Ancient Indian History MCQs

Notes:
Kautilya’s Arthashastra, Ashoka’s Inscriptions, Megasthenes Indica and Vishakhadatta`s Mudrarakshasa are the main sources of Mauryan History.

Notes:
The name Lothal is derived from the term “Lothall,” which means “mound of the dead” in the local language.

Notes:
The urban centers of Gangetic plain declined with the gupta empire. The areas surrounding Prayag, Saketa and Magadha areas have declined.

Notes:
During the Vedic age, 2 types of medium of exchange are Niska and hiranyapinda. Rigvedic niskas and hiranyapindas, in this period, stood as a link between the money and currency stages of the development of the economy.

Notes:
hotr was the presiding priest, with perhaps only the adhvaryu as his assistant in the earliest time.

Notes:
Fire, an element of almost equal importance to water, has also played a major role in Indian religion, as an agent of ritual purification and as a means of transmitting offerings to the gods. While water seems to have had a religious significance throughout the Harappan realms, ritual installations involving fire are at present known only from the southern parts, along the Saraswati and in Gujarat. These fire altars were first uncovered at Kalibangan, where one of the platforms in the southern part of the citadel had a row of seven oblong clay-lined pits containing charcoal, ash, and terra-cotta cakes; such cakes were used in kilns to retain heat and perhaps had a similar function in these fire pits. In each pit there was also a cylindrical or faceted clay stele, perhaps representing the lingam (sacred phallus)

Notes:
In the caverns of Ajanta, India, one can see the many cave paintings that were left on the walls of cave temples. The Buddhists who had their temples their painting mural of Buddhist stories and legends and also of scenes of Gupta India.

Notes:
Major sites of Malwa Culture include Daimabad, Inamgaon, Kayatha, Nagda, Vidisha, Eran, Mandsaur, and Navdatoli (near Maheshwar). A massive fortification wall and a moat have been discovered at Eran

Notes:
The significant features of Indus Valley civilization are personal cleanliness, town planning, construction of burnt-brick houses, ceramics, casting, forging of metals, manufacturing of cotton and woolen textiles. Mohenjo-Daro people had finest bath facilities, drainage system, and knowledge of personal hygiene.

Notes:
Silver made its earliest known appearance in the region historically known as India before any other part of the ancient world according to current evidence. Ornaments, beads, vessels, and figurines of nearly pure silver have been discovered from Harappan Phase sites. Silver mines located in northwest India supplied the material that skilled metal smiths fashioned into prestigious goods signaling wealth. The technology spread beyond South Asia later.