Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) and Answers on Mauryan and Post-Mauryan Period
Question 1 : The highly polished monolithic Ashokan Pillars were carved out of single pieces of a buff coloured sandstone, usually mined from the quarries of
a) Chunar near Mirzapur.
b) Lauriya in Nandangardh.
c) Sarnath near Varanasi.
d) Udayagiri near Bhubaneswar.
Answer : (c)
Question 2: The ‘Arthashastra’ is a treatise on which one of the following?
a) Economics.
b) Environment.
c) Political philosophy.
d) Religion in administration.
Answer: (c)
Question 3: Which one among the following statements about Ashokan edicts is correct?
a) The pillar Edicts were located in all parts of the Empire.
b) The Edicts give details about personal concerns but silent on events of the empire.
c) The subject of inscribed matter on rock Edicts differs from completely with that that of the pillar Edicts.
d) The Aramaic Edicts are versions or translation of the texts used in other Edicts.
Answer: (b)
Question 4 : Which one of the following is the correct chronological order of the given rulers of ancient India?
a) Ashoka-Kanishka-Milinda.
b) Milinda-Ashoka-Kanishka.
c) Ashoka-Milinda-Kanishka.
d) Milinda-Kanishka-Ashoka.
Answer: (c)
Question 5: The notion of Saptanga that was introduced in Arthashastra includes
a) King, territory, administration and treasury.
b) Music, dance, ragas, and wrestling.
c) Minister, civil servants, subalterns and those involved in Espionage.
d) Aristocrat, acharyas, trades and monks.
Answer: (a)
Question 6: The Ashtadhyayi of Panini, the Mahabhashya of Patanjali and the Kashika Vritti of Jayadithya deal with
a) Principle of law.
b) Principle of phonetics.
c) Principle of grammar.
d) Principle of laws linguistic.
Answer: (c)
Question 7: The ancient Indian play, Mudrarakshashas of Vishakhadutt has its subject on
a) A conflict between gods and demons of ancient Hindu lore.
b) A romantic story of an Aryan prince and a tribal woman.
c) The story of power struggle two Aryan tribes.
d) The court intrigues at the time of Chandragupta Maurya.
Answer: (d)
Question 8: The head of a district, the principal coordinator of the revenue and the officer-in-charge of general and military function in his jurisdiction during Mauryan empire was known as
a) Krori.
b) Rajuka.
c) Faujdar.
d) Chirastadar.
Answer: (b)
Question 9: Which one of the following ancient India record is the earliest royal order to preserve food grains to be utilized during the crisis in the country?
a) Sohagaura copper plate.
b) Rummindei pillar-Edict of Ashoka.
c) Prayaga-prasasti .
d) Mehrauli pillar inscription of Chandra.
Answer: (a)
Question 10: The name, Dharmashoka was found in the
a) Maski Edict.
b) Junagarh inscription.
c) Sarnath inscription.
d) Allahabad inscription..
Answer: (c)
Question 11: Ashoka himself considered his policy of Dhamma as?
a) The essence of original Buddhism as preached by Buddha.
b) A way of life which was both practical and convenient as well as highly moral.
c) The ideal of virtual life based on moral teachings of various thinkers.
d) The essence of all regions or the common religion of mankind.
Answer: (b)
Question 12. Who of the following dedicated the caves and Nargarjuni hills to the Ajivikas?
a) Kunala.
b) Dasharatha.
c) Samprati.
d) Indrapalit.
Answer: (b)
Question 13: On the death of Ashoka, the empire was probably divided into the Western and Eastern halves. The successor in the Western and Eastern halves respectively were
a) Kunala and Dasharatha.
b) Dasharatha and Kunala.
c) Samprati and Shalishuka.
d) Shalishuka and Samprati.
Answer: (a)
Question 14: Which of the following supposed causes of decline and disintegration of the Mauryan empire is most likely
a) Succession of weak kings and partition of empire after Ashoka.
b) Military inactivity on account of Ashoka’s pacifist policies.
c) Brahmanical revolt against the pro-Budbhist policy of Ashoka.
d) All of these.
Answer: (d)
Question 15. Which of the following statements about the Mauryan king is not correct.
a) They had extensive power encompassing administrative, judicial and legislative functions.
b) They laid claim to divinity.
c) Appointments to the most important officers were made by the ruler himself.
d) The kings often laid down codes of regulation for the guidance of their officers and people.
Answer: (b)
Question 16. Which one of the following Mauryan province had a foreign governor?
a) Southern province.
b) Eastern province.
c) Western province.
d) Saurashtra province.
Answer: (d)
Question 17. The destruction of the Mauryan empire was followed by a series of invasions, and the first to invade India were the
a) Bactrian-Greeks.
b) Parthians.
c) Kushanas.
d) Shakas.
