ANCIENT INDIA : QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS
Part 2
51. Who among the following used to hold a religious assembly at Prayag every five year?
(a) Ashoka
(b) Harshvardhana
(c) Kanishka
(d) Chandragupta Vikramaditya
Ans: (b)
52. Gautam Buddha as a prince was known as
(a) Gautam
(b) Siddhartha
(c) Rahul
(d) Suddhodhana
Ans: (b)
53. The Jatakas are a collection of stories
(a) Meant for children
(b) Based on pet Hindu myths
(c) About Jains saints
(d) Pertaining to several different earlier births of the Buddha
Ans: (d)
54. Architectural developments In India manifested themselves In their full glory during
the period of the
(a) Guptas
(b) Nandas
(c) Mauryas
(d) Cholas
Ans: (a)
55. The deep transforming effect that the Kalinga War had on Ashoka has been described
in
(a) Archaeological excavations
(b) Rock edicts
(c) Coins
(d) Pillar edicts
Ans: (b)
56. The proud title of 'Vikramaditya' had been assumed by
(a) Harsha
(b) Chandragupta II
(c) Kanishka
(d) Samudragupta
Ans: (b)
57. In which region was the first metallic coin used In India?
(a) The Indo-Gangetic plain of central India
(b) The Himalayas
(c) Bihar and Eastern Uttar Pradesh
(d) The Deccan Plateau
Ans: (a)
58. Which of the following was the first metal to be discovered and used as tools by
humans?
(a) Iron
(b) Gold
(c) Tin
(d) Copper
Ans: (d)
59. The philosophy propounded in the Upanishads is known as
(a) Advaita
(b) Vedanta
(c) Yoga
(d) Samkhya
Ans: (b)
60. After the growth of the Vedic religion the most important development in the history of
the so-called Hinduism was the development of
(a) Shaivism
(b) Saktism
(c) Bhagavatism
(d) Tantricism
Ans: (c)
61. Bhagavatiam refers to worship of
(a) Vasudeva Krishna
(b) Brahma
(c) Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva
(d) Durga as Shakti
Ans: (a)
62. Vaishnavism, a later development of Bhagavatism, advocates the worship of
(a) Vishnu
(b) Ram and Krishna
(c) Vishnu and his incarnations
(d) Vishnu and Lakshmi
Ans: (c)
63. The Hindu social sacraments such as marriage etc. are performed on the basis of the
rituals described in the
(a) Rigveda
(b) Yajurveda
(c) Grihyasutras
(d) Upanishad
Ans: (c)
64. The founder of Jainism was
(a) Rishbha
(b) Neminath
(c) Parsvanatha
(d) Vardhaman Mahavira
Ans: (c)
65. Vardhamana Mahavira the 24
th Tirthankar of Jainism was born at ____ and died at
____.
(a) Vaishali and Rajagriha
(b) Kusinara and Pava
(c) Kundagrama and Pava
(d) Kashi and Champa
Ans: (c)
66. The 'Three Jewels' (Triratnas) of Jainism are
(a) right faith or intentions, right knowledge and right conduct
(b) right action, right livelihood and right effort
(c) right thoughts, non-violence and non-attachment
(d) right speech, right thinking and right behaviour
Ans: (a)
67. Of the five vows (Panch Anuvratas) of Jainism, four existed before Mahavira. The one
which he added was
(a) not to kill (non-injury)
(b) not to steal
(c) non-attachment to worldly things
(d) celibacy
Ans: (d)
68. In Jainism the aim of life is to attain Nirvana or Moksha for which one has to
(a) follow three jewels and five vows
(b) practice, non-violence and non-injury to all living beings
(c) renounce the world and attain right knowledge
(d) believe in the Jains and absolute non-violence
Ans: (a)
69. Jainism was divided into two sects - Swetambaras (White-clad) and Digambaras (Skyclad or naked) - During the reign of the
(a) Nandas
(b) Mauryas
(c) Kusanas
(d) Shungas
Ans: (b)
70. The name Buddha means
(a) enlightened
(b) learned
(c) divine
(d) sacred
Ans: (a)
71. Match the events of the Buddha's life with the place a of their occurrence:
List-1 List-2
A. Birth (i) Kusinagar
B. Attainment of knowledge (ii) Sarnath
C. First Sermon (iii) Bodh-Gaya
D. Death (iv) Lumbini
Codes:
A B C D
(a) i ii iii iv
(b) ii i iv iii
(c) iii ii i iv
(d) iv iii ii i
Ans: (d)
72. Buddhism was divided into Mahayana and Hinayana during the reign of
(a) Asoka
(b) Kanishka
(c) Menander
(d) Harsha
Ans: (b)
73. The great exponent of Mahayana Buddhism was
(a) Ashvaghosa
(b) Vasubandhu
(c) Nagarjuna
(d) Nagasena
Ans: (c)
74. Jatakas are the stories of
(a) Buddha's life
(b) Buddha's previous lives
(c) The lives of the future Buddhas
(d) Great saints of Buddhism
Ans: (b)
75. Outside India, Buddhism was first accepted in
(a) China
(b) Japan
(c) Sri Lanka
(d) Tibet
Ans: (c)
76. In the sixth century BC northern India was divided into
(a) sixteen great states
(b) eight republican states
(c) both (a) and (b) above
(d) Anga and Magadha
Ans: (c)
77. Of all the states in northern India in 6th century BC which of the following states
emerged as the most powerful?
