Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follows:

Samudragupta In praise of Samudragupta

 This is an excerpt from the Prayaga Prashasti:

 He was without an antagonist on earth; he, by the overflowing of the multitude of (his)  many good qualities adorned by hundreds of good actions, has wiped off the fame of other kings with the soles of (his)  feet; (he is)  Purusha (the Supreme Being) , being the cause of the prosperity of the good and the destruction of the bad (he is)  incomprehensible; (he is)  one whose tender heart can be captured only by devotion and humility; (he is)  possessed of  compassion; (he is)  the giver of many hundred thousands of cows; (his)  mind has received ceremonial initiation for the uplift of the miserable, the poor, the forlorn and the suffering; (he is)  resplendent and embodied kindness to mankind; (he is)  equal to (the gods)  Kubera (the god of wealth) , Varuna (the god of the ocean) , Indra (the god of rains)  and Yama (the god of death) ….

 (14.1) Who wrote the above Prashasti? State the importance of Prashasti.

 (14.2) Mention any three qualities of the ruler described in the excerpt.

 (14.3) How far are these values, shown by the rulers, relevant in the contemporary society? Explain.

OR

Why kinfolk quarreled

This is an excerpt from the Adi Parvan (literally, the First section) of the Sanskrit Mahabharata, describing why conflicts arose amongst the Kauravas and Pandavas:

The Kauravas were the.... of Dhritarashtra, and the Pandavas ... were their cousins. Since Dhritarashtra was blind, his younger brother Pandu ascended the throne of Hastinapura ... However, after the premature death of Pandu, Dhritarashtra became king, as the royal princes were still very young.  As the princes grew up together' the citizens of Hastinapura began to express-their preference for the Pandavas, for they were more capable and virtuous than the Kauravas. This made Duryodhana, the eldest of the Kauravas, jealous. He approached his father and said; 'You yourself did not receive the throne, although it fell to you, because of-your defect.  If the Pandava receives the patrimony from Pandu, his son will surely inherit it in turn, and so will his son, and his. We ourselves with our sons shall be excluded from the royal succession and become of slight regard in the eyes of the world, lord of the earth!

 (14.1)  Explain about the worries of Duryodhana that he expressed to his father.

 (14.2)  Mention the criteria for becoming king as suggested in the excerpt.

 (14.3)  Why did the citizens of Hastinapura express their preference for the Pandavas?