UPHESC Assistant Professor Sanskrit 2025 PYQs

Concept: Tamil Nadu gets most of its rain in Oct–Dec (retreating/north-east monsoon) from depressions and cyclones formed over the Bay of Bengal.

1. The NE winds pick up moisture over the Bay; tropical depressions and cyclones crossing the Coromandel coast give heavy rain → cyclonic rainfall.
2. Anticyclones bring dry, stable weather, not rain; convectional rain is typical of hot summer afternoons/equatorial areas.

Short trick: Coromandel coast winter rain = Bay of Bengal cyclones.

Concept: Raja Ram Mohan Roy founded the Atmiya Sabha in Calcutta in 1815 (forerunner of the Brahmo Sabha, 1828).

1. Vivekananda – Ramakrishna Mission (1897); Dayananda – Arya Samaj (1875).
2. Radha Kant Dev – orthodox leader of the Dharma Sabha (1830), which opposed Roy.

Short trick: Roy: Atmiya Sabha 1815 → Brahmo Sabha 1828.

Concept: Bose was elected Congress President at Haripura (1938), re-elected at Tripuri (1939) defeating Pattabhi Sitaramayya, and resigned in April 1939 after differences with Gandhi; Dr. Rajendra Prasad was then elected President.

1. Bose did not resign in 1938, so the event the question asks about (an election after a 1938 resignation) never happened.
2. Dr. Rajendra Prasad (option D) fits only if the printed year is changed to 1939; Patel, Nehru and Annie Besant do not fit at all.
3. As printed, therefore, no option is correct and the question is treated as a bonus. The fact to remember: Bose resigned in April 1939 → Rajendra Prasad became President.

Short trick: Haripura 1938 (Bose elected) → Tripuri 1939 (re-elected, then resigned) → Rajendra Prasad.

Concept: Match each leader with the movement he led.

1. Tilak – a leader of the Swadeshi movement (1905–07) → III.
2. Shaukat Ali – with Mohammad Ali, led the Khilafat movement → I.
3. Gandhi – Non-Cooperation movement (1920–22) → IV; Bahadur Shah Zafar – nominal leader of the 1857 revolt → II.

Short trick: Tilak-Swadeshi, Ali-Khilafat, Gandhi-NCM, Zafar-1857 → III-I-IV-II.

Concept: The Election Commission of India (Art. 324) is a permanent, independent constitutional body set up on 25 January 1950.

1. (B) Wrong – CEC and ECs are appointed by the President (on the recommendation of a selection committee under the 2023 Act).
2. (C) Wrong as a general power – disqualification of members is decided by the President/Governor on the EC’s opinion; the EC only advises (Art. 103/192).
3. (D) Wrong – it functions all the time (rolls, party recognition, symbols, etc.).

Short trick: ECI = permanent constitutional body (Art. 324), not a seasonal one.

Concept: The core feature of the parliamentary system is the collective responsibility of the executive to the legislature.

1. In India, the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha (Art. 75(3)) and stays in office only while it enjoys its confidence.
2. The judiciary is independent and not responsible to either organ.

Short trick: Parliamentary = executive answerable to Parliament; Presidential = fixed-term executive.

Concept: The Estimates Committee has 30 members, all from the Lok Sabha, elected by proportional representation.

1. Rajya Sabha has no representation on it (unlike the PAC: 15 LS + 7 RS, and the CoPU: 15 LS + 7 RS).
2. A minister cannot be a member; it is called the ‘continuous economy committee’.

Short trick: Estimates = 30, all Lok Sabha.

Concept: Classic economics books and their authors.

1. Adam Smith – The Wealth of Nations (1776) → I.
2. Thomas Malthus – An Essay on the Principle of Population (1798) → IV.
3. W. Arthur Lewis – The Theory of Economic Growth (1955) → II; Samir Amin – Imperialism and Unequal Development (1977) → III.

Short trick: Smith-Wealth, Malthus-Population, Lewis-Growth, Amin-Imperialism → I-IV-II-III.

Concept: Budget 2025-26 (1 Feb 2025) announced a Makhana Board in Bihar to improve production, processing, value addition and marketing of makhana (fox nut).

1. Bihar (Mithilanchal – Darbhanga, Madhubani, Purnia) produces about 85–90% of India’s makhana.
2. Mithila Makhana has a GI tag (2022).

Short trick: Makhana = Mithila = Bihar.

Concept: ‘Rupee comes from’ (BE 2025-26): borrowings & other liabilities 24 paise, income tax 22, GST 18, corporation tax 17, non-tax revenue 9, union excise 5, customs 4, non-debt capital receipts 1.

1. Among the given options income tax (22 paise) is the largest.
2. GST is 18 paise; excise (5) and customs (4) are much smaller.

