Prelims GS Paper IArt & Culture

Literature, Languages & Religio-Cultural Traditions (Bhakti/Sufi/Buddhist)

साहित्य, भाषाएं और धार्मिक-सांस्कृतिक परंपराएं

Literature, Languages & Religio-Cultural Traditions (Bhakti/Sufi/Buddhist) is part of the UPSC Prelims GS Paper I syllabus, under Art & Culture. It appeared in Prelims GS Paper I question papers in 3 of the 10 years from 2016 to 2025 (2016, 2019, 2022).

What should you study in Literature, Languages & Religio-Cultural Traditions (Bhakti/Sufi/Buddhist)?

  • Sanskrit — Kalidasa, Valmiki, Vyasa; Prakrit — Jain texts
  • Bhakti literature — Dohas of Kabir, Mirabai's padas
  • Classical languages — Tamil (oldest), Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Odia
  • Medieval Persian literature in India

How often is Literature, Languages & Religio-Cultural Traditions (Bhakti/Sufi/Buddhist) asked in UPSC Prelims?

Asked in 3 of 10 years, including 1 of the last 5. Highlighted years below are the ones it appeared in.

  1. 2016: asked
  2. 2017: not asked
  3. 2018: not asked
  4. 2019: asked
  5. 2020: not asked
  6. 2021: not asked
  7. 2022: asked
  8. 2023: not asked
  9. 2024: not asked
  10. 2025: not asked

About the Prelims GS Paper I paper

General Studies Paper I is the Prelims paper that decides the cut-off: 100 multiple-choice questions for 200 marks, with negative marking for wrong answers. See all 88 Prelims GS Paper I topics.

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