UPSC Mains 2026 GS1 Q1: model answer
Analyze the importance of Ashokan inscriptions for reconstructing Mauryan history.
What the question wants
Show what kinds of evidence the edicts give (political, administrative, religious, social, linguistic) and weigh their limits as a source.
How to structure it
Intro: what and where the edicts are, and Prinsep's decipherment. Body: what they tell us, grouped; then limits. Conclusion: why they remain the backbone of Mauryan history alongside Arthashastra and Megasthenes.
- 1What they tell us, grouped
- 2Then limits
Model answer
Ashoka's edicts, on rocks and pillars from Kandahar to Karnataka, are India's earliest deciphered royal records. James Prinsep read the Brahmi script in 1837, and the king named 'Devanampiya Piyadasi' became a historical person.
| Evidence | Edict | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Kalinga war | Rock Edict XIII | Royal version only |
| Officials | Dhamma-mahamattas, rajukas | No revenue figures |
| Foreign kings | RE XIII names five Greek rulers | No dates in our calendar |
What they tell us
- Extent of empire: findspots map the frontier: Shahbazgarhi and Mansehra in the north-west, Maski and Brahmagiri in the south.
- Political events: Rock Edict XIII describes the Kalinga war, the 1.5 lakh deported, and the king's remorse.
- Administration: dhamma-mahamattas, rajukas, pradeshikas, five-yearly tours.
- Dhamma: tolerance, care for animals, respect for elders, a state ethic beyond one sect.
- Foreign relations: RE XIII names five Greek kings, including Antiochus II.
- Language: Prakrit in Brahmi and Kharosthi; Greek and Aramaic at Kandahar.
Limits: they are royal self-portraits, silent on economy and on Ashoka's successors, and often undated.
Read with the Arthashastra and Megasthenes, they remain the spine of Mauryan history.
Keywords, cases and data to drop in
Brahmi Kharosthi Rock Edict XIII dhamma-mahamatta Kandahar bilingual Maski edict
Where most answers lose marks
- Listing edict sites with no analysis
- Ignoring the limits of the edicts as a source
- Confusing Rock and Pillar Edicts
Same theme in Prelims
Consider the following assertion :
In the Pleistocene period either the Yamuna once flowed into the Indus, or the Sutlej flowed into the Yamuna and one major tributary of either had shifted from the Ganga to the Indus or vice versa.
Which of the following is/are the basis of the above assertion ?
- 1. The Nadi-Sukta of the Rigveda
- 2. The explorations of the Sutlej and the Yamuna by Robert Bruce Foote
- 3. The presence of the same species of dolphins in both the Indus and the Ganga river systems
Select the answer using the code given below :
Answer (d) & explanation
Only the dolphin evidence is a basis (d). Item 3 is right: the Indus and Ganga river dolphins are so close that they were long treated as one species, which only makes sense if the two river systems were once joined. Item 1 is wrong: the Pleistocene ended about 12,000 years ago, long before the Rigveda, so the Nadi-Sukta cannot be evidence for it. Item 2 is wrong: Robert Bruce Foote worked on the stone ages of South India, not these rivers.
Notice the Ganges river dolphin is India's national aquatic animal, and is nearly blind, using echolocation. Project Dolphin (2020) protects it. The Indus dolphin lives mainly in Pakistan, with a small group in the Beas in Punjab.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which of the following pairs of ancient and modern names of rivers is/are correctly matched ?
- 1. Vitasta : Chenab
- 2. Asikni : Jhelum
- 3. Parushni : Ravi
- 4. Yavyavati : Beas
Select the answer using the code given below :
Answer (c) & explanation
Only pair 3 is correctly matched (c). In the Rigveda, Parushni = Ravi, so pair 3 is right. Pairs 1 and 2 are swapped: Vitasta = Jhelum, and Asikni = Chenab. Pair 4 is wrong: Yavyavati is usually taken as the Zhob, a western river; the Beas is the Vipas. So options (a), (b) and (d) fail.
Notice the full list: Shutudri = Sutlej, Sindhu = Indus, Kubha = Kabul, Gomati = Gomal, and Sarasvati, often linked to the Ghaggar-Hakra. The Battle of Ten Kings (Dasarajna), won by Sudas of the Bharatas, was fought on the Parushni. These rivers form the "Sapta Sindhu" region.
Pairs 1 and 2 swap the right names, which catches a hurried reader.
Fell for this one? Most aspirants do. The PYQ Book puts every UPSC trap side by side, so the pattern finally clicks. Try the free sample
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which of the following pairs of the king and his dynasty in early historical Tamilakam is/are not correctly matched ?
- 1. Senguttuvan : Chera
- 2. Udiyanjeral : Chola
- 3. Nedunjeliyan : Pandya
Select the answer using the code given below :
Answer (b) & explanation
Only pair 2 is not correctly matched (b). The Sangam poems name three crowned houses: Chera, Chola and Pandya. Pair 1 is correct: Senguttuvan, hero of the Kannagi cult, was a Chera. Pair 3 is correct: Nedunjeliyan, the victor of Talaiyalanganam, was a Pandya. Pair 2 is wrong: Udiyanjeral was a Chera, not a Chola; "-jeral" is a Chera ending. So the answer is pair 2 only.
Notice the trap: the question asks which is not correctly matched. Senguttuvan's story is told in Silappadikaram. Karikala is the most famous early Chola, linked to the Kallanai dam. The Pathitrupathu sings of Chera kings, and Madurai was the Pandya seat.
This one asks for "not correctly matched". Mark the wrong pair, not the right ones.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Learn the concept
Question text as printed in the official UPSC question paper: https://www.upsc.gov.in/sites/default/files/QP-CSM-26-010926-GENERAL%20STUDIES%20PAPER%20-%20I.pdf The model answer is original Battle IAS work; use it to learn structure, not to memorise.