Answer: (a)
Question 18: Which of the following statements about Antamahamatta is not correct?
a) These officers worked among the frontier and less civilized tribes.
b) They were responsible for acquainting the border people with the principle of Dhamma.
c) In times of emergency, they worked as wardens of frontiers.
d) It is quite likely that their duty included the toll duties.
Answer: (c)
Question 19: The centre of Sangam literature and the patrons of Sangam poets were
a) the Cheras of Vanji.
b) the Cholas of Uraiyur.
c) the Pandyas of Madurai.
d) All of the above.
Answer: (c)
Question 20: Which of the following kinds of devotion is primary devotion according to Bhagavatism?
a) Devotion of total detachment.
b) Devotion of the inquisitive
c) Devotion of the distressed
d) Unmotivated and selfless devotion
Answer: (d)
Question 21: Which of the following kingdom was not associated with the life of the Buddha?
a) Avanti.
b) Kosala
c) Gandhara
d) Magadha.
Answer: (c)
Question 22: Which of the following non Aryan social beliefs has been continuing in Tamil Nadu since the sangam age?
a) Children wearing an ornament on which the five weapons of Tirumala are punched.
b) Wearing a Tali by bride or married woman
c) Shaving the head of the widows
d) Offering a ball of cooked rice of the departed soul
Answer: (b)
Question 23: In which of the following texts was the first mention of sage Krishna,son of Devaki made?
a) Bhagavata Purana.
b) Mahabharata.
c) Chhandogya Upanishad.
d) Atharvaveda.
Answer: (c)
Question 24: During the Sangam age a tutelary tree called Kadimaram was planted by the rulers at a central place in the town and they took great care to protect the tree because
a) it was believed that the tree had power to protect the town.
b) the destruction of the tree was symbolic of the defeat of the ruler
c) Both”a” and “b”
d) the tree was symbolic of dynastic growth
Answer: (c)
Question 25: Frequent allusions to the Romaka Siddhanta and Paulisa Siddhanta ,by the great Indian astronomer Varahamihira, indicate
a) Roman influence on Indian astronomy.
b) Knowledge of Roman geography.
c) adoption of Western astronomical terms by the Indian astronomers
d) close interaction between Romans and Indian astronomers
Answer: (a)
Question 26: Which one of the following sculptures invariably used green schist as the medium?
a) Mauryan sculptures
b) Mathura sculptures
c) Bharhut sculptures
d) Gandhara sculptures
.
Answer: (c)
Question 27: Zero was invented by
a) Aryabhatta
b) Varahamihira.
c) Bhaskara 1
d) an unknown Indian.
Answer:: (d)
Question 28: Which Rock edict of Ashoka provides a description of the horrors of Kalinga war?
a) 13th Rock Edict.
b) Kalinga Edict at Dhauli
c) The Edict at Jaugada
d) 10th Rock Edict
Answer: (a)
Question 29: Which of the following administrative measures was not taken up by Ashoka?
a) The practice of royal tours visit of officers once in 5 years
b) Issuing of code of conduct to his officials
c) To save people from miscarriage of justice
d) Release of convicts on the mercy petition move by his ministers
Answer: (d)
Question 30: In social matters Ashoka’s most revolutionary concept was
a) Proper behaviour to slaves, servants, elders etc.
b) His opposition to wasteful social rituals and ceremonies at marriages, births, journeys etc
c) Both ‘a’ and ‘b’
d) None of the above
Answer: (c)
Question 31: Terracotta-seated figure of women making dough has not been found at which of the following Harappan sites?
a) Harappa.
b) Surkotda.
c) Mohenjodara.
d) Chanhudaro.
Answer: (b)
Question 32: Which of the following was the single most important social malady of Ashoka’s period, to eliminate which he expounded the policy of Dhamma?
a) Growing materialism.
b) Rigidity of the caste system
c) Social tension and sectarian conflicts
d) Wasteful ritualism of Brahmanical practice
Answer: (c)
Question 32: Who among the following scholars was not a contemporary of Kanishka?
a) Ashvaghosa
b) Nagarjuna
c) Vasumitra
d) Chanakya.
