RAS question
The Gupta land tax was called:
Correct answer: (D) Bhaga.
The principal Gupta land tax was called bhaga, the royal share of agricultural produce.
Explanation
Bhaga is the right answer because eGyanKosh, Unit 7: Comparative Structures of Economies in Some Early States describes land revenue as the greatest source of wealth for the Gupta treasury and identifies the principal tax as bhaga, meaning the share of produce. This share was typically one-sixth of the produce. That matters because the question asks for the land tax, not a broad label for taxation or a different mode of payment. Kara and uparikara appear as other revenue terms, while hiranya is treated separately as the king's share of certain crops paid in cash. Bali and vishti also belong to the wider fiscal vocabulary, but they are not the principal Gupta land tax asked here.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Kara was a general revenue term, so it does not specifically name the principal Gupta land tax on agricultural produce.
- (B) Bali referred to tribute, not the regular land-revenue share from cultivation.
- (C) Hiranya was linked with cash payment, so it is distinct from bhaga as the produce-based land tax.
Concept
This tests the fiscal vocabulary of ancient Indian polity, especially how agrarian surplus was claimed by the state. It recurs in RAS because Gupta administration, land grants and revenue terms often appear in economy-and-polity questions.