Given below are two statements, one is labeled as Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R) : Assertion (A) : We have much more information about Cholas than their predecessors. Reason (R) : The Chola rulers adopted the Practice of having inscriptions written on the walls of temples giving a historical narrative of their victories. Select the correct answer from the codes given below.

Both statements are true, and the reason explains the assertion. The Cholas left far more epigraphic material than their predecessors such as the Pallavas, largely because they carved long royal records on temple walls. These records, known as prashastis, narrate campaigns, conquests and gifts in detail, so historians can reconstruct Chola political history with unusual precision.

Look at the options one by one:

• Option A is correct: the assertion is true, and the reason explains why the information survives.
• Option B is wrong because the reason is not just true but directly causes the richer record.
• Option C is wrong because the reason is accurate. Rajaraja I's Thanjavur inscription and Rajendra I's Tiruvalangadu records are standard examples.
• Option D is wrong because the assertion is a fair statement of historiography, not a false one.

The core concept is epigraphy as a source for early medieval South India. For Mains, it links to how Chola temples functioned as political and economic institutions, as seen in the Uttaramerur local self-government evidence.

Trap: candidates often mark B because they think the reason is true but irrelevant. The question asks whether the reason explains the assertion, and here it does.