Ancient and Medieval Literary Works

Attempt the quiz above first, then review every question with its correct answer and a short explanation below.

1. Q1.Who wrote the Ramayana?

   • A.Valmiki✓ Correct Answer
   • B.Tulsidas
   • C.Kalidasa
   • D.Vyasa

   Explanation: Valmiki is called the Adi Kavi.

2. Q2.Who wrote the Ramcharitmanas?

   • A.Tulsidas✓ Correct Answer
   • B.Surdas
   • C.Kabir
   • D.Valmiki

   Explanation: It was composed in Awadhi.

3. Q3.Who wrote Abhijnanashakuntalam?

   • A.Bhasa
   • B.Kalidasa✓ Correct Answer
   • C.Banabhatta
   • D.Shudraka

   Explanation: It is Kalidasa's most famous play.

4. Q4.Who wrote the Arthashastra?

   • A.Kautilya✓ Correct Answer
   • B.Kalhana
   • C.Panini
   • D.Charaka

   Explanation: Kautilya was the minister of Chandragupta Maurya.

5. Q5.Who wrote the Baburnama?

   • A.Humayun
   • B.Akbar
   • C.Babur✓ Correct Answer
   • D.Jahangir

   Explanation: It is the memoir of the first Mughal emperor.

6. Q6.Who wrote the Akbarnama?

   • A.Badauni
   • B.Faizi
   • C.Todar Mal
   • D.Abul Fazl✓ Correct Answer

   Explanation: The Ain-i-Akbari is a part of it.

7. Q7.Who wrote the Rajatarangini, a chronicle of the kings of Kashmir?

   • A.Bilhana
   • B.Kalhana✓ Correct Answer
   • C.Banabhatta
   • D.Bhavabhuti

   Explanation: It was written in the 12th century.

8. Q8.Who wrote the Harshacharita, a biography of Harshavardhana?

   • A.Kalidasa
   • B.Bhasa
   • C.Dandin
   • D.Banabhatta✓ Correct Answer

   Explanation: Bana was the court poet of Harsha.

9. Q9.Who wrote the Gita Govinda?

   • A.Vidyapati
   • B.Chandidas
   • C.Kalidasa
   • D.Jayadeva✓ Correct Answer

   Explanation: It describes the love of Radha and Krishna.

10. Q10.Who wrote the Mudrarakshasa?

    • A.Bhasa
    • B.Shudraka
    • C.Vishakhadatta✓ Correct Answer
    • D.Harsha

    Explanation: It is a political play about Chanakya.

11. Q11.Who wrote the Ashtadhyayi, a treatise on Sanskrit grammar?

    • A.Patanjali
    • B.Katyayana
    • C.Panini✓ Correct Answer
    • D.Yaska

    Explanation: It contains nearly 4,000 sutras.

12. Q12.Who wrote the Aryabhatiya?

    • A.Varahamihira
    • B.Brahmagupta
    • C.Aryabhata✓ Correct Answer
    • D.Bhaskara

    Explanation: It was written in 499 CE.

13. Q13.Who wrote the Sur Sagar?

    • A.Surdas✓ Correct Answer
    • B.Tulsidas
    • C.Mirabai
    • D.Raskhan

    Explanation: It praises the childhood of Krishna in Braj.

14. Q14.Who wrote the Padmavat?

    • A.Kabir
    • B.Tulsidas
    • C.Surdas
    • D.Malik Muhammad Jayasi✓ Correct Answer

    Explanation: It is a Sufi epic in Awadhi.

15. Q15.Who wrote the Prithviraj Raso?

    • A.Jagnik
    • B.Chand Bardai✓ Correct Answer
    • C.Bhushan
    • D.Narpati Nalha

    Explanation: He was the court poet of Prithviraj Chauhan.

16. Q16.Who wrote the Mrichchhakatika?

    • A.Kalidasa
    • B.Shudraka✓ Correct Answer
    • C.Bhavabhuti
    • D.Bhasa

    Explanation: It is a social drama with the courtesan Vasantasena.

17. Q17.The Bijak is a collection of the verses of:

    • A.Tulsidas
    • B.Surdas
    • C.Raidas
    • D.Kabir✓ Correct Answer

    Explanation: The Bijak has three parts: Sakhi, Sabad and Ramaini, and is the sacred book of the Kabirpanth.

18. Q18.Who wrote the Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi?

    • A.Amir Khusrau
    • B.Ziauddin Barani✓ Correct Answer
    • C.Minhaj-us-Siraj
    • D.Ibn Battuta

    Explanation: It covers the Delhi Sultanate up to Firuz Shah Tughlaq.

19. Q19.Who wrote the Vikramankadevacharita?

    • A.Bilhana✓ Correct Answer
    • B.Kalhana
    • C.Jayadeva
    • D.Hemachandra

    Explanation: It praises the Chalukya king Vikramaditya VI.

20. Q20.Who wrote the Brihat Samhita?

    • A.Aryabhata
    • B.Charaka
    • C.Varahamihira✓ Correct Answer
    • D.Brahmagupta

    Explanation: It covers astronomy, weather and architecture.