Ancient and Medieval Indian Rulers

Dronacharya asked his disciples to defeat and capture King Drupada of Panchala as his Gurudakshina to settle an old grudge. Arjuna successfully defeated and captured Drupada.

To make Karna eligible to challenge Arjuna in the tournament of skills, Duryodhana crowned him the King of Anga. Panchala, Hastinapura, and Ashtanga are incorrect provinces.

In the Mahabharata, Bhishma was the son of King Shantanu and the river goddess Ganga, which is why he is also known as Gangaputra. Yamuna, Gandhari, and Satyavati are incorrect.

This is the correct answer. Chandragupta Maurya founded the Mauryan Empire in 321 BCE, which extended control as far as northwest Afghanistan and Baluchistan.

This is the correct answer. Colossal statues of Kushana rulers have been found installed in a shrine near Mathura (Uttar Pradesh). Similar statues have been found in a shrine in Afghanistan as well. Some historians feel this indicates that the Kushanas considered themselves godlike. Many Kushana rulers also adopted the title devaputra or “son of god”.

This is the correct answer as this statement is correct.

This is the correct answer. Initially, Rajagaha was the capital of Magadha. Later, in the fourth century, the capital was shifted to Patliputra.

This is the correct answer. James Prinsep found that most of the inscriptions on coins mentioned a king referred to as Piyadassi – meaning “pleasant to behold”; there were a few inscriptions which also referred to the king as Asoka, one of the most famous rulers known from the Buddhist texts.

This is the correct answer. The Prayaga Prashasti, also known as the Allahabad Pillar Inscription, composed in Sanskrit by Harishena, the court poet of Samudragupta, has been dedicated to the praises of Samudragupta.

This is the correct answer as Rajagaha was the capital of Magadha in the sixth and fifth centuries. But later in fourth century, Patiliputra became the capital and Rajagaha was not one of the other four provincial political capitals of the Mauryan Empire.

This statement is correct. 

This is the correct answer as this statement is correct.

Kanishka, the Kushan ruler (127-150 CE), founded the Saka era which began in 78 CE. The Indian national calendar follows the Saka era. While the era is called Salivahana Saka, Kanishka is historically credited with its introduction. Option B Salivahana is likely the name of the era, not the ruler who introduced it.

The Nayakas in the Vijayanagara Empire were military chiefs granted control over specific territories (nadus) to administer and protect. They maintained military contingents, collected revenue, and owed allegiance to the central authority. They were not central ministers, cavalry soldiers, or priests - they were regional military administrators.

Hyder Ali, the ruler of Mysore (1761-1782), introduced sericulture (silk farming) as an agro-industry in his kingdom. He wanted to reduce dependence on Chinese silk imports. Tipu Sultan continued his father's policies. Krishnadevaraya and Rajaraja II were earlier rulers from different dynasties.