1
(d)A-3 B-1 C-4
Q: Among the Indian languages, which one is spoken maximum in the world after Hindi?
(a)Telugu
(b)Tamil
(c)Bengali
(d)Malayalam
Q: Who among the following translated the Autobiography of Madam Curie in Hindi?
(a)Atal Bihari Vajpayee
(b)Lal Bahadur Shastri
(c)Choudhary Charan Singh
(d)Gobind Vallabh Pant
Q: Who among the following wrote the poem, Subh-e Azadi?
(a)Sahir Ludhiyanvi
(b)Faiz Ahmed Faiz
(c)Muhammad Iqbal
(d)Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
Q: Who among the following wrote the book "Ayodhya : 6 December 1992"?
(a)Chandra Shekar
(b)P. V. Narasimha Rao
(c)Jaswant Singh
(d)Arun Shourie
Q: How is Gabriel García well known?
(a)Known for research in agriculture
(b)A renowned football coach
(c)A great writer who won the Nobel Prize for Literature
(d)Known for research in railway engineering
Q: Which of the following is not correctly matched? Prominent Indian Writer : Language
(a)Raja Rao : Telugu
(b)Gobind Trimbuk Deshpande : Marathi
(c)Subramaniyam Bharati : Tamil
(d)Tara Shankar Joshi : Gujarati
Q: Match List – I with List – II and select the correct answer using the code given below the lists: List – I ( Author ) A. Amartya Sen B. Bimal Jalan C. Arundhati Roy D. Mani Shankar List – II ( Book ) 1. An Ordinary Person’s Guide to Empire 2. The Argumentative Indian 3. The Future of India 4. Confessions of a Secular Fundamentalist Code:
(a)A 3 B 2 C 1 D 4
(b)A 3 B 2 C 4 D 1
(c)A 2 B 3 C 1 D 4
(d)A 2 B 3 C 4 D 1
Q: Who is Wole Soyinka ?
(a)A well-known economist
(b)A well-known football player
(c)A well-known industrialist owning steel plants in many parts of the world.
(d)A Nobel Prize winner for literature.
Q: “Lectures from Colombo to Almora” is based on the experiences of which one of the following?
(a)Veer Savarkar
(b)Annie Besant
(c)Ramkrishna Paramhansa
(d)Swami Vivekanand
Q: Match List I (Books) with List II (Authors) and select the correct answer using the codes given below: List I A. My Presidential Years B. The Hindu View of Life C. Voice of Conscience D. Without Fear or Favour List II 1. S. Radhakrishnan 2. V. V. Giri 3. N. Sanjiva Reddy 4. R. Venkataraman
(a)A-2 B-1 C-4 D-3
(b)A-4 B-3 C-2 D-1
(c)A-2 B-3 C-4 D-1
(d)A-4 B-1 C-2 D-3
Q: Consider the following international language 1. Arabic 2. French 3. Spanish The correct sequence of the language given above in the decreasing order of the number of their speakers is
(a)3-1-2
(b)1-3-2
(c)3-2-1
(d)1-2-3
Q: ‘Mrichchhakatika’ an ancient Indian book written by Shudraka deals with
(a)The love affair of a rich merchant with the daughter of a courtesan
(b)The victory of Chandragupta II over the Shaka Kshatrapas of western India
(c)The military expeditions and exploits of Samudragupta
(d)The love affair between a Gupta King and a princess of Kamarupa
Q: Dilip Kaur Tiwana is well known as a
(a)litterateur
(b)musician
(c)scientist
(d)sports person
Q: Match List I (Book) with List II (Author) and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists: List I (Book) List II (Author) A. Autobiography of an Unknown Indian 1. Mulk Raj Anand B. India: A Wounded Civilization 2. Nirad C. Chaudhuri C. Confessions of a Lover 3. R. K. Narayan D. The English Teacher 4. V. S. Naipaul Codes:
(a)1 3 2 4
(b)2 4 1 3
(c)1 4 2 3
(d)2 3 1 4
Q: Who amongst the following Englishmen first translated the Bhagavad-Gita into English?
(a)William Jones
(b)Charles Wilkins
(c)Alexander Cunningham
(d)John Marshall
Q: Match List I (Books) with List II (Authors) and select the correct answer using the codes given below the Lists: List I I. My Music, My Life II. Adha Gaon III. Radha IV. The Pilferer List II A) Laxman Gaikwad B) Rahi Masoom Raza C) Ramakanta Rath D) Ravi Shankar Codes:
(a)I-C, II-B, III-D, IV-A
(b)I-D, II-B, III-C, IV-A
(c)I-D, II-A, III-C, IV-B
(d)I-C, II-A, III-D, IV-B
Q: Assertion (A): The Aham and Puram poems of the Padinen Kilukanakku group formed a continuation of the Sangam composition. Reason (R): They were included under the Post-Sangam works as against the Sangam works proper.
