Previous Year Question

Pair 1 is incorrect. Devichandraguptam is associated with Vishakhadatta, not Bilhana. UGC-INFLIBNET records both Devichandraguptam and Mudrarakshasa as works of Vishakhadatta. Bilhana, on the other hand, is the author of the famous historical work Vikramankadevacharita, as confirmed by its 1875 Government Central Book Depot edition.

Pair 2 is correct. Hammira-Mahakavya was composed by Nayachandra Suri. The Library of Congress digitised edition of 1879 is itself titled The Hammira Mahakavya of Nayachandra Suri and records Nayachandrasuri as its author. The work concerns Hammiradeva of Ranthambore.

Pair 3 is incorrect. Milinda-panha concerns the dialogue between King Milinda (Menander) and the Buddhist monk Nagasena, not Nagarjuna. UGC-INFLIBNET likewise describes it as a philosophical dialogue between Milinda and Nagasena. An important qualification is that modern textual scholarship does not securely assign personal authorship of the entire text to Nagasena either; its authorship is uncertain. The safest association is therefore—Milinda-panha ≠ Nagarjuna; central interlocutor = Nagasena.

Pair 4 is correct. Nitivakyamrita was written by Somadeva Suri. The digital catalogue of Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute explicitly records Somadeva Suri as the author of Nitivakyamrita.

1. Devichandraguptam — Bilhana → Incorrect; Vishakhadatta
2. Hammira-Mahakavya — Nayachandra Suri → Correct
3. Milinda-panha — Nagarjuna → Incorrect; dialogue centres on Nagasena and Milinda
4. Nitivakyamrita — Somadeva Suri → Correct