MCQ Questions

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Vima Kadphises was a Kushan emperor from approximately 90–100 CE. According to the Rabatak inscription, he was the son of Vima Takto and the father of Kanishka. He assumed the title “the Lord of the Whole World”.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Iron was not discovered by the Harappan people. Since it was a bronze age civilisation, it had made many metallurgical advances in copper and bronze, but not in Iron.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Historians regarded agriculture as a crucial stage in describing the progress of civilization.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Mr̥cchakaṭika, also spelled Mṛcchakaṭika, Mrchchhakatika, Mricchakatika, or Mrichchhakatika is a ten-act Sanskrit drama attributed to Śūdraka, an ancient playwright generally thought to have lived sometime between the 3rd century BC and the 5th century AD.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Porus or Poros, was an ancient Indian king whose territory spanned the region between the Hydaspes and Acesines, in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. He is credited to have been a legendary warrior with exceptional skills.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Mohenjodaro is an archaeological site in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Built around 2500 BCE, it was one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley civilization.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Amuktamalyada is an epic poem in Telugu composed by Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagar Dynasty. Krishnadevaraya the great emperor of Vijaynagar Kingdom wrote ‘Amuktamalyada’. (One who means or gives away garlands).

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Rajaraja Chola I and Rajendra Chola I were the greatest rulers of the Chola dynasty, extending it beyond the traditional limits of a Tamil kingdom.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : The “Dancing girl” found in Mohenjodaro is an artifact that echoes the architectural wonders of ancient, deep buried long ago. Some 4500 years old, this 10.8 cm long bronze statue of the dancing girl was found in 1926 from a broken down house on the “ninth lane” in Mohenjo-daro in Indus Valley Civilization.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : The Puranic literature is very vast. 18 main Puranas, 18 subsidiary Puranas and a large number of other books. The Kurukshetra war described in the Mahabharata is regarded generally as a historical event. According to Dr. R.C.Majumdar, the war occurred in 1000 B.C. Apart from the Kurukshetra war, the Mahabharata contains various accounts of social life and religious thinking of the people of ancient India.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : “Truth alone triumphs” is a mantra from the ancient Indian scripture Mundaka Upanishad. Following the independence of India, it was adopted as the national motto of India in 26 January 1950. It is inscribed in script at the base of the national emblem.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Dharmasastra became influential in modern colonial India history, when they were formulated by early British colonial administrators to be the law of the land for all non-Muslims (Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs) in India, after Sharia was already accepted as the law for Muslims in colonial India. Smriti, literally “that which is remembered” are a body of Hindu texts usually attributed to an author, traditionally written down but constantly revised, in contrast to Śrutis considered authorless, that were transmitted verbally across the generations and fixed.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Adi Shankaracharya wished to grace the Indian subcontinent by establishing five major mathas in the four corners of the peninsula – north (Jyothirmath), south (Sringeri,Kanchi ), east (Puri), west (Dwaraka) – to propagate the philosophy of advaita vedanta and to promulgate the concept of Sanatana dharma, thus establishing dharma or righteousness, as the way of life of people.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Tamralipti was an ancient port city and also one of Buddhist Kingdoms visited by Xuanzang in 639 AD. It has been identified with the modern Tamluk in the Midnapur district, West Bengal, India.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : The Earliest known works of Indian literature was Rig Veda, which is a collection of 1028 hymns written in Vedic Sanskrit. Even though majority of the literary works which have survived from the ancient Indian literature are religious text, it is not right to define ancient Indian literature only based on religion.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : The Painted Grey Ware culture (PGW) is an Iron Age Indian culture of the western Gangetic plain and the Ghaggar-Hakra valley on the Indian subcontinent, lasting from roughly 1200 BCE to 600 BCE.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : In order to propagate the Dhamma and the teachings of the Buddha, he sent nine missionaries. Each missionary was consisting of five theories in order that the Upasampada, the Ordination Ceremony, could be performed. These missionaries may have travelled along trades that spanned from the Far East to the West.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : The Maurya Empire was a geographically-extensive Iron Age historical power based in Magadha and founded by Chandragupta Maurya which dominated ancient India between 321 and 187 BCE.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Yashovarman was king of Kannauj in the early part of the eighth century. Vakpati wrote Gaudavaho, based on the exploits of Yasovarman of Kanauj.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Vasudeva Kanva was the founder of the Kanva dynasty. Vasudeva Kanva was a Brahmin king. He was originally an Amatya (minister) of last Shunga ruler Devabhuti.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Vikramashila was founded by Pāla king Dharmapala in the late 8th or early 9th century. It prospered for about four centuries before it was destroyed by Bakhtiyar Khilji along with the other major centres of Buddhism in India around 1193.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : The Bagh Caves are a group of nine rock-cut monuments, situated among the southern slopes of the Vindhyas in Bagh town of Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh state in central India. These rock cut caves posses the most amazing paintings known to be made by ancient man. These are renowned for mural paintings by master painters of ancient India.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Nagananda is among the most acclaimed Sanskrit dramas. Through five acts, it tells the popular story of Jimutavahana’s self-sacrifice to save the Nagas. The unique characteristic of this drama is the invocation to lord Buddha in the Nandi verse, which is considered as one of the best examples of the dramatic compositions. Harshavardhana was the great scholar of Sanskrit and he had written this play.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Maharishi Parasara was the first to use this term in his monumental classic “Brihat Parasara Hora Shastra” (BPHS) showing that this scientific basis of Astrology was at different stages of development and that the rules and principles had not been fully revealed.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Atharvaveda the Veda of Magic formulas, it is a mixture of hymns, chants, spells, and prayers.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Harihara I (1336–1356 CE), also called Hakka and Vira Harihara I, was the founder of the Vijayanagara empire. He was Bhavana Sangama’s eldest son and was founder of the Sangama dynasty, the first among the four dynasties that ruled Vijayanagara.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : This was the third dynasty to rule Vijayanagar Empire. The most famous ruler of the Vijayanagar kingdom, Krishna Deva Raya belonged to this dynasty. Tuluva Narasa Nayaka (1491-1503 AD). He was the commander of the Vijayanagar army under the rule of Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya and became the de-factor ruler of the kingdom after the death of Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : The Kathopanishad is considered as a major Upanishad (out of a total of 108), and its importance can be gauged by the fact that many of its verses are found in the Bhagavad Gita, which was composed later, around 1500 BC.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : South India has a literary tradition reaching back over two thousand years. The first known literature of South India are the poetic Sangams, which were written in Tamil around two to one and a half thousand years ago. In South Indian literature and philosophy, women are considered very powerful.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : The Ashoka Chakra is a depiction of the Buddhist Dharmachakra, represented with 24 spokes. It is so called because it appears on a number of edicts of Ashoka, most prominent among which is the Lion Capital of Sarnath which has been adopted as the National Emblem of the Republic of India.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Anga and other Mahajanapadas in the Post Vedic period – Anga was an ancient Indian kingdom that flourished on the eastern Indian subcontinent and one of the sixteen mahajanapadas (“large state”). It lay to the east of its neighbour and rival, Magadha, and was separated from it by the river Champa.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : The use of the name “Andhra” in the Puranas has led some scholars to believe that the dynasty originated in the eastern Deccan region (the historic Andhra region, present-day Andhra Pradesh and Telangana).

