RAS question
Maharaja Anup Singh of Bikaner (1669-1698) is known for creating a significant library called:
Correct answer: (B) Anup Sanskrit Library.
Maharaja Anup Singh of Bikaner established the Anup Sanskrit Library after collecting Sanskrit-language manuscripts, including during his time in the Deccan.
Explanation
Maharaja Anup Singh of Bikaner is associated with the Anup Sanskrit Library because his cultural legacy was tied directly to manuscript collection and scholarship. He was a Sanskrit scholar, mathematician and astronomer, and collected a large number of Sanskrit-language manuscripts during his time in the Deccan before establishing the Anup Sanskrit Library. This fits the question's clue: the ruler named Anup Singh is remembered not just as a political or military figure, but as a patron of learning whose library preserved rare manuscripts. Among the options, only Anup Sanskrit Library matches both the founder's name and the documented institution.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Bikaner Granth Bhandar is a plausible-sounding generic repository name, but Anup Singh established the Anup Sanskrit Library.
- (C) Saraswati Bhandar sounds connected to learning, but Anup Singh is linked with the Anup Sanskrit Library, not a library of that name.
- (D) Rajputana Library is too broad and regional; the association is with a Sanskrit manuscript library founded by Anup Singh in Bikaner.
Concept
This tests Rajasthan's cultural history, especially royal patronage of scholarship and manuscript traditions. Such questions recur in RAS because they connect rulers with institutions, art, learning and regional identity.
