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RAS question

Consider the following statements about ancient Indian universities: I. Takshashila (Taxila) was located in the present-day Punjab region of Pakistan and was a major center of learning before the Common Era. II. Nalanda University was founded by Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE. Which of the above statements is/are correct?

Correct answer: (A) I only.

Only Statement I is correct: Taxila was in present-day Punjab, Pakistan and was a major centre of learning before the Common Era, while Nalanda was not founded by Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE.

  1. (A)

    I only

  2. (B)

    II only

  3. (C)

    Both I and II

  4. (D)

    Neither I nor II

Explanation

Taxila fits Statement I because modern Taxila in Punjab, Pakistan was an early university that flourished from the 6th century BCE and taught fields such as Vedic studies, medicine, arts and statecraft. Statement II fails on chronology and attribution. Nalanda belongs to the Gupta period, around the 5th century CE, with Kumaragupta I often credited as founder rather than Ashoka. The UNESCO World Heritage Centre nomination for Nalanda supports this later institutional profile: it describes Nalanda as a major Mahavihara by the 5th century CE and says its 5th- to 7th-century expansion took place under Gupta and later Gupta patronage. Therefore, only the Taxila statement is correct.

Why the other options are wrong

  • (B) Option B accepts Statement II alone, but Nalanda is treated here as a Gupta-period institution of about the 5th century CE, not an Ashokan foundation of the 3rd century BCE.
  • (C) Option C is wrong because it combines a correct Taxila statement with the incorrect claim that Ashoka founded Nalanda University in the 3rd century BCE.
  • (D) Option D rejects both statements, but Statement I is correct because Taxila was in present-day Punjab, Pakistan and had already flourished as a centre of learning before the Common Era.

Concept

This tests the chronology of ancient Indian centres of learning, especially the distinction between early north-western Taxila and Gupta-era Nalanda. RAS often uses such paired statements to check whether candidates can separate location, period and patronage instead of remembering famous names loosely.

Source

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