Ancient Indian History MCQs

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Lord Parshvanath was the 23rd Jain Tirthankara who lived around 872-772 BCE. He was born to King Ashvasena and Queen Vama of Kashi/Varanasi as a royal prince. He gave up worldly comforts and became an ascetic at age 30 in search of spiritual awakening. He attained Kevala Jnana under a Dhaataki tree near Varanasi after 83 days of deep penance. His main teachings were non-violence, not stealing, not lying and non-attachment to possessions. His iconic symbol is a snake or serpent sheltering him.

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The famous book ‘Brihat Katha’ was written by Gunadhya, who was the great scholar in the court of Satvahana King Hala.

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The famous Indo-Greek, Menander I (165/155–130 BCE) set up his capital at Sakala or Sialkot.

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Hieun Tsang, the Chinese pilgrim, visited India during the reign of Harshavardhana with an aim of securing authentic Buddhist scripts. The Kannauj assembly (643 AD) was held in the honour of Hieun Tsang and to popularise Mahayana sect of Buddhism. He stayed in India for about fifteen years and recorded his experience in his book ,’ Si-Yu-Ki’. The book throws lights on the religion, customs, traditions, etc. Of the country.

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The Mauryan emperor, Ashoka invaded Kalinga in 261 BC and after a fierce battle Kalinga was conquered. The 13th rock edict of Ashoka elaborates the Kalinga war.

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The Major Rock Edict VII of Ashoka requests for religious tolerance amongst all sects. It appears from the edict that tensions among the sects were intense perhaps in open antagonism.

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The author of Manimekalai is Seethalai Saathanaar (also spelled as Chithalai Chathanar), a Buddhist poet. The book is a poem in 30 cantos. It is a sequel to the epic Silappadikaram and tells the story of the daughter of Kovalan and Madhavi who converted to Buddhism. The book compares Buddhism with other religions in South India. Manimekalai is one of the Five Great Epics of Tamil Literature. The other four are: Silappatikāram, Cīvaka Cintāmaṇi, Valayapathi, Kuṇṭalakēci. Manimekalai has been dated between the 2nd-century and early 9th century.

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Ramagupta was the elder son and immediate successor of Samudragupta. Earlier, he was known from the traditional narratives only, but later, three inscriptions on Jaina tirthankara images were discovered from Durjanpur near Vidisha, which mention him as the Maharajadhiraja.

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The Nitisara of Kamandaka, also known as the Kamandakiya-Nitisara, was composed during the period of Gupta Dynasty. It was based on Kautilya’s Arthashastra

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Dhauli hills are located on the banks of the river Daya, 8 km south of Bhubaneswar in Odisha . It is a hill with vast open space adjoining it, and has major Edicts of Ashoka engraved on a mass of rock, by the side of the road leading to the summit of the hill. Asoka’s 7 pillar edicts have been found at Topra (Delhi), Meerut, Kausambhi, rampurva, Champaran, Mehrauli. Minor pillar edicts have been found at Sanchi, Sarnath, Rummindei, Nigalisagar.