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Q73 (CDS-II/2020) History & Culture › Medieval India › Medieval intellectual culture Answer Verified

Al-Birunì's Kitab-ul-Hind was written in which language?

Result
Your answer: —  ·  Correct: A
Explanation

Al-Biruni's Kitab-ul-Hind, also known as Tarikh-Al-Hind or Indica, was originally written in Arabic [2]. Born in 973 in Khwarizm, Al-Biruni was a polymath well-versed in several languages, including Syriac, Persian, Hebrew, and Sanskrit [2]. Despite his Persian heritage, he chose Arabic for his scholarly works as it was the primary language of science and learning in the Islamic world during that era [5]. The book provides a comprehensive and objective account of Indian philosophy, religion, and culture, based on his first-hand observations and study of Sanskrit texts during his time in India with Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni [4]. While the work was later translated into Persian, Latin, and English, the original manuscript was composed in Arabic to facilitate intellectual exchange across the broader Islamic civilization [2].

Sources

  1. [1] History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 10: Advent of Arabs and Turks > Sources for the Study of Delhi Sultanate > p. 136
  2. [2] THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 5: Through the Eyes of Travellers > 1.1 From Khwarizm to the Punjab > p. 116
  3. [5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India_(Al-Biruni)
  4. [4] Themes in world history, History Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 5: Changing Cultural Traditions > Science and Philosophy: The Arabs' Contribution > p. 111
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