WBCS.LIVE practice question

Arrange the list of foreign travellers in chronological order: (a) Kuanzang (Hieun Tsang) (b) Itsing (c) Fa Tsien (d) Megasthenes

Solve this multiple-choice question and check the correct answer with its explanation below.

Answer options

  1. (a), (b), (c), (d)
  2. (a), (d), (b), (c)
  3. (d), (c), (a), (b)
  4. (d), (c), (b). (a)

Correct answer and explanation

Correct answer: (d), (c), (a), (b)

Explanation: The correct chronological order of the travellers is - (d) Megasthenes → (c) Fa-Hien → (a) Hiuen Tsang → (b) Itsing. 📚 Other Information: ▪️ Megasthenes (4th century BCE) was a Greek ambassador to Chandragupta Maurya’s court, author of Indica. ▪️ Fa-Hien (5th century CE) visited India during Chandragupta II’s reign to collect Buddhist texts. ▪️ Hiuen Tsang (7th century CE) visited India during Harshavardhana’s reign, author of Si-Yu-Ki. ▪️ Itsing (7th–8th century CE) visited India to study Buddhist monastic practices at Nalanda University. ▪️ Their writings provide valuable information about Indian society, religion, and governance. ▪️ They contributed greatly to reconstructing ancient Indian history. ▪️ Hiuen Tsang’s accounts particularly highlight Nalanda and Taxila Universities. ▪️ Megasthenes’ Indica gave the first foreign description of Mauryan polity and social structure.