Ancient History Gk Questions

Correct Answer:-B ( Ravi )
Description:-  Harappa, is an archaeological site in Punjab, northeast Pakistan, which takes its name from a modern village located near the former course of the Ravi River. The two greatest cities, Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, emerged circa 2600 BC along the Indus River valley in Punjab and Sindh.

Correct Answer:-C ( Rajendra Chola )
Description:-  Rajendra Chola I extended the influences of the already vast Chola empire up to the banks of the river Ganges in the north and across the ocean. Rajendra’s territories extended coastal Burma, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Maldives, conquered the kings of Srivijaya (Sumatra, Java and Malay Peninsula in South East Asia) and Pegu islands with his fleet of ships. He defeated Mahipala, the Pala king of Bengal and Bihar, and to commemorate his victory he built a new capital called Gangaikonda Cholapuram.

Correct Answer:-C ( Vikramaditya )
Description:-  Chandragupta II was the third ruler of the Gupta Empire of India who took the epithet of Vikramaditya. 4th century CE Sanskrit poet Kalidasa, credits Chandragupta Vikramaditya with having conquered about twenty one kingdoms, both in and outside India. The title ‘Vikramaditya’ was later used by 16th century Hindu king Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya as well.

Correct Answer:-D ( All of the above )
Description:-  Economy in the Rig Vedic period was sustained by a combination of pastoralism and agriculture. There are references, in the Rig Veda, to leveling of field, seed, implements, yet the maximum references are made to ‘cow.’ Such terms as gotra, godhuli, goghana, gavya, gavyuti, etc shows the overwhelming place cow had in the period. The Vedic socio-economic-politico system revolved around cow.

Correct Answer:-D ( they used chariots driven by horses )
Description:-  The Aryans success can partly be attributed to the superiority of their technology, particularly weapon technology, over the people they conquered, namely the Dravidian people in South Asia. The Aryans had advanced bronze weapons, later iron weapons and horse drawn chariots with light spoked wheels. The native people the conquered at best had oxcarts and often only stone-age weapons.

Correct Answer:-A ( Tamil Nadu )
Description:-  Chola dynasty was a Tamil dynasty which was one of the longest-ruling dynasties in southern India. The earliest datable references to this Tamil dynasty are in inscriptions from the 3rd century BC left by Asoka, the dynasty continued to govern over varying territory until the 13th century AD. The heartland of the Cholas was the fertile valley of the Kaveri River, but they ruled a significantly larger area at the height of their power from the later half of the 9th century till the beginning of the 13th century.

Correct Answer:-C ( Age of the Buddha )
Description:-  Metal currency was minted in India well before the Mauryan empire (322–185 BC). The first Indian coins were minted around the 6th century BC by the Mahajanapadas of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. The coins of this period were punch marked coins called Puranas, Karshapanas or Pana. Early coins of India (400 BC— 100 A.D.) were made of silver and copper, and bore animal and plant symbols on them.

Correct Answer:-C ( IV, II, I and III )
Description:-  Some of the dynasties to have ruled Magadha were: Haryanka Kingdom (684–424 BC); Shishunaga Kingdom (413–345 BC); Nanda Empire (424–321 BC); and Maurya Empire (321–184 BC).

Correct Answer:-C ( (a), (b) and (c) )
Description:-  The Four Noble Truths are one of the central teachings of the Buddhist tradition. The teachings on the four noble truths explain the nature of dukkha (‘suffering’, ‘anxiety’, ‘stress’, ‘dissatisfaction’), its causes, the possibility of its cessation and how it can be overcome. The four truths are presented within the Buddha’s first discourse, Setting in Motion the Wheel of the Dharma (Dharmacakra Pravartana Sutra).

Correct Answer:-C ( Right view )
Description:-  In Jainism the three jewels (also referred to as ratnatraya) are understood as samyagdarshana (‘right faith’), samyagjnana (‘right knowledge’), and samyakcharitra (‘right conduct’). One of the three cannot exist exclusive of the others, and all are required for spiritual liberation.

Correct Answer:-A ( Patanjali )
Description:-  The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali are 196 Indian sutras (aphorisms) that constitute the foundational text of Raja yoga. In the Yoga Sutras, Patañjali prescribes adherence to eight ‘limbs’ or steps (the sum of which constitute ‘Ashtanga Yoga’, the title of the second chapter) to quiet one’s mind and achieve kaivalya.

Correct Answer:-A ( Chandragupta Murya )
Description:-  In the year 305 BC, Seleucus-I Nicator went to India and apparently occupied territory as far as the Indus, and eventually waged war with the Mauryan Emperor Chandragupta Maurya. His Indian campaign was, however, a failure. Seleucus ceded a considerable amount of territory to Chandragupta in exchange for 500 war elephants, which were to play a key role in the forthcoming battles.

Correct Answer:-B ( Trishala )
Description:-  Trishala was the Mother of Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism, and wife of the Jain monarch, Siddartha of Kundgraam, of present day Bihar. She finds mention in the classical Jain Agamas, the Kalpa sutra, written by Acharya Bhadrabahu (433 – 357 BC), which is primarily a biography of the Tirthankaras.