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Ajanta paintings now in Maharashtra lies in the Western Ghats which marks the boundary of the Deccan land separating it from that of Khandesh along the valley of the river Tapti. An outstanding feature of Ajanta art is that it combines architecture, sculpture and painting in its variety of expression.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : In 326 B.C. the Greek army approached the frontier city of Taxila (which was situated only within ten miles of modern Rawalpindi). It was unfortunate that the king of Taxila, Ambhi, to whom the Greeks called Omphis, did not resist the invaders, but instead opened the gates of his capital to the foreigners.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : The Allahabad pillar is an Ashoka Stambha, one of the pillars of Ashoka, an emperor of the Maurya dynasty who reigned in the 3rd century BCE. While it is one of the few extant pillars that carry his edicts, it is particularly notable for containing later inscriptions attributed to the Gupta emperor, Samudragupta (4th century CE).

Answer: Option A
Explanation : The Thalavaipuram copper plate, belonging to the period between 1018 and 1054 brought out by the Pandya kings, describes giant waves, most possibly a tsunami. And there is more hyperbole: the valiant Pandya kings “stopped” the tsunami. An earlier copper plate, the Seevaramangalam plate of 784 AD, also talks about a tsunami.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Pallavas : Devagiri

Answer: Option C
Explanation : The Rigveda is the oldest and the most highly valued work of the Hindus. This Samhita (Collection) is unique in its nature. In fact, it is not a book, but a compilation composed of several books which can be individually distinguished from each other. The present from of this Samhita clearly indicates that the collection is not a single work, but consists of older and later elements.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : The ruler of Tuluva dynasty, Sri Krishnadevaraya founded a town Nagalapur (near Vijayanagar) in the memory of his mother Nagala Devi and built tanks, temples, gopurams, etc. in various parts of empire. He was known as Andhara Bhoja or Abhinav Bhoja.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : The Kailasa temple (Cave 16) is one of the 34 cave temples and monasteries known collectively as the Ellora Caves. Its construction is generally attributed to the eighth century Rashtrakuta king Krishna I ( r . c. 756 – 773)

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Harisena, also Harishena or Hirisena, was a 4th-century Sanskrit poet, panegyrist, and government minister. He was an important figure in the court of the Gupta emperor, Samudragupta. His most famous poem, written c. 345 CE, describes the bravery of Samudragupta and is inscribed on the Allahabad Pillar.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : The struggle was between the Chalukyas, Pallavas and Pandyas. The 3 kingdoms struggled for the power in South India. They were rulers of the Tamil country.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : The Sutlej River is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as Satadree. It is addressed as Shatarudra by the Gorkhalis. It is the easternmost tributary of the Indus River.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Megasthenes was an ancient Greek historian, diplomat and Indian ethnographer and explorer in the Hellenistic period. He described India in his book Indika. Megasthenes knew about the Pandyan dynasty around 300 BCE. He described it in his book Indika, as occupying the portion of India, which is southward and extends to the sea. He had stated that it had 365 villages, each of which was expected to meet the needs of the royal household for one day in a year. He described the queen of Pandyan Kingdom at that time, as Pandaia, as a daughter of Heracles.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : The Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang visited India during the period of emperor Harsha. Harsha called a religious assembly at Kannauj to honour him. Hiuen Tsang presided over that assembly. He also participated in one of the religious assemblies called by Harsha at Prayag after that. He left India in 644 A.D.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : The first two Kushana kings, Kujula and Vima issued gold coins. The coins were die-struck and produced in large numbers to facilitate growing trade and commerce. Largest number of copper coins was issued by the Kushanas. It was also a period of great wealth marked by extensive mercantile activities.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Thiruvalluvar, also known as Valluvar, was a celebrated Tamil poet and philosopher. He is best known for authoring Thirukkuṛaḷ, a collection of couplets on ethics, political and economical matters, and love. The text is considered as one of the finest works of the Tamil literature.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Thiruvalluvar, also known as Valluvar, was a celebrated Tamil poet and philosopher. He is best known for authoring Thirukkuṛaḷ, a collection of couplets on ethics, political and economical matters, and love. The text is considered as one of the finest works of the Tamil literature.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Samudragupta was a ruler of the Gupta Empire of present-day India. As a son of the Gupta emperor Chandragupta I and the Licchavi princess Kumaradevi, he greatly expanded his dynasty’s political power. Samudragupta is represented on his coins playing the lute (Vina).

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Sage Kapila is traditionally credited as a founder of the Samkhya school. However, it is unclear in which century of 1st millennium BCE Kapila lived. Kapila appears in Rigveda, but context suggests that the word means “reddish-brown color”.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : This first three Vedas are jointly called Vedatrayi i.e. trio of Vedas. The Atharva Veda is the “knowledge storehouse of atharvāṇas, the procedures for everyday life”. The text is the fourth Veda, but has been a late addition to the Vedic scriptures of Hinduism.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Mihira Bhoja or Bhoja I was a ruler of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty of India. He succeeded his father Ramabhadra. Bhoja was a devotee of Vishnu and adopted the title of Adivaraha which is inscribed on some of his coins.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Udayin was a king of Magadha in ancient India. According to the Buddhist and Jain accounts, he was the son and successor of the Haryanka king Ajatashatru. Udayin laid the foundation of the city of Pataliputra at the confluence of two rivers, the Son and the Ganges.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : River Indus and Hydaspes, river Hydaspes is now known as river Jhelum it is a tributary of river Indus.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : He is also known for his cultural achievements and was a great friend and protector of the Buddha. Bimbisara built the city of Rajagriha, famous in Buddhist writings. He was succeeded on the throne by his son Ajatashatru, who murdered his father to obtain power.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : The system of classification, Varna is a system that existed in the Vedic Society that divided the society into four classes Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (skilled traders, merchants), and Shudras (unskilled workers).

Answer: Option A
Explanation : The whole empire was divided into mandalams or provinces. Sometimes princes of the royal family were appointed governors of the provinces. Further they were divided into valanadus (divisions), nadus (districts) and kurrams (villages). Village was the basic unit of administration.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : The Samaveda is the Veda of melodies and chants. It is an ancient Vedic Sanskrit text, and part of the scriptures of Hinduism. One of the four Vedas, it is a liturgical text which consists of 1,549 verses. All but 75 verses have been taken from the Rigveda.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : The Yajurveda is the Veda primarily of prose mantras for worship rituals. An ancient Vedic Sanskrit text, it is a compilation of ritual offering formulas that were said by a priest while an individual performed ritual actions such as those before the yajna fire.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Bodhi Tree is the symbol of nirvana of Gautama Buddha. On the other hand, Stupa represents the symbol of death of Gautama Buddha. Further, The symbol ‘Horse’ signifies the renunciation of Buddha’s life.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : The Kailasa temple (Cave 16) is one of the 34 cave temples and monasteries known collectively as the Ellora Caves. Its construction is generally attributed to the eighth century Rashtrakuta king Krishna I ( r . c. 756 – 773). The temple architecture shows traces of Pallava and Chalukya styles.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : The Brahmanas are prose texts. It describes about the meaning of Vedic hymns, their applications, and stories of their origins in details. Besides, it also explains the details about rituals and philosophies. Aranyakas and Upanishads exemplify philosophical meditations of the hermits and ascetics on soul, god, world, etc. These are partly included in the Brahmanas or attached, and partly exist as separate works. They, the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas, and the Upanishads are attached to one or the other of the four Vedas.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : The Mathura Museum has a great collection of sculptures which belong to Mathura School of Art. Dating from 3rd century to 12th century. It has artifacts of the Gupta and Kushan Kingdoms as they were prominent in this region and districs of Mathura.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Uttar Mimamsa is the Vedanta, one of the most significant of all Indian philosophies. As compared to other systems, its advent and growth is recent. Still it is the most influential orthodox philosophical systems of India.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : “Aryan” is a term that was used as a self-designation by Indo-Iranian people. The word was used by the Indic people of the Vedic period in India as an ethnic label for themselves and to refer to the noble class as well as the geographic region known as Āryāvarta, where Indo-Aryan culture is based.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Ptolemy: Written a geographical treatise on India

