Ancient Indian History MCQs

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A clay model of plough has been found from Banawali. It is an archaeological site belonging to Indus Valley Civilization period in Fatehabad district of Haryana.

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UNESCO World Heritage site Nalanda Mahavihara is a monastic and scholastic institution located in Bihar, built between 3^rd century BCE to the 13^th century CE.

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Yajur Veda is a step-by-step guide about the right way of performing religious ceremonies and sacred rituals. Derived from “yajus” meaning “prose mantra” and veda meaning “knowledge”), the Yajur veda is the Veda of prose mantras. An ancient Vedic Sanskrit text, it is a compilation of ritual offering formulas that were said by a priest at the time of ritual actions.

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An inscription of the 8th century AD at Uttaramerur temple describes the constitution of the local council, eligibility and disqualifications for the candidates, the method selection, their duties and delimits their power in Chola dynasty.

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The Gupta Period was one of the largest empires after the fall of the Maurya Empire in the Indian Subcontinent. To maintain the kingdom, kings of the Gupta Period required taxes from its people. Halivakara was a plough tax, paid by every cultivator owning a plough during Gupta Era. Kara was a periodic tax levied on the villagers during Gupta Era. It was a special kind of tax levied on king’s wish. Some other taxes include Bali, Bhoga, etc.

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The small-time kingdoms Kolathunadu, Valluvanad and Thekkumkoor used to be in Kerala in India. Kolattunadu was a kingdoms on the Malabar Coast during the arrival of Portuguese Armadas to India. Thekkumkur was an independent kingdom in the southern part of Kerala in India from 1103 CE until 1750 CE. Valluvanad, was country in south India, in the Bharathapuzha river basin in present-day central Kerala.

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The Kailasanatha Temple (Siva Temple) at Kanchipuram was built from 685-705 AD by Narasimhavarman II (Rajasimha) of the Pallava Dynasty. His son, Mahendravarman III, completed the front façade and the gopuram (tower). The temple is located on the banks of the Vegavathy River at the western limits of the Kanchipuram. The inner wall of it contains sculptures with paintings.

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The Atharvaveda, also known as “Veda of magical formulas”, consists of rituals, magical charms to address superstitious anxiety, spells to remove maladies believed to be caused by demons, and herbsand nature-derived potions as medicine. It represents a developing 2nd millennium BCE tradition of magico- religious rites.

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Digha Nikaya, a famous Buddhist book, mentions about Vajji Mahajanapada, which contains some of the speeches of Buddha. These were written down about 2300 years ago.

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The terms Anda, harmika, yasti, and chhatri are features of Buddhist stupas. A stupa is a burial mound that symbolizes the Buddha’s burial mound. The terms are defined as follows:

• Anda:A hemispherical mound that symbolizes the mound of dirt used to cover Buddha’s remains
• Harmika:A square railing that represents the Abode of the Gods
• Yasti:A mast that arises from the harmika
• Chhatri:An umbrella-like structure that shelters relics and is supported by a large central pillar

Stupas originated as simple semi-circular mounds of earth. They gradually evolved into more complex forms that combine round and square shapes.