With reference to the scholars/literateurs of ancient India, consider the following statements:

1. Panini is associated with Pushyamitra Shunga.

2. Amarasimha is associated with Harshavardhana.

3. Kalidasa is associated with Chandra Gupta - II.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct? 

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

The correct answer is 3 only.

• Panini
  • He was born in Shalatula on the Indus River in present-day Pakistan.
  • He was a Sanskrit grammarian and gave a comprehensive and scientific theory of phonetics, phonology, and morphology.
  • He is considered the founder of the language and literature of Sanskrit.
  • His major work involves treatise called Astadhyayi (or Astaka). It consists of eight chapters, each subdivided into quarter chapters.
  • Under Astadhyayi, he distinguished between the language of sacred texts and the usual language of communication.
  • He gave formal production rules and definitions to describe Sanskrit grammar.
  • He gave about 1700 basic elements like nouns, verbs, vowels, consonants he put them into classes.
• Pushyamitra Shunga is a post-Mauryan king whereas the birth year of Panini is not known. Experts give dates of Panini in the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th century which are all Pre-Mauryan. Hence, Pair 1 is not correct.
• Amarsimha
  • He was a Sanskrit grammarian and poet from ancient India.
  • He is said to have been "one of the nine gems that adorned the throne of Vikramaditya".
  • Most of his work was destroyed with the exception of the 'Amara-Kosha'.
  • The Amarakosha is a vocabulary of Sanskrit roots, in three books, and hence sometimes called Trikanda or the "Tripartite".
• Harshavardhana is a post-Gupta king and Amarasimha belongs to the Gupta era. Hence, Pair 2 is not correct.
• Kalidasa
  • He is often considered ancient India's greatest playwright and dramatist.
  • Malavika and Agnimitra, Urvashi, and Shakuntala are his the most known dramas.
  • His poetry was based on the Vedas, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Puranas.
• According to traditional lore, Kalidasa belonged to the court of Chandra Gupta Vikramaditya (Chandra Gupta II). However, the dates of his life events are disputed. Hence Pair 3 is correct.