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Ashoka, sometimes Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty, who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from c. 268 to 232 BCE. The grandson of the founder of the Maurya Dynasty, Chandragupta Maurya, Ashoka promoted the spread of Buddhism.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Chandragupta-II : Fa-Hien and Harsha: Hiuen Tsang are correctly matched.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Amoghavarsha was a scholar in Kannada and Sanskrit literature. His own writing Kavirajamarga is a landmark literary work in the Kannada language and became a guide book for future poets and scholars for centuries to come.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Pāṇini was an ancient Sanskrit philologist, grammarian, and a revered scholar in ancient India. Considered the father of linguistics. Ashtadhyayi is the foundational text of the grammatical branch of the Vedanga, the auxiliary scholarly disciplines of Vedic religion.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Puhar Port, was once a flourishing ancient port city known as Kaveri poompattinam, which for a while served as the capital of the Early Chola kings in Tamilakam. Puhar is located near the end point of the Kaveri river, aside the sea coast.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Mamallapuram, or Mahabalipuram, is a town on a strip of land between the Bay of Bengal and the Great Salt Lake, in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It’s known for its temples and monuments built by the Pallava dynasty in the 7th and 8th centuries. Mahabalipuram was the famous port city of Pallavas between 3rd – 7th century.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : The Ajanta Caves are 30 (approximately) rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments which date from the 2nd century BCE to about 480 CE in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state of India.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : The Ellora caves were patronized mainly by the Chalukya and the Rashtrakuta Dynasty rulers between the middle of sixth century and the eleventh century A.D. Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra are 28-30 rock-cut cave monuments created during the first century BC and 5th century AD, containing paintings and sculptures considered to be masterpieces of both Buddhist religious art and universal pictorial art.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : The term Vedic literature means the four Vedas in their Samhita and the allied literature based on or derived from the Vedas. We classify the Vedic literature into the following categories: The four Vedas i.e. the Rig, Sama, Yajur and Atharva and their Samhitas. The Brahmanas attached to each Samhita.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Skandagupta, son and successor of Kumaragupta I is generally considered to be the last of the great Gupta rulers. He assumed the titles of Vikramaditya and Kramaditya.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : The capital of the Videha Kingdom was Mithila.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : The era between the 3rd century and 6th century CE of ancient India during the Gupta Empire can be truly defined as the ‘Golden Age of India’, as there was peace, development and prosperity in the country then. During the rule of the Gupta Empire, India had made lots of contribution in various sectors.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : It is also known as Periya Kovil, Raja Rajeswara Temple and Rajarajeswaram. It is one of the largest temples in India. Brihadeshwara is an example of Hindu architecture from South India from the Chola period. It was built by Raja (Tirupur) and emperor Raja Raja Chola I and completed in 1010 AD.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Gandhāra is noted for the distinctive Gandhāra style of Buddhist art, which developed from a merger of Greek, Syrian, Persian, and local artistic influences. This development began during the Parthian Period (50 BC – AD 75). The Gandhāran style flourished and achieved its peak during the Kushan period, from the 1st to the 5th centuries. It declined and was destroyed after the invasion of the White Huns in the 5th century.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Sanskrit is a language of ancient India with a history going back about 3,500 years. It is the primary liturgical language of Hinduism and the predominant language of most works of Hindu philosophy as well as some of the principal texts of Buddhism and Jainism.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : The Mālavikāgnimitram is a Sanskrit play by Kālidāsa. It is his first play. The play tells the story of the love of Agnimitra, the Shunga Emperor at Vidisha, for the beautiful lun-maiden of his chief queen.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Avanti, kingdom of ancient India, in the territory of present Madhya Pradesh state. The area was for a time part of the historical province of Malwa. About 600 bce the Avanti capital was Mahismati (probably modern Godarpura on the Narmada River), but it was soon moved to Ujjayini (near present-day Ujjain).

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Bilhana was an 11th-century Kashmiri poet. He is known for his love poem, the Caurapancasika. Bilhana left his homeland in search of fame and fortune. He wandered through Mathura, Kanuj, Prayaga, Varanasi, Somnath, Kalylan and Rameswaram but luck eluded him. But while trekking back through Kalyan, Western Chalukya Empire King Vikramaditya VI appointed him as Vidyapathi. Bilhana rewarded his patron by composing in his honor an epic Vikramankadevacharita. Bilhana is from the period of time when Sanskrit continued to be the language of literature, and is a very important poet of Kashmir from the Medieval period of Indian literature.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : A Vishya was headed by Ayuktas or Vishyapatis. Vishya is related to district.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Senguttuvan Chera, identified with Vel Kelu Kuttuvan, the Imayavaramban, and the Kadal Pirakottiya, (c. 2nd century CE as per Gajabahu-Senguttuvan synchronism) was the most renowned ruler of the Chera dynasty in ancient south India.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : The word dhana, which, in Bengal at least, now means paddy or rice, implies in the Rig-Veda fried barley, which was used as food and offered to the gods. There is no allusion to rice (vrihi) in the Rig-Veda.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Vikramashila was founded by Pāla king Dharmapala in the late 8th or early 9th century. It prospered for about four centuries before it was destroyed by Bakhtiyar Khilji along with the other major centres of Buddhism in India around 1193.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Aditya I worshipped Shiva, in whose honour he built several temples. Most of the Chola Temples are dedicated to Lord Shiva. The Great living Chola Temples (Brihadesvara Temple, Temple of Garigaikorida Cholapuram and the Arivateswara Temple) were built by Cholas during 11th and 12th century are dedicated to Lord Shiva and were declare the part of UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : The Arthashastra is an ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy, written in Sanskrit. Likely to be the work of several authors over centuries, Kautilya, also identified as Vishnugupta and Chanakya, is traditionally credited as the author of the text.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Rajatarangini is a metrical legendary and historical chronicle of the north-western Indian subcontinent, particularly the kings of Kashmir. It was written in Sanskrit by Kashmiri historian Kalhana in the 12th century CE.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Kalinga is a historical region of India. It is generally defined as the eastern coastal region between the Mahanadi and the Godavari rivers, although its boundaries have fluctuated with the territory of its rulers. The core territory of Kalinga now encompasses a large part of Odisha and northern part of Andhra Pradesh.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Kanishka came to rule an empire in Bactria extending from Turfan in the Tarim Basin to Pataliputra on the Gangetic plain. The main capital of his empire was located at Puruṣapura in Gandhara, with another major capital at Kapisa.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Bhāskaracharya, was an Indian mathematician and astronomer. He was born in Bijapur in Karnataka. Bhāskara and his works represent a significant contribution to mathematical and astronomical knowledge in the 12th century.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : ‘Langula’ Narasingha Deva I was a powerful monarch and warrior of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty of early medieval Odisha who reigned c. 1238–1264. Konark Sun temple was built by King Narsimha deva of Eastern Ganga Dynasty. It is situated at Konark, Orissa. It is part of UNESCO world Heritage site.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : If we want to convert Badami rock inscription of Pulakesin I to Vikram era, it will be 465 + 78 + 58 = 601 Vikram Samvat.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Bāṇabhaṭṭa was a 7th-century Sanskrit prose writer and poet of India. He was the Asthana Kavi in the court of King Harsha Vardhana, who reigned c. 606–647 CE in north India first from Sthanvishvara, and later Kannauj.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : The Kailasa temple (Cave 16) is one of the 34 cave temples and monasteries known collectively as the Ellora Caves. Its construction is generally attributed to the eighth century Rashtrakuta king Krishna I.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Ranchi does not have a Stupa. Sanchi Stupa- Madhya Pradesh oldest stone structure of India. Barhut Stupa- Madhya Pradesh, its railings are the earliest railings which have survived. Dhamekh Stupa- Sarnath (U.P.) it is where Buddha preached the Dharmachakrapravartana for the first time.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Elephanta Caves – Mauyra Era

