After a 15 percent discount, the selling price of a shirt is Rs 119. What was the marked price of the shirt before any discount was applied?

Introduction / Context:
This problem checks understanding of how to reverse a percentage discount to recover the original marked price. Questions of this type appear frequently in profit and loss as well as percentage sections of aptitude exams. The key idea is to recognize that the discounted selling price represents a certain percentage of the original marked price.

Given Data / Assumptions:
Selling price after discount = Rs 119. Discount rate = 15 percent. Marked price is unknown and needs to be found. No additional taxes, transport, or extra charges are considered.

Concept / Approach:
A discount of 15 percent means the customer pays 85 percent of the marked price. In mathematical terms, selling price = marked price * 85/100. To find the marked price we divide the selling price by 0.85. This reverse percentage process is a standard technique for such questions.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Let the marked price be M. Selling price with 15 percent discount = M * (1 - 15/100) = M * 0.85. We are told that M * 0.85 = 119. Therefore M = 119 / 0.85. Compute 119 / 0.85 = 140. So the marked price before discount was Rs 140.

Verification / Alternative check:
We can verify by applying 15 percent discount on Rs 140. Discount amount = 15 percent of 140 = 15/100 * 140 = 21. Selling price = 140 minus 21 = 119. Since this matches the given selling price, our reverse calculation is correct and consistent.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
If the marked price were Rs 129, 15 percent discount would give 109.65, not 119. For Rs 150, 15 percent discount produces 127.5. For Rs 160, it gives 136. None of these equal 119. The option Rs 136 would lead to a discounted price of 115.6. Only Rs 140 produces exactly Rs 119 when a 15 percent discount is applied.

Common Pitfalls:
Learners often subtract 15 from 119 or compute 119 plus 15 percent of 119, which is incorrect because the discount is applied to the marked price, not to the selling price. Another mistake is to add 15 rupees instead of 15 percent. Always convert the percentage to a multiplier and work with the relationship between marked price and selling price carefully.

Final Answer:
The marked price of the shirt before the 15 percent discount was Rs 140.