Gujarati Literature · UPSC Civil Services

About this optional

Gujarati Literature is one of the optional subjects of the UPSC Civil Services (Main) Examination: the notice offers the literature of any one of a list of languages as an optional subject, and Gujarati is one of them. A candidate chooses one optional subject from the Commission's list, and it is examined in two papers: Paper VI (Optional Subject Paper 1) and Paper VII (Optional Subject Paper 2) of the Main Examination. Both papers are counted for merit. See UPSC Mains: Optional Subject (two papers) for the full list of optional subjects.

Paper	Subject paper	Marks	Duration
Paper VI	Gujarati Literature Paper I	250	3 hours
Paper VII	Gujarati Literature Paper II	250	3 hours

Questions are of the conventional (essay) type.
The two papers carry 500 of the 1,750 marks of the written part; the written marks and the Personality Test (275 marks) together decide the final ranking.
The scope of the optional papers is broadly of the honours degree level: higher than the bachelor's degree and lower than the master's degree.
Language of answers: the syllabus says, for both papers, that answers must be written in Gujarati. The notice adds, for every literature optional, that a candidate may be required to answer some or all of the questions in the language concerned, and that questions not required to be answered in a specific language are answered in the medium the candidate has chosen for the Essay, General Studies and optional papers.
Script: the notice prescribes the Gujarati script for Gujarati.
The rule that question papers are set in Hindi and English only does not apply to the literature papers.

Paper I

The official syllabus of Gujarati Literature Paper I, as printed in the notice (the Commission's own wording, spelling and numbering).

(Answers must be written in Gujarati)

Section A

Gujarati Language: Form and History

(1) History of Gujarati Language with special reference to New Indo-Aryan i.e. last one thousand years.
(2) Significant features of the Gujarati language: phonology, morphology and syntax.
(3) Major dialects: Surti, pattani, charotari and Saurashtri.

History of Gujarati literature

Medieval:

4. Jaina tradition
5. Bhakti tradition: Sagun and Nirgun (Jnanmargi)
6. Non-sectarian tradition (Laukik parampara)

Modern:

7. Sudharak yug
8. Pandit yug
9. Gandhi yug
10. Anu-Gandhi yug
11. Adhunik yug

Section B

Literary Forms: (Salient features, history and development of the following literary forms:)

(a) Medieval

1. Narratives: Rasa, Akhyan and Padyavarta
2. Lyrical: Pada

(b) Folk

3. Bhavai

4. Fiction: Novel and Short Story
5. Drama
6. Literary Essay
7. Lyrical Poetry

(d) Criticism

8. History of theoretical Gujarati criticism
9. Recent research in folk tradition.

Paper II

The official syllabus of Gujarati Literature Paper II, as printed in the notice (the Commission's own wording, spelling and numbering).

(Answers must be written in Gujarati)

The paper will require first-hand reading of the texts prescribed and will be designed to test the critical ability of the candidate.

Section A

1. Medieval

(i) Vasantvilas phagu—AJNATKRUT
(ii) Kadambari—BHALAN
(iii) Sudamacharitra—PREMANAND
(iv) Chandrachandravatini varta—SHAMAL
(v) Akhegeeta—AKHO

2. Sudharakyug & Pandityug

(vi) Mari Hakikat—NARMADASHA
(vii) Farbasveerah—DALPATRAM
(viii) Saraswatichandra-Part 1—GOVARDHANRAM TRIPATHI
(ix) Purvalap—‘KANT’ (MANISHANKAR RATNAJI BHATT)
(x) Raino Parvat—RAMANBHAI NEELKANTH

Section B

1. Gandhiyug & Anu Gandhiyug

(i) Hind Swaraj—MOHANDAS KARAMCHAND GANDHI
(ii) Patanni Prabhuta—KANHAIYALAL MUNSHI
(iii) Kavyani Shakti—RAMNARAYAN VISHWANATH PATHAK
(iv) Saurashtrani Rasdhar-Part 1—ZAVERCHAND MEGHANI
(v) Manvini Bhavai—PANNALAL PATEL
(vi) Dhvani—RAJENDRA SHAH

2. Adhunik yug

(vii) Saptapadi—UMASHANKAR JOSHI
(viii) Janantike—SURESH JOSHI
(ix) Ashwatthama—SITANSHU YASHASCHANDRA.

Overlaps with General Studies

General Studies I: Indian culture (literature, and folk theatre such as Bhavai) and the Bhakti tradition; modern Indian history, where the reform era (Sudharak yug) and the Gandhian era of Gujarati literature run alongside the social reform movements and the freedom struggle.
General Studies IV: Gandhi's Hind Swaraj, a prescribed text, is a primary source for the ideas of one of the Indian moral thinkers the ethics paper asks about.
Prelims General Studies Paper I: history of India and the Indian National Movement.
Essay: Gandhian ideas and examples from Gujarati literature for essays on society, self-rule and values.

Source: UPSC Examination Notice No. 05/2026-CSE, 4 February 2026 (Civil Services Examination, 2026), Appendix I, Section III, Part B, PDF. Last checked 11 November 2026.