Ancient Indian History MCQs

Notes:
Maya, the mother of Gautama Buddha, belonged to the Koliya dynasty. She was also known as Queen Mahamaya or Queen Maya. The Koliya dynasty was a clan or family that ruled over a region in ancient India, which is believed to be in the modern-day Nepal. Queen Maya’s husband was King Suddhodana, who was the ruler of the Shakya clan, and they were both from the same Koliya dynasty. Maya passed away shortly after giving birth to Siddhartha Gautama, who later became known as Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.

Notes:
The ancient city of Pataliputra was founded in the 5th century BC by Ajatashatru, king of Magadha. Patna is a riverside city that extends along the south bank of the Ganges (Ganga) River for about 12 miles.

Notes:
Giak and Kiari are Neolithic sites located in Ladakh. The sites are on the left bank of the Indus River, about 13,000 feet above sea level. They are about 10 km apart.  In the early 1990s, a team of Japanese archaeologists led by Dr Masato Ota excavated the sites.

Notes:
“Baladhikarana” in the Gupta Age is the Head of the army. The Gupta Empire is referred to as the Golden Age of India because of the extensive inventions and discoveries in science, technology, engineering, art, dialectic, literature, logic, mathematics, astronomy, religion and philosophy that illuminated the elements of Hindu Culture.

Notes:
Yajna Sri Satakarni was the 27th Satavahana ruler and appears to be last great ruler exercising control over vast territory. The last Satavahana ruler however, seems to be Pulumayi IV (ca. 215–225). (Andhra Pradesh district gazetteers)

Notes:
The name coromandal occurs in the forms Cholamandalam or Solamandalam on the great temple inscription of Tanjore. So Coromandel takes its name from the ancient dynasty of Tamil rulers known as the Cholas.

Notes:
In 973 AD, the Rashtrakuta dynasty came to an end as the last ruler Kakka II ( or Karka) was killed by Tailpa II ( the descendant of old Chalukya empire) and founded the dynasty of Chalukyas of Kalyani (also known as Later or Western Chalukyas).

Notes:
Sitabena and Jogimara are located in the Surguja district of Chhattisgarh. The caves are located on Ramgarh hill, near the village of Ramgarh. The hills have many caves, but the Sitabenga and Jogimara caves are the most important and frequently visited.
The caves are ancient monuments with non-religious inscriptions in the Magadhi language and Brahmi script. They also have eight panels of murals, but they have become faded.
The excavated ruins at the caves are said to represent the world’s oldest amphitheatres.

Notes:
Shakuntala is the story of how a highly king married a poor orphan, whose name was Shakuntala. However, the king was put under a spell and forgot about his bride. Eventually, he recovers his memory and the two of them become one again.

Notes:
The archaeological sources are immense when it comes to rediscovering the harappan civilization. There are 100s of sites uncovered which belong to the harappan period which include Harappa, mohenjodaro, lothal, Dholavira, nageshwar, balakot, Rakhigarhi etc. With each site having its unique evidence and structures such as the great bath at mohenjodaro, the reservoir at Dholavira and the traces of bead making worksops which include the tools used for making beads and it is clear what each site was used for.