Books and Authors question: Consider the pair Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300 and Ashoka and the Decline of the Mauryas. Which author is associated with both works?

The verified answer to “Books and Authors question: Consider the pair Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300 and Ashoka and the Decline of the Mauryas. The source-backed, question-specific record explains: Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300 is correctly associated with Romila Thapar. The work’s first publication is conventionally dated to 2002, and its original language is English. These three details—title, author, and language—form the decisive bibliographical combination required here. Romila Thapar, a major Indian literary figure, is also associated with Ashoka and the Decline of the Mauryas; that companion title helps confirm the authorship independently rather than through guesswork. Sharma; Abu’l-Fazl ibn Mubarak; Mahadevi Varma) must therefore be tested as complete statements: one true fragment cannot make an entire option correct. A candidate should first lock the title to its writer, then check the language, and finally use 2002 as a chronological cross-check. A common examination trap is to confuse an author’s nationality with the language of composition, or a translation date with first publication. Revision takeaway: remember the compact chain “Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300 — Romila Thapar — English — 2002,” and connect it with Ashoka and the Decline of the Mauryas for stronger recall. This evidence establishes the bibliographic relationship required in this Books and Authors item. A correct solution must preserve the exact title, author, publication context, language, award or comparison requested by the stem. Similar periods, genres or national traditions do not make two book–author pairs interchangeable. Option A gives Romila Thapar and satisfies the wording of the question. Sharma, Abu’l-Fazl ibn Mubarak and Mahadevi Varma—do not satisfy the complete requirement.