Correct Answer:-B ( Mohenjodaro )
Description:-  The Great Bath is one of the best known structures among the ruins of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization at Mohenjo-daro in Sindh, Pakistan. It is called as ‘earliest public water tank of the ancient world’.Archaeological evidence indicates that it was built in the 3rd Millenium BC.

Correct Answer:-C ( Bana )
Description:-  Banabhatta was the Asthana Kavi in the court of King Harshavardhana, who reigned in the years c. 606–647 AD in north India. His principal works include a biography of Harsha, the Harshacharita and one of the world’s earliest novels, Kadambari.

Correct Answer:-D ( An ancient astronomer )
Description:-  Varahamihira was an Indian astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer who lived in Ujjain. He is considered to be one of the nine jewels of the court of legendary ruler Vikramaditya (thought to be the Gupta emperor Chandragupta II Vikramaditya).

Correct Answer:-B ( Hiuen Tsang )
Description:-  ‘Prince of pilgrims’ Hieun Tsang, the well-known Chinese traveller was a Buddhist scholar who visited India in the 7th century A.D., (630-644 A.D). He came to India to visit all the places connected with the life of the Buddha, to further his knowledge of Buddhist philosophy and to collect Buddhist manuscripts. The writings of this `prince of pilgrims` gives historians much authentic information about the political, social, economic and religious conditions of those days and in particular about the status of Buddhism in various kingdoms.

Correct Answer:-C ( Charvaka )
Description:-  Charvaka is a system of Indian philosophy that assumes various forms of philosophical skepticism and religious indifference. It is characterized as a materialistic and atheistic school of thought. While this branch of Indian philosophy is today not considered to be part of the six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy, some describe it as an atheistic or materialistic philosophical movement within Hinduism. It emerged as an alternative to the orthodox Hindu schools, as well as a philosophical predecessor to subsequent or contemporaneous nastika philosophies such as Ajivika, Jainism and Buddhism.

Correct Answer:-A ( 261 BC )
Description:-  The Kalinga war was fought between the Maurya Empire under Ashoka the Great and the state of Kalinga, a feudal republic located on the coast of the present-day Indian state of Odisha and nothern parts of Andhra Pradesh. On the basis of Ashokan inscriptions, it can be established that it was fought in 262- 261 BC. The Kalinga war, the only major war Ashoka fought after his accession to throne, is one of the major and bloodiest battles in the history of India.

Correct Answer:-C ( Guptas )
Description:-  Some coins throw significant light on the personal events of certain Gupta rulers like Samudra Gupta. Vehicle of Vishnu inscribed on some coin indicate that Samudra Gupta was a devotee of that deity. Veena bears out his love for music. His coins show him playing veena.

Correct Answer:-B ( 78 AD )
Description:-  Kanishka was an emperor of the Kushan dynasty (127-151) who ruled an empire extending from Turfan in the Tarim Basin to Pataliputra on the Gangetic plain and famous for his military, political, and spiritual achievements. Kanishka’s era is believed by many to have begun in 127 AD on the basis of Harry Falk’s ground-breaking research. Chinese records of Yuehchi show his coronation as 78 AD. He was the founder of the Saka era which starts from 78 A.D.

Correct Answer:-C ( Guptas )
Description:-  Some coins of the Gupta dynasty throw significant light on the personal events of certain rulers like Samudra Gupta. Some coins depict him playing veena which bears out his love for music.

Correct Answer:-A ( 261 BC )
Description:-  On the basis of Ashokan inscriptions, it can be established that it was fought in 262-261 BC. The Kalinga war, the only major war Ashoka fought after his accession to throne, is one of the major and bloodiest battles in the history of India.

Correct Answer:-D ( Panini )
Description:-  Panini was a Sanskrit grammarian from Pushkalavati, Gandhara. He is known for his Sanskrit grammar, particularly for his formulation of the 3,959 rules of Sanskrit morphology, syntax and semantics in the grammar known as Ashtadhyayi (meaning ‘eight chapters’).

Correct Answer:-D ( Chandra Gupta II )
Description:-  Kalidas was one of the ‘nine gems’ at the court of a king named Vikramaditya, generally identified with the great Gupta ruler, Chandragupta II.

Correct Answer:-A ( Astronomer )
Description:-  Varahamihira (400 AD) was Indian astronomer, mathematician and philosopher. He was one of the nine gems in the court of Gupta ruler Chandragupta Vikramaditya.

Correct Answer:-C ( YajurVeda )
Description:-  Yajur Veda deals with sacrificial formulae. It is divided into Black Yajur Veda and White Yajur Veda.

Correct Answer:-B ( Kushan period )
Description:-  The best productions of Gandhara Sculpture appreared during Kushana period. Gandhara sculpture shows Greek influence, therefore, it is known as Indo- Greek art.

Correct Answer:-B ( Narasimha Varman I )
Description:-  The seashore temple at Mahabalipuram was built by Narasimha Varman I.

Correct Answer:-B ( Buddhists )
Description:-  The famous caves of Ajanta and Ellora belonged to Buddhists.