With reference to the scientific progress of ancient India, which of the statements given below are correct?

1. Different kinds of specialised surgical instruments were in common use by the 1^st century AD.
2. Transplant of internal organs in the human body had begun by the beginning of 3^rd century AD.
3. The concept of sine of an angle was known in 5^th century AD.
4. The concept of cyclic quadrilaterals was known in the 7^th century AD.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 3 and 4 only
3. 1, 3 and 4 only
4. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct

• The Sushruta Samhita, composed around 600 BCE and later revised in the early centuries AD, describes over 120 specialized surgical instruments and about 300 surgical procedures, indicating that these medical practices were already in use by the 1st century AD.

Statement 2 is incorrect

• Although ancient texts describe advanced procedures such as rhinoplasty, there is no historical evidence that internal organ transplants were practiced by the 3rd century AD in the modern medical sense.

Statements 3 and 4 are correct

• In mathematics, the 5th-century text Aryabhatiya by Aryabhata introduced the concept of the sine (jya) of an angle. Later, the 7th-century mathematician Brahmagupta, in his work Brahmasphutasiddhanta, formulated the rule for calculating the area of a cyclic quadrilateral and explained its properties.

Answer: (c) 1, 3 and 4 only; Difficulty Level: Hard