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UPSC CSE Prelims 1997

Ancient and Medieval Guilds

Authentic Past Paper Standard Evaluation

Which one of the following was a corporation of merchants in ancient India?

Solution & Analysis

Answer: D

Concept Trade in South India was organized through powerful self-governing guilds or corporations. These entities managed long-distance commerce and maintained their own military and legal codes.

Explanation Inscriptions from the Chola and Pandya periods describe 'Manigramam' and 'Nanadesi' as influential merchant guilds that operated across South India and Southeast Asia.

Logical Breakup
Logic 1: Manigramam was a guild of merchants involved in both local and maritime trade.
Logic 2: Other terms in the options refer to different entities: Chaturvedimangalam (Brahmin settlements), Parishad (assembly of elders), and Ashtadiggaja (poets in Vijayanagara).

Active Recall

Question

How did merchant guilds influence political life?

Answer

Guilds often funded public works, maintained their own security, and were so powerful that kings frequently consulted them on economic policy.

Core Insight

The existence of Manigramam highlights India's deep integration into the Indian Ocean trade network centuries before the arrival of Europeans.

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