UPSC Prelims 2025 · GS Paper I: Fa-hien (Faxian), the Chinese pilgrim, travelled to India during the reign of
Fa-hien (Faxian), the Chinese pilgrim, travelled to India during the reign of
Answer (b) & explanation
Fa-hien came during the reign of Chandragupta II (b). Faxian was in India from about 399 to 412, in the reign of Chandragupta II, called Vikramaditya. He came to collect Vinaya texts on monastic rules. He wrote of a mild government, few harsh punishments, and the Chandalas living outside towns, though he never names the king. Option (a) is wrong: Samudragupta ruled before him. Options (c) and (d) are wrong: Kumaragupta I and Skandagupta came after.
Notice the other Chinese visitors: Xuanzang under Harsha (7th century) and I-tsing later, both of whom studied at Nalanda. Chandragupta II's court is linked with the "nine gems", including Kalidasa.
The Gupta pilgrim is Faxian; Xuanzang came under Harsha. Do not swap them.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Learn the concept
Related questions from other years
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.
What does an empty seat represent in early Buddhist iconography ?
Answer (a) & explanation
An empty seat represents the Buddha's meditation (a). Early Buddhist art at Bharhut and Sanchi does not show the Buddha in human form. Symbols stand in for him: an empty seat, often under the Bodhi tree, for his meditation and enlightenment. Option (b) is wrong: a wheel stands for the First Sermon at Sarnath. Option (c) is wrong: a stupa stands for the Mahaparinibbana, his death. Option (d) is wrong: a horse stands for the Great Departure (Mahabhinishkramana).
Notice the later change: the Gandhara and Mathura schools, under the Kushanas, first showed the Buddha as a human. Other symbols: a lotus or elephant for his birth, and footprints for his presence. This early stage is called aniconic.
The key follows UPSC's provisional key. The usual symbol table pairs each event with a different sign, so learn all four together.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
In the news since
Pollen study links Harappan decline to weak monsoon (5100–4000 BP)
A pollen study by the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences links the shrinking of the Harappan Civilization to a weak Indian Summer Monsoon between about 5100 and 4000 years before present, the Science Ministry said on 29 July 2026. Sediments from Deoria Tal in the Garhwal Himalaya show an abrupt dry spell, the "4.2 ka event".
29 Jul 2026
Sarnath inscribed as India’s 45th UNESCO World Heritage Site
On 25 July 2026 the 48th World Heritage Committee in Busan inscribed the "Ancient Buddhist Site of Sarnath" on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is India's 45th property. The serial site in Varanasi covers Chaukhandi Stupa and the Archaeological Remains of Sarnath, where the Buddha gave his first sermon.
25 Jul 2026
Rakhigarhi skeletal remains handed to Anthropological Survey of India
ASI handed human skeletal remains from Rakhigarhi, Haryana, to the Anthropological Survey of India under a new MoU, the Culture Ministry said on 22 June 2026. The 2025-26 dig at Mound No. 7 found eight burials; three complete skeletons plus fragments went to AnSI's Kolkata repository. Planned work includes aDNA, isotopes and palaeopathology with partner labs.
22 Jun 2026