Ancient India History

• Ancient India refers to the period from prehistoric times to the start of Medieval India.
• Medieval India is typically dated to the end of the Gupta Empire around 500 CE.

Previous Papers Questions and Quizzes on Ancient India

• Megasthenes was a Greek ambassador sent to the court of Chandragupta Maurya by Seleucus Nicator, a Greek ruler of West Asia.
• Ashvaghosha, who composed a biography of the Buddha, the Buddha Charita, lived in the court of Kanishka.
• Lothal is a Harappan site located on the banks of River Sabarmati.
• The new syncretic religion propounded by the Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1582 was Din-i-Ilahi.
• Gautama Buddha propagated his doctrines and discourses in Pali.
• The treaty of Seringapatam was signed between Tipu Sultan and Cornwallis.
• Buddha was born in 563 B.C.
• Swami Vivekananda was associated with Ramakrishna Mission.
• Compassionate Buddha inspired the paintings of Ajanta.
• The Ajanta Caves are located in Maharashtra.
• Pulakeshin II was the greatest ruler of the Chalukya dynasty.
• The Kharoshthi script was used in Gandhara between the 3rd century BC and 3rd century AD.
• Hiuen Tsang was known as the 'Prince of Pilgrims'.
• Buddha delivered his first sermon at Sarnath.
• James Prinsep deciphered the Ashokan inscriptions for the first time.
• A ‘Samiti' was a popular assembly in the early Vedic period.
• Samudragupta styled himself as ‘Kavi Raja’.
• Panini was the first grammarian of the Sanskrit language.
• Kalidasa lived in the court of Chandragupta Vikramaditya.
• The Yajur Veda contains sacrificial formulae.
• Nishka, a type of coin, was used during the Mauryan period.
• The main source of information on the Harappan Culture is archeological excavation.
• The most mentioned river in the early Vedic literature is Sindhu.
• The first reference of Ayurveda or the Science of Life is found in the Atharva Veda.
• The most sacred river in the Rig Veda was Saraswati.
• Both Buddha and Mahavira preached their discourses during the rule of Bimbisara.
• The word used in Jainism for complete knowledge is Kaivalya.
• Pali language was used for the propagation of Buddhism.
• The ruling dynasty of India at the time of the invasion of Alexander the Great was the Nandas.
• Taxila was the famous center of learning during the Mauryan period.
• A large building known as the Great Granary is a distinguishing feature of Mohenjodaro.
• A well-organized local self-government was the major contribution of the Chola dynasty in the field of administration.
• The Buddhist Council was organized during the reign of Kanishka in Kashmir.
• The Saka era was started by Kanishka.
• Chaitya is a place of worship, while Vihara is a place of residence.
• Varahamihira was a great astronomer.
• Asoka was known by his epithet of 'Devanam Piyadassi'.
• Gautama Buddha was associated with the Sakya royal dynasty.
• Copper was the first metal used by man.
• Urbanization was the most distinctive feature of the Indus Valley Civilization.
• The storyline described in the Ajanta paintings is from Jataka tales.
• The origin of Indian Music can be traced in the Sama Veda.
• The Harappan people were the first in the production of cotton.
• Arthashastra can be compared with the ‘Prince' of Machiavelli.
• Lothal is the only Indus site with an artificial dockyard.
• Centralized Monopoly is the most apt description of the Mauryan monarchy under Asoka the Great.
• Aryabhatta and Varahamihira are associated with the Gupta dynasty.
• Ajatshatru was the ruler who killed his father Bimbisara to ascend to the throne.
• Bhaga was the name of the tax received by the king from his subjects during the Vedic period.
• Coins of the Gupta dynasty show fondness for music.
• Harappa is situated on the bank of the river Chenab.
• The main food of Vedic Aryans was Barley and Rice.
• The court language of the Gupta rulers was Sanskrit.
• Agriculture was the chief source of livelihood of the Indus people.
• Sri Gupta is associated with the origin of the Gupta Empire.
• Brahmi is the script of Allahabad Prasasti.
• During the later Vedic period, the king was called Samrat.
• Chandragupta was the Mauryan ruler who patronized Jainism.
• Buddhism was the religion patronized by Kanishka.
• Mahavira added the tenet of brahmacharya to the ones set by Parsvanath.
• The ancient Indian play Mudrarakshasa of Visakhadutt has its subject on A romantic story of an Aryan prince and tribal woman.
• Bhimbetka cave paintings pertain to the Palaeolithic Age.
• Microliths were a special feature of the Mesolithic Age.
• Copper was the first metal to be used by man.
• Mehrgarh is a Neolithic site.
• The Allahabad Pillar inscriptions depict the life of Samudragupta.
• Vishakadutta - Mudrarakshasa is incorrectly matched.
• Harappa was the first city of the Indus Valley Civilization.
• The 'Priest King' was a distinguishing feature of Mohenjodaro.
• Cotton growing was known to the people of the Harappan Civilization.
• The Yajur Veda helps the priests in the sacrificial pursuits.
• Kingship was not hereditary during the early Vedic age.
• The order in which the early kingdoms ruled Northern India was Haryanakas, Shishunagas, Nandas, Mauryas.
• The Nandas dynasty came to be acknowledged as a pioneer in empire building in India.
• The edicts of Ashoka were written in Prakrit.
• 'Prativedakas' in the Mauryan administration were special reporters.
• Kanishka was the first Indian ruler to have territory outside India.
• The Satavahanas were the most powerful kingdom in the Deccan, while the Kushanas ruled in the North.
• Hiuen Tsang was the first Chinese pilgrim to come to India.
• Harsha had Kanauj as his capital.
• Harsha authored ‘Ratnavali'.
• The Aihole inscriptions relate to the achievements of Pulakesan II.
• Pulakesan II defeated Harshavardhana in 620 AD.
• The Arabs were the first foreigners to come to India.
• Mohammed Ghori established Turkish rule in Northern India.
• The Sufi Movement originated in Persia.
• Surdas, a blind poet, lived in the court of Mughal Emperor Akbar.
• The administration of the Cholas was hallmarked by local self-government.
• Yunani was the Arba contribution to medicine.
• Dandin, a great Sanskrit scholar, lived in the court of the Pallavas.
• Samudragupta was a patron of art among the Gupta kings.
• Lothal gives evidence that the people of Indus Valley had a well-developed trade with other countries.
• Town planning was the most notable feature of the Indus Valley civilization.
• The religion of early Vedic people focused on nature worship and Yajnas.
• Rajagriha was the earliest capital of Magadha in ancient India.
• Tripitaka is considered the sacred book of the Buddhists.
• Rajagriha was the city where the first Buddhist Council was held.
• Rajuka was appointed to administer justice in the Mauryan kingdom.
• Chanakya was associated with Takshasila.
• Purushapura was the capital of Kanishka.
• The Indo-Greeks were the first kings to issue gold coins in India.
• The famous idol of Gomateswara is situated at Sravanabelagola.
• The Chisti Sufi order was established in India by Kwaja Moinuddin.
• Rajendra I sent a naval fleet to conquer Ceylon.
• The caves and rock-cut caves at Ellora are Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain.
• The first major inscription in classical Sanskrit is that of Samudragupta.
• Sanskrit was the official language of the Gupta period.
• The art style which combined Greek and Indian features is called Gandhar.
• Horse doesn't appear on the abacus of the Sarnath Lion Capital of Asoka.
• Chandragupta Maurya was a contemporary of Alexander the Great.