GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

Detailed explanation-1: -Majma-ul-Bahrain (Persian: , “The Confluence of the Two Seas” or “The Mingling of the Two Oceans") is a book on comparative religion authored by Mughal Shahzada Dara Shukoh as a short treatise in Persian, c. 1655.

Detailed explanation-2: -Dara was a liberal-minded unorthodox Muslim as opposed to the orthodox Aurangzeb; he authored the work The Confluence of the Two Seas, which argues for the harmony of Sufi philosophy in Islam and Vedanta philosophy in Hinduism.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Sirr-i-Akbar (Persian: , “The Greatest Mystery” or “The Greatest Secret”) is a version of the Upanishads authored by the Mughal-Shahzada Dara Shukoh, translated from Sanskrit into Persian, c. 1657.

Detailed explanation-4: -Dara Shikoh (also spelt as Dara Shukoh) was the son of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and brother of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. He is an important part of Indian Medieval History and should be known to IAS Exam aspirants. On the day of 20th March 1615, Dara Shikoh was born.

Detailed explanation-5: -In the early Byzantine times, Dara was an important fortress, located in northern Mesopotamia, near the border with the Persian Sassanid Empire. Because of this strategic location, in the 6th century AD Dara witnessed many military conflicts, of which the most important was the famous Battle of Dara, fought in 530 AD.