Ancient Indian History MCQs

Notes:
The term “Alwars” comes from ancient Indian mythology, specifying a specific group of 12 Vaishnava saints known for their poetic expressions of devotion for Lord Vishnu in Tamil Nadu. The prominent group includes Poigai Alvar, Bhoothathalvar, Peyalvar, and others. Their spiritual work is often considered the early precursor to the Bhakti movement that promoted devotion towards a particular deity overcoming the barriers of caste and gender.

Notes:
The Yogācāra is a Buddhist school’s philosophical tradition that stressed on metaphysical idealism. Nagarjuna, unlike the other philosophers Vasubandhu, Dinnaga, and Dharmakirti, was not a significant contributor to this tradition. Nagarjuna is renowned for his doctrine of “śūnyatā” (emptiness), a cornerstone of the Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition, rather than the Yogācāra tradition.

Notes:
Kathopnishad was translated by Max Müller in 1879. It was rendered in verse by Edwin Arnold as “The Secret of Death”. The central story is immortality and covers the story of encounter of Nachiketa, son of sage Vajasravasa, with Yama, God of death.

Notes:
The earliest of the Hindu sacred text, Rig-veda refers to the Saprasindhava, Panchanada, Madhydesa and Praki. These were perhaps the first references to the emergence of regions. The geographical location of these regions suggests that the Indo- Aryans preferred to settle down along the banks of the rivers-Sindhu (Indus), Vitasta, Jhelum), Asikni also known Chandrabhaga (Chenab). References are also found to Airavati (Ravn. Parushuni or Vipasa (Dcas), Saradru (Saduj) and the Saraswati. There is a general agreement that the region known as Panchanada included the plains of the five great eastern tributaries of the Sindhu river. Further east, the land between the Saraswati and Drishadvati was known to the IndoAryans as Brahmavarta. On the periphery of these plains lie the alluvial basins of the Gomti (Gomal), Krumu (Kurrum) and Kubha (Kabul). It is believed that these were the earliest Indo-Aryan settlements. Literary evidence suggests eastward march of the Indo-Aryans led to their settlements to the Madhyadesa regions. (Source: Geography of the South Asian subcontinent: a critical approach By Aijazuddin Ahmad)

Notes:
Samudragupta’s father was Chandragupta I(not to be confused with Chandragupta Maurya of the Mauryan dynasty), and his son, Chandragupta II. Samudragaupta, himself is called the Napoleon of India, for his stunning campaigns which saw him conquer all of what is now India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, in less than 30 years.

Notes:
By the end of the third century BC, most of North India was knit together in the first great Indian empire by Chandragupta Maurya. His son Bindusara extended the Mauryan empire over virtually the entire subcontinent, giving rise to an imperial vision that was to dominate successive centuries of political aspirations. The greatest Mauryan emperor was Ashoka (286-231 BC) whose successful campaigns culminated in the annexation of Kalinga.

Notes:
The Indus Valley civilization grew wheat and barley as their staple food. Besides this, they also grew peas, sesamum, lentils and other pulses. In some places, particularly Gujarat, they also grew millets. It has not been proved if they consumed rice or not.

Notes:
Explicit carved stone representations of female reproductive organs have been discovered from the excavations at the type-site of Harappa located in Sahiwal district of Pakistan’s Punjab province. These may have served a ritual purpose as fertility symbols. Some scholars believe them as evidence for an early tradition of revering the female entity, almost goddess-like, that continued in later Indian culture.

Notes:
There are several examples of local pre-Harappan cultures across Punjab and Gujarat called Early Harappan phase transitioning and ultimately integrating into mature Harappan civilization around 2600 BCE. Some key proto-Harappan phase cultures preceding and contemporaneous to early Harappans include Amri, Hakra, Sothi-Siswal cultures – showing incremental growth in socio-economic complexity.

Notes:
Daya Ram Sahni of ASI first scientifically excavated and brought to light the full significance of Harappa site in early 1920s, superseding earlier reports by archaeologists like Coussens, Fuhrer and others who recorded presence of an extensive brick ruins site in colonial India period but preliminary deductions failed to establish its identity.