Books & Authors Quiz: Static GK Practice

Spoilers! These are the Starter quiz’s answers. Easy, Medium, Hard and Mixed rounds show their own answers when you finish.

1. 'Indica', an account of Mauryan India, was written by

   • Kautilya
   • Megasthenes
   • Fa-Hien
   • Al-Biruni

   Answer: Megasthenes. Megasthenes was the Greek envoy of Seleucus Nicator to Chandragupta Maurya's court at Pataliputra. Kautilya wrote the Arthashastra.

2. 'Rajatarangini', a 12th-century chronicle of the kings of Kashmir, was composed by

   • Kalhana
   • Banabhatta
   • Bilhana
   • Jayadeva

   Answer: Kalhana. Kalhana wrote Rajatarangini in Sanskrit. Banabhatta wrote Harshacharita and Jayadeva wrote Gita Govinda.

3. The Sanskrit political drama 'Mudrarakshasa', showing Chanakya's moves to secure Chandragupta Maurya's throne, was written by

   • Kalidasa
   • Shudraka
   • Vishakhadatta
   • Bhasa

   Answer: Vishakhadatta. Vishakhadatta wrote Mudrarakshasa. Shudraka wrote Mrichchhakatika and Kalidasa wrote Abhijnanashakuntalam.

4. 'Ain-i-Akbari', a detailed record of Akbar's administration, was written by

   • Badauni
   • Faizi
   • Abul Fazl
   • Nizamuddin Ahmad

   Answer: Abul Fazl. Abul Fazl wrote the Akbarnama, whose third volume is the Ain-i-Akbari. Badauni wrote the critical Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh.

5. 'Humayun-nama', a biography of Emperor Humayun, was written by

   • Jahanara Begum
   • Gulbadan Begum
   • Nur Jahan
   • Zeb-un-Nissa

   Answer: Gulbadan Begum. Gulbadan Begum, Babur's daughter and Humayun's half-sister, wrote it at Akbar's request.

6. In which language did Mahatma Gandhi originally write 'Hind Swaraj' (1909)?

   • Gujarati
   • English
   • Hindi
   • Marathi

   Answer: Gujarati. Gandhi wrote Hind Swaraj in Gujarati in November 1909 aboard the ship Kildonan Castle, travelling from London to South Africa.

7. Bal Gangadhar Tilak wrote 'Gita Rahasya' while he was imprisoned at

   • the Cellular Jail, Port Blair
   • Yerawada Jail
   • Ahmednagar Fort
   • Mandalay

   Answer: Mandalay. Tilak wrote Gita Rahasya in Marathi in Mandalay jail, Burma (1908–1914). Nehru wrote The Discovery of India in Ahmednagar Fort.

8. 'Poverty and Un-British Rule in India', which set out the drain of wealth theory, was written by

   • R.C. Dutt
   • Dadabhai Naoroji
   • Gopal Krishna Gokhale
   • M.G. Ranade

   Answer: Dadabhai Naoroji. Dadabhai Naoroji published it in 1901. R.C. Dutt wrote The Economic History of India, another key economic critique of British rule.

9. 'Neel Darpan', the Bengali play exposing the oppression of indigo cultivators, was written by

   • Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
   • Michael Madhusudan Dutt
   • Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
   • Dinabandhu Mitra

   Answer: Dinabandhu Mitra. Dinabandhu Mitra wrote Neel Darpan around the time of the Indigo Revolt of 1859–60. Its English translation landed Reverend James Long in court.

10. 'Godan', the Hindi novel about the peasant Hori and his wish to own a cow, was written by

    • Premchand
    • Jaishankar Prasad
    • Phanishwar Nath Renu
    • Yashpal

    Answer: Premchand. Godan (1936) was Premchand's last completed novel. Jaishankar Prasad is known for the epic poem Kamayani.