Historical Context (2015): At the time this question was originally asked, Odia was the latest language to be granted Classical status (notified in February 2014). It was the 6th language to receive this honor.

Criteria: To be eligible, a language must have a recorded history of 1500–2000 years, a body of ancient literature, and an original literary tradition not borrowed from another speech community.

Timeline of Classical Languages:

2004: Tamil

2005: Sanskrit

2008: Telugu & Kannada

2013: Malayalam

2014: Odia

Note for the Current Exam Cycle (2025-26): While Odia was the correct answer for the 2015 paper, the list was significantly expanded in October 2024. If this question were asked today, Assamese (along with Marathi, Bengali, Pali, and Prakrit) would be the correct answer as the most recent additions to the list.