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Kings, Farmers and Towns (Early States and Economies...

Ancient Indian History: Early States (Mahajanapadas), Mauryan Empire, Inscriptions, and Economic Systems

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Questions

Question 1 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

a. Epigraphy is the study of texts.
b. James Prinsep deciphered Brahmi and Kharosthi scripts.
c. Indian scholars used rigveda to reconstruct the lineages of major dynasties that had ruled the subcontinent.

  1. a, b and c
  2. only a and b
  3. only b and c
  4. a and c
  5. only b
Question 2 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

Rajagaha was the capital city to which important Mahajanapada?

  1. Gandhara
  2. Kamboja
  3. Avanti
  4. Panchala
  5. Magadha
Question 3 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

Who was this king referred to as Piyadassi in ancient texts?

  1. Bimbisara
  2. Ajatashttu
  3. Mahapadma Nanda
  4. Chandragupta Maurya
  5. Ashoka
Question 4 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

a. Inscriptions are virtually permanent records, some of which carry dates or are dated on the basis of palaeography or styles of writing.
b. The earliest inscriptions found are in Pali.
b. Pali was the language used by the ordinary people.

  1. only a
  2. only b
  3. only c
  4. only a and c
  5. a, b and c
Question 5 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

a. Dharmasutras laid out the social categores in text for the first time.
b. Dharmasutras advised rulers to collect taxes and tribute from cultivators, traders and artisans.
c. Sending raids on neighbouring states were recognised as a legitimate means of acquiring wealth by the Dharmasutras.

  1. only a
  2. only b
  3. only c
  4. only b and c
  5. a, b and c
Question 6 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

The Prayaga Prashasti, also known as the Allahabad Pillar Inscription, composed in Sanskrit by Harishena has been dedicated to which of the following rulers?

  1. Ashoka
  2. Chandragupta Maurya
  3. Pandya chief Senguttuvan
  4. Samudragupta
  5. Shaka ruler Rudradaman
Question 7 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

There were five major political centres in the Mauryan empire. Which of the following was not one of the powerful provincial political centres of the Mauryan Empire?

  1. Taxila
  2. Ujjayani
  3. Tosali
  4. Rajagaha
  5. Suvarnagiri
Question 8 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

The Sudarshana lake in Gujarat, an artificial reservoir, was built by the

  1. local governer during the rule of the Mauryas
  2. local chief during the rule of the Shakas
  3. Gupta rulers
  4. Pandya chief Senguttuvan
  5. local governor during the rule of Satvahanas
Question 9 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

Seventh century poet, Banabhatta, composed which of the following in Sanskrit language?

  1. Pragya Prashasti
  2. Manusamriti
  3. Jatakas
  4. Harshacharita
  5. Silappadikaram
Question 10 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

Which of the following do votive inscriptions record?

  1. Land grants to Brahamanas
  2. Legal rules for the rulers
  3. Gifts made to religious institutions
  4. Details of administration and military organisation
  5. Basic rules of life
Question 11 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

a. From sixth century BCE, merchants could become enormously rich through trade that included areas across the Mediterranean.
b. These were designated as Masattuvan in Tamil and Setthis and Satthavahas in Prakrit.
c. The goods included salt, grain, cloth, metal ores and finished products, stone, timber, medicinal plants and spices.

  1. only a
  2. only b
  3. only c
  4. only a and c
  5. a, b and c
Question 12 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

a. The Buddhist and Jaina texts mention six states known as Mahajanapadas.
b. All the Mahajanapadas were oligarchies, where power was shared by a number of men, often collectively called rajas.
c. Both Mahavira and the Buddha belonged to ganas.

  1. only a
  2. only b
  3. only c
  4. only a and b
  5. a, b and c
Question 13 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

Match the following columns:

 
Site of Ashokan Inscriptions Form of Inscriptions
a. Kandhar 1. Pillar inscriptions
b. Sanchi 2. Major rock edicts
c. Brahmagiri 3. Minor rock edicts
  1. a - 1, b - 2, c - 3
  2. a - 2, b - 1, c - 3
  3. a - 3, b - 2, c - 1
  4. a - 1, b - 3, c - 2
  5. a - 2, b - 3, c - 1
Question 14 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

a. Many inscriptions that have been found do not call King Ashoka by his name.
b. These inscriptions call him pativedaka or "beloved of the gods".
c. Ashokan inscriptions that interpret his anguish over war on Kalinga as well as marking a change in his attitude towards warfare have been found in Orissa.

  1. only a
  2. only b
  3. only c
  4. only b and c
  5. a, b and c
Question 15 Multiple Choice (Single Answer)

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

a. Ashoka claimed in his inscriptions that the earlier rulers had no arrangements to receive reports about their people.
b. Epigraphists have concluded that everybody throughout the subcontinent understood the Prakrit used in Pataliputra.
c. From mid-twentieth century onwards, issues such as economic change and the ways in which different social groups emerged have assumed more importance for the historians.

  1. only a
  2. only b
  3. only c
  4. Both a and c
  5. a, b and c
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