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

Description: History
Number of Questions: 15
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Tags: History Kings Farmers and Towns Kings, Farmers and Towns
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Which of the following statements is/are correct?

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

  1. a, b and c

  2. only a and b

  3. only b and c

  4. a and c

  5. only b


Correct Option: E
Explanation:

This is the correct answer as statement b is the correct statement. James Prinsep, an officer in the mint of the East India Company, deciphered Brahmi and Kharosthi, two scripts used in the earliest inscriptions and coins.

Rajagaha was the capital city to which important Mahajanapada?

  1. Gandhara

  2. Kamboja

  3. Avanti

  4. Panchala

  5. Magadha


Correct Option: E
Explanation:

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

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

  1. Bimbisara

  2. Ajatashttu

  3. Mahapadma Nanda

  4. Chandragupta Maurya

  5. Ashoka


Correct Option: E
Explanation:

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

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

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

  1. only a

  2. only b

  3. only c

  4. only a and c

  5. a, b and c


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

This is the correct answer as this statement is correct. Inscriptions are virtually permanent records, some of which carry dates. Others are dated on the basis of palaeography styles of writing, with a fair amount of precision.

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

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

  1. only a

  2. only b

  3. only c

  4. only b and c

  5. a, b and c


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

This is the correct answer as both statements are correct.

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

  1. Ashoka

  2. Chandragupta Maurya

  3. Pandya chief Senguttuvan

  4. Samudragupta

  5. Shaka ruler Rudradaman


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

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

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

  1. Taxila

  2. Ujjayani

  3. Tosali

  4. Rajagaha

  5. Suvarnagiri


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

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

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

  1. local governer during the rule of the Mauryas

  2. local chief during the rule of the Shakas

  3. Gupta rulers

  4. Pandya chief Senguttuvan

  5. local governor during the rule of Satvahanas


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

This is the correct answer as the Sanskrit inscription on the rocks mentions that the lake, with embankments and water channels, was built by a local governor during the rule of the Mauryas.

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

  1. Pragya Prashasti

  2. Manusamriti

  3. Jatakas

  4. Harshacharita

  5. Silappadikaram


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

This is the correct answer. The Harshacharita is a biography of Harshavardhana, the ruler of Kanauj, composed in Sanskrit by his court poet, Banabhatta.

Which of the following do votive inscriptions record?

  1. Land grants to Brahamanas

  2. Legal rules for the rulers

  3. Gifts made to religious institutions

  4. Details of administration and military organisation

  5. Basic rules of life


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

This is the correct answer as votive inscriptions record gifts made to religious institutions.

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

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

  1. only a

  2. only b

  3. only c

  4. only a and c

  5. a, b and c


Correct Option: E
Explanation:

This is the correct answer as all these statements are correct.

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

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

  1. only a

  2. only b

  3. only c

  4. only a and b

  5. a, b and c


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

This is the correct answer. The Mahajanapadas that were oligarchies were ruled by a group of men called ganas or sanghas. Both Mahavira and Buddha belonged to such ganas.

Match the following columns:

 
Site of Ashokan Inscriptions Form of Inscriptions
a. Kandhar 1. Pillar inscriptions
b. Sanchi 2. Major rock edicts
c. Brahmagiri 3. Minor rock edicts
  1. a - 1, b - 2, c - 3

  2. a - 2, b - 1, c - 3

  3. a - 3, b - 2, c - 1

  4. a - 1, b - 3, c - 2

  5. a - 2, b - 3, c - 1


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

This is the correct answer. Kandhar has major rock edicts; Sanchi has pillar inscriptions; Brahmagiri has minor rock edicts.

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

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

  1. only a

  2. only b

  3. only c

  4. only b and c

  5. a, b and c


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

This statement is correct. 

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

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

  1. only a

  2. only b

  3. only c

  4. Both a and c

  5. a, b and c


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

This is the correct answer as both statements are correct.

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