Question

Indian books and manuscripts were written on perishable material such as
A. Cloth
B. Palm leaves
C. The bark of birch trees
D. All of these

Answer 1

Hint: Books and manuscripts have always played an influential role in determining the history and other important data related to a place or person or thing. Therefore literary devices have always been one of the major sources of information for historians. The ancient texts and literature are still preserved till this date.

Complete answer: Writing text books and literature has been an ancient culture in India and various types of books and literature were written since ancient times in India. But the technology to make paper was introduced in India in the eleventh century and therefore before that different materials were used for writing books and manuscripts. But these materials were perishable in nature and therefore could not stand the test of time and could not be preserved for a longer period of time. These perishable materials on which Indian text books and literature were written include palm leaves cloth and bark of birch and other trees. As stated earlier one of the biggest disadvantages of using these perishable materials for writing work was that the harsh and changing climate of India was not suitable for the survival of these works.

Thus, the correct answer is option D.

Note: Before the introduction of paper different mediums were used for writing and therefore all the writings of ancient times cannot be recovered or preserved. There have been many text and literary sources that could not survive the wear and tear and got perished very early.