Previous Year Question
With reference to the scholars/litterateurs of ancient India, consider the following statements:
Panini is associated with Pushyamitra Shunga.
Amarasimha is associated with Harshavardhana.
Kalidasa is associated with Chandra Gupta-II.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Correct Answer: C
Detailed Solution
Statement 1 is incorrect: Panini was a celebrated Sanskrit grammarian and the author of the Ashtadhyayi. He is generally placed around the fifth or fourth century BCE. Pushyamitra Shunga, on the other hand, founded the Shunga dynasty after displacing the last Mauryan ruler Brihadratha around 185 BCE. Therefore, they belonged to different periods.
Statement 2 is incorrect: Amarasimha was a celebrated Sanskrit lexicographer and the author of the Amarakosha. He is traditionally associated with the Gupta period and the court of Chandragupta II, not with the seventh-century ruler Harshavardhana.
Statement 3 is correct: Kalidasa is generally associated with the Gupta period and Chandragupta II, who assumed the title Vikramaditya. Kalidasa was a celebrated Sanskrit poet and playwright. His principal works include Abhijnanashakuntalam, Malavikagnimitram, Vikramorvashiyam, Raghuvamsham, Kumarasambhavam and Meghadutam.