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Harsha became a devout Buddhist at some point in his life. Xuanzang states that Harsha banned animal slaughter for food, and built monasteries at the places visited by Gautama Buddha. He erected several thousand 100-feet high stupas on the banks of the Ganges river, and built well-maintained hospices for travelers and poor people on highways across India. He organized an annual assembly of global scholars, and bestowed charitable alms on them. Every five years, he held a great assembly called Moksha. Xuanzang also describes a 21-day religious festival organized by Harsha in Kannauj; during this festival, Harsha and his subordinate kings performed daily rituals before a life-sized golden statue of the Buddha.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : The five structures each chiselled in the shape of rathas or chariots out of large block of stone or monolith of granite typifies monolithic Indian rock-cut architecture that dates back to the 7th century during the reign of the Pallava dynasty.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Patanjali is an incarnation of Adishesha who was blessed by Lord Shiva enabling him to write Mahabhashya. Patañjali is one of the three most famous Sanskrit grammarians of ancient India.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Upanishads- deals with concepts about origin of universe, death and birth, material and spiritual world, which are written in poetry and prose, as expressions of philosophical concepts. Earliest Upanishads are Brihad-Aryanaka and Chanddogya. They explain the highest thoughts described that can be realised by a man, according to ancient sages, in simple and beautiful imagery.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Vidatha appears for 122 times in the Rig-Veda and seems to be the most important assembly in the Rig Vedic period. Vidatha was an assembly meant for secular, religious and military purpose. The Rig-Veda only once indicated the connection of woman with the Sabha whereas Vidatha is frequently associated with woman. Women actively participated in the deliberations with men. Vidatha was the earliest folk assembly of the Aryans, performing all kinds of functions- economic, military religious and social.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Simhavishnu (575-600 CE), Mahendravarman (600–630 CE), Narasimhavarman (c. 630 – c. 668 AD), Nandivarman (730 AD –795 AD).

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Uthiramerur is a panchayat town in Kancheepuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is noted for its temple inscriptions that describe a self-governance system existing around 7th to 9th century CE.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : The Rigveda Samhita is the oldest extant Indic text. It is a collection of 1,028 Vedic Sanskrit hymns and 10,600 verses in all, organized into ten books (Sanskrit: mandalas). The hymns are dedicated to Rigvedic deities.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Gandhara art, style of Buddhist visual art that developed in what is now northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan between the 1st century bce and the 7th century ce. … The Gandhara region had long been a crossroads of cultural influences.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Tandya Mahabrahmana or Panchavimsa Brahmana belongs to both Kauthuma and Ranayaniya Shakha of the Samaveda. It is consisting of twenty-five prapathakas and 347 khandas. Tandya Brahmana describes about Jyotishtoma, Ukthya, Atiratra, Prakrtis of ekahas and ahinas, Somaprayaschittas, Dvadashaha rite, collection of Yajus and Vistutis. It is famous for ancient legends. According to Samavidhana Brahmana, this work is ascribed to Acharya Tandi.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : The iron pillar of Delhi, India is a 7 meter (22 feet) high pillar in the Qutb complex which is notable for the composition of the metals used in its construction. The pillar, almost seven meters high and weighing more than six tons, was erected by Chandragupta II Vikramaditya (375 CE–414 CE), (interpretation based on analysis of archer type Gupta gold coins) of the Gupta dynasty that ruled northern India 320–540.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Dhamek Stupa (also spelled Dhamekh and Dhamekha, traced to Sanskrit version Dharmarajika Stupa, which can be translated as the Stupa of the reign of Dharma) is a massive stupa located at Sarnath, 13 km away from Varanasi in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : The Atharvaveda Samhita contains hymns many of which were charms, magic spells and incantations meant to be pronounced by the person who seeks some benefit, or more often by a sorcerer who would say it on his or her behalf. The most frequent goal of these hymns charms and spells were long life of a loved one or recovery from some illness. In these cases, the affected would be given substances such as a plant (leaf, seed, root) and an amulet.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Harsha (c. 590–647 CE), also known as Harshavardhana, was an Indian emperor who ruled North India from 606 to 647 CE. He was a member of the Vardhana dynasty; and was the son of Prabhakarvardhana who defeated the Alchon Huna invaders, and the younger brother of Rajyavardhana, a king of Thanesar, present-day Haryana.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Bimbisara was the son of Bhattiya, a chieftain. He ascended to throne at the age of 15 in 543 BC. He established the Haryanka dynasty laid the foundations of Magadha by fortification of a village, which later became the city of Pataliputra. Bimbisara’s first capital was at Girivraja (identified with Rajagriha).

