Ancient Indian History MCQs

Notes:
Manu, Yajnavalkya, Narada, and Brihaspati were law givers of ancient India. Manu is traditionally regarded as the author of the Manusmriti, a foundational text on Hindu law. Yajnavalkya is known for the Yajnavalkya Smriti, which also addresses legal and social issues. Narada is a sage often associated with legal and ethical discussions in texts like the Narada Smriti. Brihaspati, while primarily known as a deity of wisdom, is also linked to legal principles in ancient texts. These figures played crucial roles in shaping the legal framework of ancient Indian society.

Notes:
Mohenjodero was located on banks of river Indus. Harappa on Ravi. Chanhudaro is in Pakistan now. Lothal was on mouth of Gulf of Cambay.

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Charmanvati is the ancient name of Chambal. There is a verse in Nadistuti sukta of Rig-Veda, hymn of praise of rivers which mentions the following 10 rivers: Ganga, Yamuna, Sarasvati, Sutudri, Parusni, Asikni, Marudvrdha, Vitasta, Arjikiya, and Susoma. The Shutudri was Sutlej, Parushni was Ravi, Asikni was Chenab and Vitasta was Jhelum. The 5 rivers Sutudri, Parusni, Asikni, Vitasta, and Vipas all were tributaries of Sindhu River. Together with Sarasawti and Sindhu, these 5 rivers constituted the Sapta Sindhu

Notes:
Kumarasambhava and Raghuvamsha are the works of Kalidasa. Raghuvamsha is a Sanskrit mahakavya by the most celebrated Sanskrit poet Kalidasa. Though an exact date of composition is unknown, the poet is presumed to have flourished in the 5th century CE. Kumārasambhavam is an epic poem by Kālidāsa.

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Skandagupta issued four types of gold coins: Archer type, King and queen type, Chhatra type and Horseman type. His silver coins were of four types: Garuda type, Bull type, Altar type and Madhyadesha type.

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The earliest evidence of existence of human in India had been found the banks of the Narmada at Madhya Pradesh’s Hathnora village. Narmada Human also known as Narmada Man belongs to the category of Homo erectus, preceding Homo sapiens, the modern human species. Geologist Arun Sonakia was the main person involved in this most tantalising fossil discovery of a human ancestor.

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The Bodhi Tree was a large and ancient sacred fig tree located in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India, under which Siddhartha Gautama, the spiritual teacher who became known as the Buddha, is said to have attained enlightenment or Bodhi.

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The rejection of after-life is an aphorism of the Charvakas. Charvaka also known as Lokayata, is an ancient school of Indian materialism.
Charvaka holds direct perception, empiricism, and conditional inference as proper sources of knowledge, embraces philosophical skepticism and rejects ritualism, and supernaturalism.

Notes:
Of the listed options, Sutkagen Dor is the only archaeological site of the Indus Valley Civilization not located within modern borders of India. It lies near the Dasht river in Pakistan’s Balochistan province close to the Iranian frontier. Surkotada, Dholavira and Lothal are all IVC metropolitan centers excavated across the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan in western India that represented the easternmost outposts of the greater Indus zone.

Notes:
The Shvetambara sect of Jainism acknowledged the possibility of women attaining Jina-hood. The 19th Tirthankara is a female named Malli, who is the only female Tirthankara belonging to Shwetambara sect.