Consider the following statements: 1. There are no parables in Upanishads. 2. Upanishads were composed earlier than the Puranas. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Answer: B. Only Statement 2 is correct. Statement 1 is WRONG. The Upanishads DO contain parables and dialogues. Famous examples include the Yajnavalkya-Maitreyi dialogue (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad), the Nachiketa-Yama dialogue (Katha Upanishad), and the Svetaketu-Uddalaka teaching with the salt-water parable (Chandogya Upanishad). Parable storytelling is a hallmark of Upanishadic style. Statement 2 is CORRECT. Upanishads were composed approximately 800-300 BCE (late Vedic period). The Puranas were composed later, with their major redaction occurring c. 300-1000 CE. So Upanishads precede Puranas chronologically by roughly a millennium. Source: NCERT Class 11 Themes in World History + NCERT Class 12 Themes in Indian History Part I (Ch 4).