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Brihat Samhita, another important contribution of Varahamihira is the encyclopedic Brihat-Samhita. Although the book is mostly about divination, it also includes a wide range of subjects other than divination. It covers wide ranging subjects of human interest, including astronomy, planetary movements, eclipses, rainfall, clouds, architecture, growth of crops, manufacture of perfume, matrimony, domestic relations, gems, pearls, and rituals. The volume expounds on gemstone evaluation criterion found in the Garuda Purana, and elaborates on the sacred Nine Pearls from the same text. It contains 106 chapters and is known as the “great compilation”.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : The Kumarasaṃbhavam is widely regarded as one of Kālidāsa’s finest works, a paradigmatic example of kāvya poetry. The style of description of spring set the standard for nature metaphors pervading many centuries of Indian literary tradition.Raghuvamsha is a Sanskrit mahakavya (epic poem) by the most celebrated Sanskrit poet Kalidasa.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Relic stupa, in which the relics or remains of the Buddha, his disciples, and lay saints are interred. Object stupa, in which the items interred are objects belonged to the Buddha or his disciples, such as a begging bowl or robe, or important Buddhist scriptures.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : The painting techniques at Ajanta are similar to European fresco technique. The primary difference is that the layer of plaster was dry when it was painted. First, a rough plaster of clay, cow dung, and rice husks were pressed on to the rough cave walls.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Shravasti is recorded as the capital of Kosala during the Mahajanapada period (6th–5th centuries BCE), but post-Maurya (2nd–1st centuries BCE) kings issued their coins from Ayodhya.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : In the Later Vedic period, Prajapati was the important diety occupied the supreme position. Prajapatis were elected democratically. First such elected Prajapati was Lord Vishnu, followed by Lord Bràhma and Lord Shankar. There were total 26 Prajapatis mentioned in Vedas.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : The Harshacharita, is the biography of Indian emperor Harsha by Banabhatta, also known as Bana, who was a Sanskrit writer of seventh-century CE India. He was the Asthana Kavi, meaning Court Poet, of Harsha.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Samudragupta (335-375 AD) of the Gupta dynasty is known as the Napoleon of India. Historian A V Smith called him so because of his great military conquests known from the ‘Prayag Prashati’ written by his courtier and poet Harisena, who also describes him as the hero of a hundred battles.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : The location of Janapadas and Mahajanapadas was Indian sub-continent. There were 16 mahajanpadas during 600 BC to 300 B.C. As per the Vedic texts Aryan tribes were known as the Janas, which were the largest social units. The term janapada composed of janas means “people” or “subject” and pada “foot”.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : According to the traditional documents of J. Gordon Melton, the first Shiva temple built in Somnath Temple was built in the old times only. And the second temple was built in 649 CE by the King of Vallabhbhai. It is said that the Arab governor of Sindh, Al-Junaid, destroyed it in 725 CE.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Arrian of Nicomedia was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander and philosopher of the Roman period. The Anabasis of Alexander by Arrian is considered the best source on the campaigns of Alexander the Great.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : The Indus valley people worshiped Lord Shiva as the main male god. The erect male phallus or the male reproductive power of the god Shiva.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : It is the paramount importance in understanding the Ashok’s Policy of dhamma. This rock edict pleads the way of conquest which is dhamma instead of war. This is logical culmination of the thorough processes which began from the 1st rock edict.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Bana’s biography of Harsha provides valuable information about the period, though with some obvious exaggeration in the emperor’s favour. Written in the ornate kavya style, involving extremely lengthy constructions, elaborate descriptions, and poetic devices, the work has great vitality and a wealth of keenly observed detail. His second great work, the prose romance Kadambari, is named for the heroine of the novel. The book describes the affairs of two sets of lovers through a series of incarnations. Both works were left unfinished; the second was completed by the author’s son, Bhusanabhatta.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : The natural factors could be geological and climatic. It is believed that the Indus Valley region experienced several tectonic disturbances which caused earthquakes. These upheavals not only disturbed their life but also changed courses of rivers or dried them up. The modern satellite imagery confirms dramatic shifts in the river courses, which might have caused great flood cutting the food producing areas from urban centres. This is evident from the quantities of silt layers in the upper levels of Mohenjo Daro indicating heavy floods. Another natural reason might be changes in patterns of rainfall. During the mature Harappan age in 2500 BC, there was a great rise in the amount of rainfall, but by the beginning of the second millennium BC it had dropped dramatically thus affecting food production adversely. With the rivers shifting their courses, the rainfall declining and sufficient food failing to arrive from the countryside, there was a slow but inevitable collapse of the Indus System.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Mohenjodaro is an archaeological site in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Built around 2500 BCE, it was one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley civilization.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Amuktamalyada is an epic poem in Telugu composed by Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagar Dynasty. Krishnadevaraya the great emperor of Vijaynagar Kingdom wrote ‘Amuktamalyada’. (One who means or gives away garlands).

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Rajaraja Chola I and Rajendra Chola I were the greatest rulers of the Chola dynasty, extending it beyond the traditional limits of a Tamil kingdom.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : The “Dancing girl” found in Mohenjodaro is an artifact that echoes the architectural wonders of ancient, deep buried long ago. Some 4500 years old, this 10.8 cm long bronze statue of the dancing girl was found in 1926 from a broken down house on the “ninth lane” in Mohenjo-daro in Indus Valley Civilization.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : The Puranic literature is very vast. 18 main Puranas, 18 subsidiary Puranas and a large number of other books. The Kurukshetra war described in the Mahabharata is regarded generally as a historical event. According to Dr. R.C.Majumdar, the war occurred in 1000 B.C. Apart from the Kurukshetra war, the Mahabharata contains various accounts of social life and religious thinking of the people of ancient India.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Economy in the Vedic period was sustained by a combination of pastoralism and agriculture. There are references, in the Rigveda, to the leveling of fields, seed processing, and storage of grains in large jars. War bounty was also a major source of wealth.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Kanishka I, or Kanishka the Great, an emperor of the Kushan dynasty in the second century, is famous for his military, political, and spiritual achievements. Kanishka was the first Indian ruler who had territory outside India.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Rig Veda Being the oldest of the Vedic literature, it is most important because it is the valuable record of ancient India. It has ten books or mandalas containing 1028 hymns by the successive generations of Rishis (sages). As the Aryans had no script of their own, the hymns of the Rig Veda were memorized and passed on orally from one generation to the other before being recorded in written form at a much later stage. It has many mantras like the Gayatri mantras which is resided by the Hindus in their houses. It is said to represent the voice of Gods.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : The temple has the longest corridor among all Hindu temples in India. The temple is located in Rameswaram considered a holy pilgrimage site for Shaivites, Vaishnavites and Smarthas.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Harshavardhana king started the organization of Kumbh fair at Allahabad. The Allahabad Kumbh Mela is a mela held every 12 years at Allahabad, India. The exact date is determined according to Hindu astrology: the Mela is held when Jupiter is in Taurus and the sun and the moon are in Capricorn.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : The Arthashastra is an ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy, written in Sanskrit. Likely to be the work of several authors over centuries, Kautilya, also identified as Vishnugupta and Chanakya, is traditionally credited as the author of the text.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : The Arthashastra is an ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy, written in Sanskrit. Likely to be the work of several authors over centuries, Kautilya, also identified as Vishnugupta and Chanakya, is traditionally credited as the author of the text.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Varahamihira wrote Panchasiddhantika(Five schools of Astronomy) in which he focused on three different branches of astronomy as studied during the period and they were; astronomy and mathematics, astrology

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Pāṇini is known for his text Ashtadhyayi, a sutra-style treatise on Sanskrit grammar, 3,959 “verses” or rules on linguistics, syntax and semantics in “eight chapters” which is the foundational text of the Vyākaraṇa branch of the Vedanga, the auxiliary scholarly disciplines of the Vedic period.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : The Puranas (Sanskrit: puraṇa, “of ancient times”) are Hindu religious texts that are part of the Vedas. Shastra commonly refers to a treatise or text on a specific field of knowledge. In early Vedic literature, the word referred to any precept, rule, teaching, ritual instruction or direction. The Bhagavad Gita, often referred to as the Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture in Sanskrit that is part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Mahapadma, a Shudra, who has been described in the Puranas as “the destroyer of all the Kshatriyas”, defeated many other kingdoms, including the Panchalas, Kasis, Haihayas, Kalingas, Asmakas, Kurus, Maithilas, Surasenas and the Vitihotras. He expanded his territory south of the Vindhya Range into the Deccan Plateau. The Nandas, who usurped the throne of the Shishunaga dynasty c. 345 BCE, were thought to be of lowly origin. Mahapadma Nanda was said in the Puranas to be the son of Mahanandin and a Shudra mother.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Kumarasambhava, Raghuvamsa and Abhijnanashakuntalam all the three are poems.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : The Sangam texts are different from the Vedic texts, particularly the Rig Veda. They do not constitute religious literature. The short and long poems were composed by numerous poets in praise of various heroes and heroines and are in secular nature. They are not primitive songs, but literature of high quality.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Nirukta (Sanskrit: निरुक्त, IPA: [niruktə]) means “explained, interpreted” and refers to one of the six ancient Vedangas, or ancillary science connected with the Vedas – the scriptures of Hinduism. Nirukta covers etymology, and is the study concerned with correct interpretation of Sanskrit words in the Vedas.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : The Virupaksha Temple is located in Hampi near Bangalore, in the state of Karnataka in southern India. Virupaksha is a form of Shiva and has other temples dedicated to him. The temple’s history is uninterrupted from about the 7th century when it was built by the Chalukyas. Evidence indicates there were additions made to the temple in the late Chalukyan and Hoysala periods, though most of the temple buildings are attributed to the Vijayanagar period.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : The Uttararamacharita is a Sanskrit play in 7 acts in the Nataka style by Bhavabhuti. It covers the events of the Uttara Kanda of the Valmiki Ramayana, the final years of Rama on Earth up to his ascension.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Vipas and Beas is the incorrect combination. Vipas modern name is Beas.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Rudramadevi ruled over the Kakatiya kingdom, which comprised of parts of present day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh from 1261 to 1289 (or 1295) CE. Venetian merchant and traveler Marco Polo who visited India during this period has written extensively about her rule.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Vaikunta Perumal Temple was built by Pallava King Nandivarman-II in the 8th century, he was a worshipper of Lord Vishnu.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Kailashnath Temple also known as Kailash Temple is a famous temple located in Ellora, Maharashtra, India.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Chandragupta Maurya (ruled 322 B.C.E. – 298 B.C.E.) was the founder of the Mauryan Empire. He is widely considered to be the first great emperor of India. In 305 he successfully defeated Alexander’s successors in India

