RAS question
The 'Indica' was written by:
Correct answer: (C) Megasthenes.
Megasthenes, the Greek historian and diplomat sent by Seleucus I to Chandragupta Maurya, wrote the Indica.
Explanation
Indica is associated with Megasthenes, a Greek historian and diplomat. He was the Greek ambassador sent by Seleucus Nicator to Chandragupta Maurya's court at Pataliputra, and Encyclopaedia Britannica records the core point that he was sent by Seleucus I on embassies to Chandragupta and authored an account of India called the Indica. The text is no longer available as a complete work, but its fragments survive through later writers such as Arrian, Strabo and Diodorus. For RAS, the important link is simple: Megasthenes is remembered for the Indica and for describing Indian society, including his classification into seven classes.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Ptolemy is linked with Geography, so choosing him confuses a geographical work with Megasthenes' Indica.
- (B) Pliny wrote Natural History and appears in this context as a later writer drawing on Megasthenes, not as the author of Indica.
- (D) Strabo wrote on geography and preserved material from Megasthenes, but he did not write the Indica.
Concept
This tests ancient Indian historiography, especially foreign accounts of the Mauryan period. RAS repeats such questions because Greek and Roman writers are key external sources for reconstructing early Indian history.