(a)Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A
(b)Both A and R are true, but R is not a correct explanation of A
(c)A is true, but R is false
(d)A is false, but R is true
Q: The first writer to use Urdu as the medium of poetic expression was
(a)Amir Khusru
(b)Mirza Ghalib
(c)Bahadur Shah Zafar
(d)Faiz
Q: Match List I with List II and select the correct answer using the codes given below the Lists: List I (Writers) I. Sashi Tharoor II. Amitav Ghosh III. Anita Desai IV. Vikram Chandra List II (Books) A) Clear Light of Day B) Circle of Reason C) Love and Longing in Bombay D) Show Business
(a)I-D, II-C, III-B, IV-A
(b)I-C, II-D, III-A, IV-B
(c)I-D, II-C, III-A, IV-B
(d)I-C, II-D, III-B, IV-A
Q: Match List I with List II and select the correct answer using the codes given below the Lists: List I (Books) I. The First Indian War of Independence II. Anand Math III. Life Divine IV. Sadhana List II (Authors) A) Rabindranath Tagore B) Sri Aurobindo C) Bankim Chandra Chatterji D) Vinayak Damodar Savarkar
(a)I-D, II-C, III-B, IV-A
(b)I-C, II-D, III-A, IV-B
(c)I-D, II-A, III-C, IV-B
(d)I-C, II-B, III-A, IV-D
Q: Which one of the following languages belongs to the Austric group?
(a)Marathi
(b)Ladakhi
(c)Khasi
(d)Tamil
Q: Which of the following pairs are correctly matched? I. Mrichchhakatikam — Shudraka II. Buddhacharita — Vasuvandhu III. Mudrarakshasha — Vishakhadatta IV. Harshacharita — Banabhatta Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
(a)I, II, III and IV
(b)I, III and IV
(c)I and IV
(d)II and III
Q: Which one of the following pairs of composers in different languages and their works on the Mahabharata theme is correctly matched?
(a)Sarladasa — Bengali
(b)Kasirama — Oriya
(c)Tikkana — Marathi
(d)Pampa — Kannada
Q: Which one of the following scripts of ancient India was written from right to left?
(a)Brahmi
(b)Nandnagari
(c)Sharada
(d)Kharosthi
Q: Match List I with List II and select the correct answer by using the codes given below the lists: List I (Author) I. Varahamihira II. Visakhadatta III. Sudraka IV. Bilhana List II (Text) A) Prabandha Chintamani B) Mrchchhakatikam C) Brhat-Samhita D) Devi Chandraguptam E) Vikramankadevacharita Codes:
(a)I-C, II-D, III-E, IV-B
(b)I-C, II-D, III-B, IV-E
(c)I-E, II-C, III-D, IV-A
(d)I-A, II-C, III-E, IV-B
Q: Which one of the following works has recently been made into a full-length feature film?
(a)R. K. Narayan’s Malgudi Days
(b)Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children
(c)Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy
(d)Upamanyu Chatterjee’s English August
Q: Which one of the following is an important historical novel written during the latter half of the nineteenth century?
(a)Rast Goftar
(b)Durgesh Nandini
(c)Maharatha
(d)Nibandhamala
Q: The term apabhramsa was used in medieval Sanskrit texts to denote
(a)outcastes among the Rajputs
(b)deviations from Vedic rituals
(c)early forms of some of the modern Indian languages
(d)non-Sanskrit verse metres
Q: Which one of the following texts of ancient India allows divorce to a wife deserted by her husband?
(a)Kamasutra
(b)Manavadharmashastra
(c)Sukra Nitisara
(d)Arthashastra
Frequently Asked Questions
How many UPSC Prelims questions have been asked from Literature & Languages?▼
UPSC has asked 41 questions on Literature & Languages in GS Paper 1 Prelims between 1996 and 2024. This sub-topic falls under Art & Culture.
In which years has UPSC asked about Literature & Languages?▼
Questions on Literature & Languages have appeared in UPSC Prelims in the following years: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996. The topic has appeared in 21 out of 31 years.
What is the difficulty level of Literature & Languages questions in UPSC Prelims?▼
Among 41 questions on Literature & Languages: 27 are easy, 13 are moderate, and 1 are difficult. Most questions test conceptual understanding of the topic.