UPSC Prelims 2016 · Question 35 of 98
UPSC Prelims 2016 question on Malavikagnimitra Kalidasa Play
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2016
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectArt and Culture
- TopicLiterature
- DifficultyHard
- TypeDirect
Which one of the following books of ancient India has the love story of the son of the founder of Sunga dynasty?
Show answer
Answer: B. Malavikagnimitra
Verdict
The answer is Malavikagnimitra. Kalidasa's play tells the love story of Agnimitra, son of Pushyamitra Sunga.
Analysis
Pushyamitra Sunga founded the Sunga dynasty after ending Mauryan rule, and his son Agnimitra is the hero of Kalidasa's Malavikagnimitram, which dramatises his love for Malavika. Swapnavasavadatta is by Bhasa and concerns Udayana of Vatsa. Meghadoota is Kalidasa's lyric poem about a cloud carrying a message, not a play about a dynasty. Ratnavali is attributed to Harsha and again concerns Udayana.
Source
Centre for Cultural Resources and Training material on literary arts.
How to crack it
The title is the answer, since Malavika plus Agnimitra names both protagonists, and Agnimitra is the Sunga prince. Kalidasa's three plays are all named this way, as Malavika and Agnimitra, Vikrama and Urvashi, and the recognition of Shakuntala. Reading a Sanskrit title as a compound of its characters' names is the fastest route through classical literature questions, and it also tells you the work is a drama rather than a poem.