Consider the following statements : 1. There are no parables in Upanishads. 2. Upanishads were composed earlier than the Puranas. Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only ✓ UPSC's answer
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Why the answer is (b)
• Statement 1 is wrong: the Upanishads teach through parables and dialogues — Satyakama Jabala, Nachiketa and Yama in the Katha Upanishad, Uddalaka's lesson to Shvetaketu with the banyan seed and salt in water in the Chhandogya Upanishad.
• Statement 2 is correct: the principal Upanishads belong to the late Vedic period (c. 800–500 BCE), whereas the Puranas were compiled mainly between the 3rd and 10th centuries CE, in the Gupta and post-Gupta periods.
• The Upanishads form the Vedanta, the closing part of Vedic literature; the Puranas are later Smriti texts.
• Hence 2 only, option (b).
Why the other options are wrong
- (a) 1 only
- Statement 1 is wrong: the Upanishads contain many parables.
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- Statement 1 is wrong, so both cannot be correct.
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
- Statement 2 is correct: the Upanishads predate the Puranas.
Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2024, held on 16 June 2024. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.