RAS question
Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang), the Chinese pilgrim, visited India during whose reign?
Correct answer: (B) Harshavardhana.
Xuanzang, also known as Hiuen Tsang, visited India during the reign of Harshavardhana.
Explanation
Xuanzang was the Chinese pilgrim associated with Harshavardhana's period, not with the Mauryan, Kushana or Gupta rulers listed in the other options. His Indian journey took place between 629 and 645 CE, with time spent at Harsha's court and at Nalanda University, and his Si-Yu-Ki, or Records of the Western Regions, is a key account of seventh-century India. NCERT, Themes in Indian History, Theme Two: Kings, Farmers and Towns lists Harshavardhana as king of Kanauj and records that the Chinese pilgrim Xuan Zang came in search of Buddhist texts. Harshavardhana's reign is therefore the correct historical setting for Xuanzang's visit.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Chandragupta II is associated with Fa-Hien's visit, so choosing him confuses a different Chinese pilgrim with Xuanzang.
- (C) Kanishka was a Kushana ruler from a much earlier period than Xuanzang's seventh-century Indian journey, and there was no major Chinese pilgrim during Kanishka's reign.
- (D) Ashoka belongs to a different period from Xuanzang's seventh-century visit, and Chinese pilgrim accounts of Xuanzang's kind belong to later Buddhist travel traditions.
Concept
Foreign travellers and their value as sources for ancient and early medieval India form a recurring RAS history theme. Pilgrim accounts help connect rulers, courts, religious centres and chronology in a compact factual frame.