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Samudragupta (r. c. 335/350-375 CE) was a ruler of the Gupta Empire of present-day India. As a son of the Gupta emperor Chandragupta I and the Licchavi princess Kumaradevi, he greatly expanded his dynasty’s political power. He was given the title of Prithivyah Pratham Veer.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Indika is an account of Mauryan India by Megasthenes. The original book is now lost, but its fragments have survived in later Greek and Latin works. The earliest of these works are those by Diodorus Siculus, Strabo (Geographica), Pliny, and Arrian (Indica).

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Panini, the first Grammarian of Sanskrit language in India, lived during the 2nd Century B. C. His famous work Ashtadhyayi has 400 sutras containing rules of phonetics and grammar.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : A monolithic statue of Bahubali referred to as “Gommateshvara” built by the Ganga dynasty minister and commander Chamundaraya is a 60 feet (18 m) monolith and is situated above a hill in Shravanabelagola, in the Hassan district of Karnataka. It was built in the 10th century AD.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Sanskrit was used as an epigraphic medium in the second century A.D. Inscriptions were also engraved in regional languages in the ninth and tenth centuries.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Smriti, (Sanskrit: “Recollection”) that class of Hindu sacred literature based on human memory, as distinct from the Vedas, which are considered to be Shruti (literally “What Is Heard”), or the product of divine revelation.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Even Vedas speaks of Widow Remarriage for a Widow. The Rigveda contains a famous passage mentioning Sati and preventing it. To a widow who is with her husband on his funeral pyre, the text says: rise up, abandon this dead man and re-join the living.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Indra is the chief deity in the Rigveda. He is the most important deity of the sky. Armed with the thunderbolt (Vajrayudha) and rides in a chariot, he travels every where. In Rigveda, Agni is depicted as God of fire. Most hymns are devoted to God Agni in describing and praising him, he is often considered as supreme God the creator, the sustainer and all pervading universal spirit. Surya or the sun, often identified with Aditya, Savitr and Pusan is another important Vedic deity. He rides in an exquisitely beautiful chariot drawn by seven horses.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Rathas (also known as Five Rathas or Pandava Rathas) is a monument complex at Mahabalipuram, on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, in the Kancheepuram district of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Pancha Rathas is an example of monolithic Indian rock-cut architecture.These Monolith temples are the part of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Gandhara school of art is also known as the Greek Roman school of Art. The depiction of Buddha as Man-God influenced from Greek Mythology.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : The Vijayanagara Empire (also called Karnata Empire, and the Kingdom of Bisnegar by the Portuguese) was based in the Deccan Plateau region in South India. It was established in 1336 by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I of Sangama Dynasty. It ruled from 1377-1404.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : The later Vedic people were acquainted with four types of pottery—black-and-red ware, black- slipped ware, Painted Grey Ware, and red-ware. The last type of pottery was the most popular, and is found almost all over western UP. However, the most distinctive pottery of the period is known as Painted Grey Ware.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : In Christianity, All Souls’ Day or the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, that is, of the souls of all Christians who have died, follows All Saints’ Day. Observing Christians typically remember deceased relatives on the day.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : The history of linguistics begins not with Plato or Aristotle, but with the Indian grammarian Panini. Nothing definite is known about when Paṇini lived, not even in which century he lived.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Torah consists of the origin of Jewish peoplehood: their call into being by God, their trials and tribulations, and their covenant with their God, which involves following a way of life embodied in a set of moral and religious obligations and civil laws (halakha). Torah (Musa Sanhita) are the religions lessons (teachings) of Jews.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Abhijnanasakuntalam by Kalidasa is one of the greatest dramas depicting love, separation & reunion of King Dushyanta, Sakuntala & their son (Bharata). Meghadutam is a lyric poem written by Kālidāsa, considered to be one of the greatest Sanskrit poets. Raghuvamsha is a Sanskrit mahakavya by the most celebrated Sanskrit poet Kalidasa. The Mālavikāgnimitram is a Sanskrit play by Kālidāsa. It is his first play. The play tells the story of the love of Agnimitra, the Shunga Emperor at Vidisha, for the beautiful lun-maiden of his chief queen. Ṛtusaṃhāra, often written Ritusamhara, (Devanagari: ऋतुसंहार; ऋतु ṛtu, “season”; संहार saṃhāra, “compilation”) is a long poem or mini-epic in Sanskrit by Kalidasa. Kumārasaṃbhavam (Sanskrit: Kumārasaṃbhavam) is an epic poem by Kālidāsa.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Aryankas – Deal with mysticism, rites, and rituals. It is a treatise of forest which explain the rituals while dwelling into the philosophical discussions of the Brahmanas. They record the transitions between ritualistic symbolism of Brahmanas and philosophical aspects of Upanishads.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Vakpati was 8th century San­skrit poet, he wrote Gandavadha which de­scribes the exploits of Yasovarman, king of Kanyakubja.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Rajatarangini (“The River of Kings”) is a metrical legendary and historical chronicle of the north-western Indian subcontinent, particularly the kings of Kashmir. It was written in Sanskrit by Kashmiri historian Kalhana in the 12th century CE. The work consists of 7826 verses, which are divided into eight books called Tarangas (“waves”).The Rajataringini provides the earliest source on Kashmir that can be labeled as a “historical” text on this region.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Vimana is the structure over the garbhagriha or inner sanctum in the Hindu temples of South India and Odisha in East India. In typical temples of Odisha using the Kalinga style of architecture. A typical Hindu temple in Dravidian style have gopurams in the four directions.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Rajatarangini is a metrical legendary and historical chronicle of the north-western Indian subcontinent, particularly the kings of Kashmir. It was written in Sanskrit by Kashmiri historian Kalhana in the 12th century CE. The work consists of 7826 verses, which are divided into eight books called Tarangas.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : It was established in 1951 under Rajendra Prasad to revive the ancient seat of learning in Nalanda. It became a Deemed university in 2006. Nava Nalanda Mahavihara was founded to develop as a centre of higher studies in Pali and Buddhism along the lines of ancient Nalanda Mahavihara.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Surasena and other Mahajanapadas in the Post Vedic period. Kingdom of Surasena (or Sourasena) was an ancient Indian region corresponding to the present-day Braj region in Uttar Pradesh, with Mathura as its capital city.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : The oldest ‘extant’ Tamil literature is Tholkaapiyam. It is a grammar treatise. Tholkaapiyam is variously dated by scholars from 100 CE to as far back as 500 BC (a few even stretch it back upto 1000 or 5000 BC, but those claims cannot be established solidly!)

