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CAPF 2015

Ancient Indian Scholarship

Authentic Past Paper Standard Evaluation

Amarasimha is the name of a

Solution & Analysis

Answer: A

Concept Lexicography (dictionary-making) was a highly developed science in ancient India, necessary for the standardization of Sanskrit.

Explanation Amarasimha (4th century CE) was one of the 'Navaratnas' (Nine Gems) in the court of Chandragupta II. He wrote the Amarakosa, the most authoritative Sanskrit thesaurus.

Logical Breakup
Option A is Correct: He is a lexicographer. His work classifies over 10,000 Sanskrit words into three books (Kandas).
Note: Though he was a Buddhist, his work became so foundational that it has been used by scholars of all Indian religions for over 1,500 years.

Active Recall

Question

What is the Amarakosa?

Answer

It is a foundational Sanskrit lexicon/dictionary written by Amarasimha, arranged in verse for easy memorization.

Core Insight

Amarasimha’s work proves that Gupta scholarship achieved a peak of systematic organization across both secular and religious domains.

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