Hindi Literature Optional Syllabus for UPSC Mains

The Hindi Literature optional syllabus for the UPSC Civil Services Main Examination has two papers, Paper VI and Paper VII of the mains, each worth 250 marks, and both are printed in full below as the CSE 2026 notice gives them. Paper I covers the history of the Hindi language and of Hindi literature (Hindi Sahitya); Paper II is a list of prescribed texts. Hindi Literature is one of the optional subjects: the notice lets you choose, as your one optional, the literature of any one of 23 languages, and Hindi is one of them. Both papers count towards your final rank along with the Essay and the four General Studies papers.

Two rules matter from the start. Both Hindi papers are headed "(Answers must be written in Hindi)", and the notice's table of scripts gives Devanagari as the script for Hindi. As for level, the notice says the optional syllabi are "broadly of the honours degree level", above a bachelor's degree and below a master's. Below are both papers as the notice prints them, a summary of how they are arranged, and some points to help you decide.

How the syllabus is organised

Each paper has two sections, A and B.

• Paper I. Section A is the history of the Hindi language and the Nagari script (Nagari Lipi), in eleven points: from Apbhransh, Awahatta and Arambhik Hindi, through Braj, Awadhi and Khari-boli, to the standardisation of Hindi and Nagari, the development of Hindi as a national language, the dialects of Hindi and the grammar of standard Hindi. Section B is the history of Hindi literature: the literary trends of four periods (Adikal, Bhaktikal, Ritikal and Adhunik Kal) with their prominent poets and writers, followed by Katha Sahitya (the novel and the short story), drama and theatre, criticism, and other prose forms such as Lalit Nibandh, Rekhachitra, Sansmaran and Yatra-vrittant.
• Paper II. In the notice's words, it "will require first-hand reading of the prescribed texts and will test the critical ability of the candidates". Section A prescribes works by twelve poets, from Kabir, Soordas, Tulsidas and Jayasi to Prasad's Kamayani, Nirala, Dinkar, Agyeya, Muktibodh and Nagarjun. Section B has ten more entries, from Bharatendu's Bharat Durdasha and Mohan Rakesh's Ashadh Ka Ek Din to Premchand's Godan, Renu's Maila Anchal and Mannu Bhandari's Mahabhoj. For many texts the syllabus names the editor or the exact part to be read.

The official syllabus

Here are both papers as the CSE 2026 notice prints them.

Here are both papers of every year from UPSC's own website. Read them alongside the syllabus above.

Who this optional suits

Only you can weigh your interests, your background and the time you have. These pointers may help you think it through.

• Your reading. If you studied Hindi literature at college, or have read widely in Hindi, much of Paper I's literary history and many of the Paper II texts will be familiar.
• Writing in Hindi. Both papers must be answered in Hindi. If you plan to write your other papers in English, practise long answers in Hindi too, because these two papers carry 500 of your marks.
• The texts themselves. Paper II asks for first-hand reading, so plan time to read each prescribed text, in the part the syllabus names, rather than relying on summaries.
• Read history and texts together. Many writers prescribed in Paper II, such as Kabir, Tulsidas, Prasad, Nirala, Premchand and Mohan Rakesh, also appear by name in Paper I's literary history, so study each writer for both papers at once.
• Past papers. UPSC's Previous Question Papers page lists Hindi Literature Paper I and Paper II for the 2026 main examination and for earlier years. Reading them alongside the syllabus shows how its lines become questions. See UPSC previous year papers.
• Not the language paper. The Hindi Literature optional is separate from the compulsory Indian language paper, which is a qualifying paper whose marks are not counted for your rank. See compulsory language papers.

To compare Hindi Literature with every other subject you could choose, see the full list of UPSC optional subjects and our note on how to choose an optional. For where the optional sits among the nine papers, see the UPSC Mains syllabus, and for writing the exam in Hindi, see medium of the exam.

This page follows the CSE 2026 notice. UPSC's calendar lists the CSE 2027 notification for 13 January 2027 (see the UPSC calendar). When it is out, check its syllabus against this page before you plan your year.