Answer: Option B
Explanation : The Junagadh rock inscription also highlights an eulogy-style Sanskrit from the 2nd-century. It is the first long inscription in fairly standard Sanskrit that has survived into the modern era. According to Salomon, the inscription “represents a turning point in the history of epigraphic Sanskrit.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : The Saka Era was founded by Kanishka, the emperor of Kushana empire from the year 78 A.D.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : A Janapadin was the ruler of a janapada. Ancient texts like Ashtadhyayi, Ramayana, Mahabharatha, and numerous puranas refer to many Janapadas of ancient times.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Dholavira is an archaeological site at Khadirbet in Bhachau Taluka of Kutch District, in the state of Gujarat in western India. It is situated at the bank of river Luni.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Epigraphy is the study of inscriptions or epigraphs as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the writing and the writers.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Gandhāra was an ancient state, a mahajanapada, in the Peshawar basin in the northwest. Famed for its local tradition of Gandhara (Greco-Buddhist) Art. Sometimes the Peshawar Valley and Taxila were collectively referred to as Gandhara; sometimes the Swat Valley was also included.Taxila was a famous site of Gandhara art.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : The Satavahanas, also referred to as the Andhras in the Puranas, were an ancient Indian dynasty based in the Deccan region. Simuka was an Indian king belonging to the Satavahana dynasty. He is mentioned as the first king in a list of royals in a Satavahana inscription at Nanaghat. In the above given option only Simuka was first king and others were last.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Located in Tamil Nadu, India, it is a Hindu temple in the Dravidian architectural style. It is dedicated to the Lord Shiva, and is known for its historical importance. The temple was built from 685-705AD by a Rajasimha (Narasimhavarman II) ruler of the Pallava Dynasty.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Krishna I

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Varahamihira’s main work is the book Panchasiddhantika (“[Treatise] on the Five [Astronomical] Canons”) dated ca. 575 CE gives us information about older Indian texts which are now lost. The work is a treatise on mathematical astronomy and it summarises five earlier astronomical treatises, namely the Surya Siddhanta, Romaka Siddhanta, Paulisa Siddhanta, Vasishtha Siddhanta and Paitamaha Siddhanta.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Nalanda was the ancient Mahavihara in Magadha (Present-day Bihar) Nalanda University. It comprises the archaeological remains of a monastic and scholastic institution dating from the 3rd century BCE to the 13th century CE. It includes stupas, shrines, viharas (residential and educational buildings) and important art works in stucco, stone and metal.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Both A and B.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : The Kailasa temple (Cave 16) is one of the 34 cave temples and monasteries known collectively as the Ellora Caves. Its construction is generally attributed to the eighth century Rashtrakuta king Krishna I ( r . c. 756 – 773).

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Uparikara was an extra tax charged over and above the land revenue.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Alamgirpur is an archaeological site of the Indus Valley Civilization that thrived along Yamuna River (c. 3300–1300 BC) from the Harappan-Bara period, located in Meerut district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the easternmost site of the civilization.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Lothal was one of the Indus cities that has houses with doors on the main streets.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Nagarjuna taught the concept of relativity. He explained that shortness is only possible because of long length relative to it. He was an Ayurvedic physician (Ayurveda is a traditional Indian medicine system). Nagarjuna had been credited with explaining the circulatory system and blood tissue.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : The Rig Veda is a collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns counted among the four Hindu religious texts known as the Vedas. The Rig Veda was likely composed between roughly 1700–1100 BCE, making it one of the oldest texts of any Indo-Iranian language, one of the world’s oldest religious texts. Its hymns were composed in Punjab.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : The correct pair of Poet in the Court of the King during Ancient India was Vasumitra : Kanishka.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Lingaraja Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva and is one of the oldest temples in Bhubaneswar, the capital of the East Indian state of Odisha. The temple is the most prominent landmark of Bhubaneswar city and one of the major tourist attractions of the state.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Duhitri was the term used for daughter because she used to milk the cow.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Nanda Dynasty ruled India at the time when Alexander, the Great was trying to fight with the rulers in the north west part of India.To be specific, the ruler was Dhannand, the last ruler of this dynasty .