(a) Anga
(b) Magadha
(c) Kashi
(d) Kosala
Ans: (b)
78. When Alexander invaded India, Magadha was being ruled by the
(a) Haryankas
(b) Sisunagas
(c) Nandas
(d) Mauryas
Ans: (c)
79. Chandragupta Maurya with the help of Chanakya decided to overthrow the Nandas
because
(a) Chanakya had been humiliated by the Nandas
(b) the Nandas were low-born
(c) the Nandas had accumulated a great deal of wealth by extortion and oppression of the
people
(d) Chanakya wanted to restore the ideal of Kshatriya rule
Ans: (c)
80. The decline of the Nandas at the hands of Kautilya and Chandragupta Maurya has
been vividly portrayed in the Sanakrit play written by Kalidasa
(a) Mudrarakshas
(b) Devichandragupta
(c) Malavikagnimitram
(d) Mrichhakatika
Ans: (c)
81. Kautilya (also known as Vishnugupta and Chanakya) is the author of Arthasastra
which has been compared with
(a) Plato's State
(b) Machiavelli's Prince
(c) Karl Marx's Das Kapital
(d) Hitler's Mein Kampf
Ans: (b)
82. Megasthanes, the ambassador of Selucus at the Mauryan court in Pataliputra, wrote
an account of the period in his book
(a) Travels of Megasthanes
(b) Indika
(c) Indicoplecusts
(d) Both (b) and (c)
Ans: (b)
83. Which of the following is the single most important source of the history of Ashoka?
(a) Sri Lankan chronicles Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa
(b) Buddhist works Divyavadana and Ashokavadana
(c) Inscriptions of Ashoka
(d) Archaeological Sources and the Puranas
Ans: (c)
84. After the Kalinga War, Ashoka decided never to wage any war because?
(a) After the conquest of Kalinga the political unity of Mauryan India had been achieved
(b) Ashoka felt apologetic about the destruction of men and material on both sides in the
war
(c) He was moved by the violence, slaughter and sufferings to the combatants and noncombatants in the war
(d) Shortly after the war he adopted Buddhism which was opposed to violence
Ans: (c)
85. In his inscriptions Ashoka called himself
(a) Devanampriya Priyadarshi King
(b) Ashoka Priyadarshi
(c) Dhammasoka (Dharmasoka)
(d) Daivaputra
Ans: (a)
86. Ashoka’s claim to be one of the greatest rulers in world history life in the fact that
(a) his aims covered both the religious and secular aspects of life
(b) he worked for the material moral and spiritual uplift of the people
(c) after a single conquest he dedicated himself completely to the cause of peace
(d) he attempted to unify the people of different castes and communities into a bound of
common moral ideal
Ans: (c)
87. The moat important official post with vast responsibilities created by Asoka was
(a) Rajuka
(b) Yukta
(c) Dharamamahamatya
(d) Prativedaka
Ans: (c)
88. The Mauryan sculptors had attained the highest perfection in the carving of
(a) floral designs
(b) pillars
(c) animal figures
(d) yaksha figures
Ans: (c)
89. The most striking feature of the Ashokan pillars is their
(a) monolithic structure
(b) carving
(c) polish
(d) uniformity of workmanship
Ans: (c)
90. Which of the following was not one of the actual cause for the decline of the Mauryan
empire?
(a) Ashoka's pacifist policies
(b) Division of the empire after Ashoka
(c) Foreign aggressions particularly Greek
(d) Economic and financial crisis
Ans: (a)
91. Who usurped power from the Mauryas after killing the last Mauryan ruler
Brihadratha?
(a) Pushyamitra Sunga
(b) Agnimitra
(c) Vasumitra
(d) Jyesthamitra
Ans: (a)
92. The most famous Indo-Greek ruler of India, famous for his sense of Justice and
dialogues with a Buddhist monk Nagasena (as described in the Buddhist work Milinda
Panho) was
(a) Demetrius
(b) Menander
(c) Eukratises
(d) Heliocles
Ans: (b)
93. The first great empire to the south of the Vindhayas was of the
(a) Cholas
(b) Cheras
(c) Pandyas
(d) Satavahanas
Ans: (d)
94. The greatest claim to fame of the Satavahanas is on account of
(a) Pursuing a tolerant religious policy and giving common patronage to Buddhism and
Brahmanism
(b) Adoption of Prakrit as their court language in preference to Sanskrit
(c) Great economic prosperity and brisk inland and foreign trade
(d) Great contribution to Indian art as evident from the art of Amravati and
Nagarjunakonda
Ans: (c)
95. Mohenjo-Daro is situated in
(a) Montgomery district
(b) Larkana district
(c) Chandigarh area
(d) Gujarat
96. Which of the following is the oldest of the Vedas?
(a) Sama Veda
(b) Atharva Veda
(c) Yajur Veda
(d) Rig Veda
Ans: (d)
97. The family of the Rig Vedic Aryans was
(a) Patrilineal
(b) Patriarchal
(c) Matriarchal
(d) Matrilineal
Ans: (b)
98. Gautama Buddha was brought up by
(a) Mahaprajapati
(b) Mayadevi
(c) Kundavi
(d) Sangamitra
Ans: (a)
99. Mahavira was
(a) the 20th Tirthankara
(b) the 21st Tirthankara
(c) the 23rd Tirthankara
(d) the 24th Tirthankara
Ans: (d)
100. The Phrsae the 'Light of Asia' is applied to
(a) Alexander
(b) Chandragupta Maurya
(c) Mahavira
(d) The Buddha
