Question

What are manuscripts?
(A) These are handwritten records of the past and are in the form of books
(B) These are written records engraved on the stones
(C) These are written records engraved on the walls of caves
(D) These are written records engraved on the pillars

Answer 1

Hint: We can find several things about the past and learn from them, we can get to know how human civilization evolved, what clothes were worn by people at that time, how the food was obtained, where people lived, etc. There are many ways of finding out about the past. One is to search for and read things that were written long ago. These things dealt with all kinds of subjects like medicine and science, religious beliefs and practices, the lives of kings, etc.

Complete step-by-step solution:
In the early ages, things were written by hand, or on the specially prepared bark of a tree known as the birch, or on palm leaf. These are called manuscripts. Many of these manuscripts have survived, often being preserved in temples and monasteries while others were eaten away by insects, and some were destroyed. These manuscripts dealt with many things ranging from medicine and science to religious beliefs and practices. Besides, there were plays, epics, poems. Most of these were written in Sanskrit, others were written in Prakrit, which was the language used by ordinary people, and Tamil.
Manuscripts are, thus, handwritten records of the past and are in the form of books.

Thus, option (A) is correct.

Note: Inscriptions are writings written on hard surfaces like metal or stone. Inscriptions of the orders of the king were made for people to see, read, and obey the orders of the king. Other kinds of inscriptions are also there as well, where men and women, including kings and queens, recorded what they did. For example, kings often kept the records of their victories on battlefields.