Answer: (d)
Question 33: According to the Junagarh Rock Inscription of Rudraraman, during the reign of one of the following rulers, a dam was built on the Sudarshan lake to facilitate water supply to the neighbouring country side Saurashtra. The ruler was
a) Chandragupta Maurya
b) Bindusara
c) Ashoka
d) Dasharatha
Answer: (a)
Question 34: Megasthenese states that Indian society was divided into seven classes, namely, philosophers, farmers, herdsmen, artisans, soldiers, overseers and councilors. This division was based on which consideration?
a) Social
b) Economic
c) Political
d) Religious
Answer: (b)
Question 35: According to the indigenous sources, including Ashokan Epigraphs, slavery existed in India during Mauryan period ,but Megasthenese said ‘all Indians are free and not one of them is a slave’ On what grounds did he infer so?
a) Their status were not much different from hired labourers
b) They could own property and also earn for themselves
c) In some cases they could also buyback their freedom
d) Both ‘b’ and ‘c’
Answer: (d)
Question 36. Which of the following gives the correct order of the first three Varnas according to their importance during the Mauryan period?
a) Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas
b) Vaisyas, Brahmins, Kshatriyas
c) Kshatriyas, Brahmins, Vaisyas
d) Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, Brahmins
Answer: (a)
Question 37: The five Hellinic Kings all contemporaries of Ashoka, found mentioned in Rock Edict XIII are
a) Antiochus, Ptolemy, Antigonus, Magas and Alexander
b) Antiochus, Arrian, Appian, Plutarch and, Magas
c) Antiochus, Nearchus, Hercules, Magas and Alexander
d) Diogenes, Hercules, Diodotus, Magas and Alexander
Answer: (a)
Question 38: “Use of white marble, long legs and slender frames, human beings as central characters and prominence of kings, princess and palaces” were the characteristic feature of which one of the following ancient art form of India?
a) Amaravati School of Art.
b) Gandhara School of Art.
c) Mathura School of Art.
d) Pahari School of Art.
Answer: (a)
Question 39: Which of the following items were introduced in India by the Chinese traders?
a) Vemicilli
b) Bamboo
c) Coconut
d) Both ‘a’ and ‘b’
.
Answer: (d)
Question 40: The word ‘Sangam’ is associated in Tamil history with
a) the literature produced during the reign of the great Pallava dynasty of Kanchi
b) the poems written in praise of the Pandyan Kings of the early Christian era
c) the court poetry of Chola kings who were famous for patronizing artist
d) a college of Tamil scholars held under the royal patronage of Pandyan kings at Madurai
Answer: (d)
Question 41: Which of the following does not testify to the impact of Aryan culture on the Sangam age?
a) Incorporation of Sanskritik ideas into Sangam literature
b) The anxiety to connect the local dynasties with the events of Mahabharata
c) The worship of forest trees and animal deities
d) The concept of marriage as a sacrement attended with rituals
Answer: (c)
Question 42: Bhagavatim has been regarded as completely democratic religion because
a) it opened the portals of salvation to all irrespective of caste, creed or sex.
b) it preached a simple religion in the language of the masses.
c) it was totally non-ritualistic religion emphasizing only individual’s devotion
d) it was free from high sounding philosophical speculations
Answer: (a)
Question 43: Which of the following dynasties arose after the decline of the satavahana empire?
a) The Abhiras
b) The Pallavas
c) Both ‘a’ and ‘b’.
d) None of these
Answer: (c)
Question 44: Which one of the following is correctly matched?
a) Kurinji – Korravai
b) Palai – Tirumal
c) Mullai – Vendan
d) Marudam – Vendan
Answer: (d)
Question 45: Which of the following was not a feature of the Post Mauryan terracotta art?
a) It was intended mainly for domestic worship and household decorations
b) Terracotta was the chief medium for making children’s toys and for popular and religious and magical practices
c) The indigenous terracotta made from single moulds and double moulds was the result of Greek influence
d) It was produced mainly in South India and from there it dispersed to other parts
Answer: (d)
Question 46: Which one of the following is not true about the social condition during the post-Mauryan period?
a) There is no evidence of the existence of independent Sudra peasants
b) Sudras could attain a higher social status
c) The distinctions between the Sudra and Vaisya categories were becoming thinner
d) The artisans and craftsmen were largely drawn from the Sudra category
Answer: (b)
Question 47: Which one of the following is not correctly matched?
a) Bimbisara – Magadha
b) Bindusara – Maurya
c) Agnimitra – Sunga
d) Shashanka – Kanva
Answer: (d)
Question 48: Which one among the following is not true about the Agrarian system of post-Mauryan period?
a) The person who brought the land under cultivation was the owner
b) The private individuals had limited right to alienation of land
c) There is no record of transfer of land for non-religious purposes
d) The private individuals had absolute right over their land
Answer: (d)
Question 49: Which one of the following is not correctly matched?
a) Brihatkatha – Gunadhya
b) Gatha Saptasati – Hala
c) Paumchariya – Vimalasuri
d) Pra bodha chandodaya – Hala
Answer: (d)
Question 50: Which one of the following statements about the social structure of the Sangam age is not correct?
a) The difference in the status and economic conditions was well accepted and rarely challenged by the people
b) Sangam literature mentions three regular Varnas, namely, Brahmins, kshatriyas and Vaisyas
c) There were four castes, namely, Tudiyan, Panar, Paraiyan and Kadamban
d) People were organised into professional social groups living apart from one another
Answer: (b)