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Mental and social conditions of the people are known from literary sources. The Religious Literature of India is too vast. It includes the Vedas, the Upanishads, the great epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and the Puranas of the Hindus. The most important source of our information on ancient India’s cultural history are Literature and epics.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Pushyamitra Shunga was the founder and first ruler of the Shunga Empire in East India. Pushyamitra was originally a Senapati “General” of the Maurya Empire. In 185 BCE he assassinated the last Mauryan Emperor, Brihadratha Maurya, during an army review, and proclaimed himself emperor. Patanjali, the second great grammarian of Ancient India, was a contemporary Pushyamitra Sunga.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Didda (floruit 1003 CE), was the ruler of Kashmir from 958 CE to 1003 CE, first as a Regent for her son and various grandsons, and from 980 as sole ruler and monarch. Most knowledge relating to her is obtained from the Rajatarangini, a work written by Kalhana in the twelfth century.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : The iron pillar of Delhi is a 7 m (23 ft) kirti stambha (column of fame or victory column), originally erected and dedicated as dhvaja (banner) to Hindu deity lord Vishnu in 3rd to 4th century CE by king Chandragupta II, currently standing in the Qutb complex at Mehrauli in Delhi, India.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : There are 1000 hymns in the Rigveda, most of them dedicated to specific deities. Indra, a heroic god, slayer of Vritra and destroyer of the Vala, liberator of the cows and the rivers.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : The Kamasutra is an ancient Indian Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism and emotional fulfillment in life. Attributed to Vatsyayana, the Kama Sutra is neither exclusively nor predominantly a sex manual on sex positions, but written as a guide to the “art-of-living” well, the nature of love, finding a life partner, maintaining one’s love life, and other aspects pertaining to pleasure-oriented faculties of human life.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : The temples of Khajuraho were commissioned by the Rajput rulers of Chandella Dynasty who ruled over central India from the 10th to the 13th Century CE. The temples were built over a period of 100 years and it is believed that each Chandela ruler commissioned at least one temple in the complex during his lifetime.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Kumarasaṃbhavam is an epic poem by Kālidāsa. The Kumarasaṃbhavam is widely regarded as one of Kālidāsa’s finest works, a paradigmatic example of kavya poetry. Raghuvamsha is a Sanskrit mahakavya by the most celebrated Sanskrit poet Kalidasa. Meghadūta is a lyric poem written by Kālidāsa, considered to be one of the greatest Sanskrit poets.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Ancient port Lothal, India. Lothal was originally the site for the lustrous Red Ware culture, associated with the post-Rigvedic Vedic civilization. It was first excavated in 1957 by S R Rao.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Apaurusheya shabda (“impersonal words, authorless”) is an extension of apaurusheya which refers to the Vedas and numerous other texts in Hinduism. Apaurusheya is a central concept in the Vedanta and Mimamsa schools of Hindu philosophy.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Foreign invasions was the second major factor in the decline and disappearance of the Gutpas. The invasion of barbaric tribe Pushyamitra was not the decisive. A far more important invasion was that of the White Huns, who, after settling in the Oxus vally, invaded India. First appeared during the reign of Budhagupta. Again they reappeared under the command of Toramana who annexed a large portion of the north-western region including parts of Moder U.P. He followed by hisson, Mihirakula, who became the overlord of north India. Indeed he was defeated by Yashodharman of Malwa but the repercussions of these invasions were disastrous for the Gupta Empire.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Vima Kadphises added to the Kushan territory by his conquests in Afghanistan and north-west Pakistan. He issued an extensive series of coins and inscriptions. He was the first to introduce gold coinage in India, in addition to the existing copper and silver coinage.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Description Budhagupta was a Gupta emperor and the successor of Kumaragupta II. He was the son of Purugupta and was succeeded by Narasimhagupta. Budhagupta had close ties with the rulers of Kannauj and together they sought to run the Hunas out of the fertile plains of Northern India.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : The Upanishads are a part of the Vedas and are ancient Sanskrit texts that contain some of the central philosophical concepts and ideas of Hinduism, some of which are shared with Buddhism, and Jainism. The Upanishads are commonly referred to as Vedanta in the history of India.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Hitopadesha is an Indian text in the Sanskrit language consisting of fables with both animal and human characters. It incorporates maxims, worldly wisdom and advice on political affairs in simple, elegant language, and the work has been widely translated. Little is known about its origin.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : The edicts are composed in non-standardized and archaic forms of Prakrit. Prakrit inscriptions were written in Brahmi and Kharosthi scripts, which even a commoner could read and understand. The inscriptions found in the area of Pakistan are in the Kharoshthi script. Other Edicts are written in Greek or Aramaic. Most of the Ashoka’s inscription are written in Magadhi language using Brahmi Script.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : The civilization is famous for its large and well-planned cities. Over 1,052 cities and settlements have been found. Most of these are small, but amongst them are some of the largest cities of their time, especially Harappa and Mohenjo-daro.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Vedic culture and Indus civilization form two distinct groups in the history of Indian civilization. Of course, there are scholars like Dr A.D. Pusalkar who contend that the Rigvedic Aryans, probably, formed an important part of the populace of Indus valley and contributed their share to the evolution of that civilization.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Shudra is the fourth varna, or one of the four social categories found in the texts of Hinduism. Various sources translate it into English as a caste, or alternatively as a social class. It is the lowest rank of the four varnas.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Artharvaveda contains mantras on three topics – gnana (Knowledge), Karma (deeds), and Upasana (invocation). It is important from the point of view of knowing the history of science in India. It is also collection of spells and charms which are popular among the people. This Veda throws light on the beliefs of the people some of the Mantras are meant to bring success in life, while some where used to ward off evil spirits responsible for disease and sufferings. This Veda believed to be a later composition and contains some non-Aryan material. It seems to have been composed when a synthesis of Aryan and non-Aryan cultures took place.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : Aryabhata was the first of the major mathematician-astronomers from the classical age of Indian mathematics and Indian astronomy.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : It is believed that this temple set the pace for the ratha (chariot) vimana temples in India, as a distant descendant of Kulottunga I on the female line, and the famous Eastern Ganga ruler Narasimha Deva, built the Sun Temple at Konark in the form of a chariot in the 13th century.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Megasthenes was born in Asia Minor and became an ambassador of Seleucus I Nicator of the Seleucid dynasty to Chandragupta Maurya in Pataliputra, India. … Other Greek envoys to the Indian court are known after Megasthenes: Deimachus as ambassador to Bindusara, and Dionysius, as ambassador to Ashoka.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Krishnadevaraya was the king of the Vijayanagara Empire reigning between 1509–1530. He was the third ruler of the Tuluva Dynasty, and presided over the Vijaynagar empire at its zenith. He wrote famous book Amuktamalayada in Telugu language. He earned the title of ‘Kanvada Rajya Rama Ramana, Andhra bhoj’.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : A patriarchal social system can be defined as a system where men are in authority over women in all aspects of society. In modern American culture and society, the idea of patriarchy is not as accepted or practiced as it once was decades ago.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : It grew into one of the famed Hindu empires of South India that ruled for over 200 years. The Vijayanagara Empire built its capital around Hampi, calling it Vijayanagara. They expanded the infrastructure and temples. Modern Hampi(Karnataka) was the Capital of Vijaynagar Dynasty.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Deogarh is a village in Lalitpur district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located on the right bank of Betwa River and to the west of Lalitpur hills. The Dashavatara Temple is an early 6th century Vishnu Hindu temple located at Deogarh.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Artharvaveda contains mantras on three topics – gnana (Knowledge), Karma (deeds), and Upasana (invocation). It is important from the point of view of knowing the history of science in India. It is also collection of spells and charms which are popular among the people. This Veda throws light on the beliefs of the people some of the Mantras are meant to bring success in life, while some where used to ward off evil spirits responsible for disease and sufferings. This Veda believed to be a later composition and contains some non-Aryan material. It seems to have been composed when a synthesis of Aryan and non-Aryan cultures took place.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : The city of Mamallapuram was founded by the Pallava king Narasimhavarman I in the 7th century AD. The mandapa or pavilions and the rathas or shrines shaped as temple chariots are hewn from the granite rock face, while the famed Shore Temple, erected half a century later, is built from dressed stone.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Meghadoota is a lyric poem written by Kālidāsa, considered to be one of the greatest Sanskrit poets.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : During Rig-Vedic era, the basic unit of power lied within a patriarchal family (Kula). The head of the family was a Kulapa. A group of such families called grama, which was controlled by a village headman Gramini.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Shudraka was an Indian king and playwright. Three Sanskrit plays are ascribed to him – Mrichchhakatika (The Little Clay Cart), Vinavasavadatta, and a bhana (short one-act monologue), Padmaprabhritaka. Mrichchhakatika (The Little Clay Cart) is a ten-act Sanskrit drama attributed to Śūdraka, an ancient playwright generally thought to have lived sometime between the 3rd century BC and the 5th century AD and identified by the prologue as a Kshatriya king as well as a devotee of Siva who lived for 100 years.[1] The play is set in the ancient city of Ujjayini during the reign of the King Pālaka, near the end of the Pradyota dynasty that made up the first quarter of the fifth century BC.

Answer: Option A
Explanation : The Mudrarakshasa (IAST: Mudrārākṣasa, The Signet of the Minister) is a Sanskrit-language play by Vishakhadatta that narrates the ascent of the king Chandragupta Maurya ( r . c. 324 – c. 297 BCE) to power in India.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : The Nyaya Sutra of Gotama is an important treatise on Indian logic and is regarded as the earliest work of Nyaya philosophy. Written in the aphoristic style, it is believed to have been comprised by Gotama, Gautama or Aksapada who is also considered to be the founder of the Nyaya system of philosophy.

Answer: Option B
Explanation : Vishnu Sharma was an Indian scholar and author who is believed to have written the Panchatantra collection of fables. The exact period of the composition of the Panchatantra is uncertain, and estimates vary from 1200 BCE to 300 CE.

Answer: Option C
Explanation : Hieun Tsiang was a Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator who travelled to India in the seventh century and described the interaction between Chinese Buddhism and Indian Buddhism during the early Tang dynasty.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Kaumudi-Mahotsava (“Festival of Moonlight”) is a Sanskrit play of uncertain date. It is known from a single manuscript discovered in the present-day Kerala state of India. Its style and language suggest that it was composed around the 3rd century. The play narrates the story of prince Kalyanavarman of Magadha.

Answer: Option D
Explanation : Vardhamana Mahavira’s daughter name was Priyadarshana

Answer: Option A
Explanation : The Ramacharitam is a Sanskrit epic poem written in Arya metre by Sandhyakar Nandi during Pala Empire, between approximately 1050 and 1150 CE. This work simultaneously narrates the story of the Ramayana and the Pala king Ramapala. The work is biased in favour of Ramapala, but remains an important historical source for the Pala history.