Short trick: 2025-26 order: Borrowing 24 > Income tax 22 > GST 18 > Corporate 17.

Concept: Rigveda 1.1 is addressed to Agni: agnimīḷe purohitaṃ… (seer Madhuchchhandas Vaishvamitra).

1. Agni opens the Rigveda as the divine priest (purohita) carrying offerings to the gods.
2. Indra has the most hymns (~250), but the very first hymn is to Agni.

Short trick: Ved begins with fire: “agnimīḷe” = first word of the Rigveda.

Concept: This is the 4th mantra of the Shivasankalpa Sukta (Shukla Yajurveda 34.1–6), describing the immortal mind (manas).

1. Full line: yenedaṃ bhūtaṃ bhuvanaṃ bhaviṣyat parigṛhītam amṛtena sarvam… tan me manaḥ śivasaṅkalpam astu.
2. The mind, being immortal, grasps past, present and future – hence the refrain “may my mind be of auspicious resolve”.

Short trick: Every Shivasankalpa mantra ends with “tan me manaḥ śivasaṅkalpam astu”.

Concept: Yaska’s Nirukta explains Vedic words by nirvachana (semantic-etymological derivation).

1. Nirukta = “nis + vac”: explaining a word by tracing it to a root whose meaning fits.
2. Yaska: “artha-nityaḥ parīkṣeta” – derivation must follow the meaning; grammar (vyutpatti) is secondary.
3. Varnotpatti belongs to Shiksha; sandhi to grammar.

Short trick: Nirukta ↔ Nirvachana (both from nis + vac).

Concept: The Nasadiya (creation) hymn is Rigveda 10.129.

1. It begins “nāsad āsīn no sad āsīt tadānīm”.
2. Most philosophical hymns (Purusha 10.90, Hiranyagarbha 10.121, Nasadiya 10.129, Vak 10.125) are in the 10th mandala.

Short trick: Philosophy = 10th mandala.

Concept: Yaska’s Nirukta is a commentary on the Nighantu, a glossary of Vedic words.

1. Nighantu has 5 chapters: Naighantuka (1–3), Naigama (4), Daivata (5).
2. Nirukta’s 12 (+2 parishishta) chapters explain these words in the same order.

Short trick: Nighantu = word-list; Nirukta = its explanation.

Concept: Yaska divides deities into three regions: earth (Agni), mid-air (Indra/Vayu) and sky (Surya).

1. Agni – pṛthivīsthāna (A wrong).
2. Brihaspati and Rudra – madhyamasthāna/antariksha (Nirukta ch. 10), so B wrong and D right.
3. Vishnu – dyusthāna (Nirukta ch. 12), so C wrong.

Short trick: “Agni–earth, Indra/Vayu/Rudra–air, Surya/Vishnu–sky”.

Concept: Shivasankalpa Sukta = Vajasaneyi (Shukla Yajurveda) Samhita 34.1–6.

1. Ch. 31 holds the Purusha Sukta; ch. 32 opens with “tad evāgnis…”; ch. 40 is the Ishopanishad.
2. So the answer is the 34th chapter.

Short trick: 31 Purusha, 34 Shivasankalpa, 40 Isha.

Concept: Taittiriya Upanishad is part of the Taittiriya Aranyaka (7–9) of the Krishna Yajurveda.

1. Krishna YV Upanishads: Taittiriya, Katha, Shvetashvatara, Maitrayani.
2. Shukla YV: Isha, Brihadaranyaka; Samaveda: Chhandogya, Kena; Rigveda: Aitareya, Kaushitaki.

Short trick: Taittiriya – Krishna YV (Taittiriya shakha).

Concept: Manusmriti 2.6: vedo ’khilo dharmamūlaṃ smṛtiśīle ca tadvidām, ācāraś caiva sādhūnām ātmanas tuṣṭir eva ca.

1. Manu lists Veda, Smriti, conduct of the good and self-satisfaction as sources of dharma.
2. Manu 2.12 condenses them as the four “sākṣāl lakṣaṇa” of dharma.

Short trick: Manu 2.6 – Veda is the root of all dharma.

Concept: Only statements II and IV are correct, and no option gives exactly “II, IV”.

1. I is false: Soma Pavamana is praised in the 9th mandala (all 114 hymns), not the 10th.
2. II is true: Pururavas–Urvashi dialogue is RV 10.95.
3. III is false: “Brahmaveda” is the name of the Atharvaveda (Gopatha Brahmana), not the Yajurveda.
4. IV is true: Vamadeva Gautama is the seer of the 4th mandala. Every option contains a false statement, so the question has no correct answer.

Short trick: 9th = Soma Pavamana; Brahmaveda = Atharvaveda.