Ancient Indian History MCQs

Notes:
The Kalinga War was fought in 261 BC. The war was fought between Ashoka, the Mauryan Emperor, and the ruler of the State of Kalinga. The war was completed in the eighth year of Ashoka’s reign.
The Kalinga War was one of the most famous and bloodiest battles in world history. The war resulted in the deaths of 1,000,000 people, 150,000 captured, and an additional 1,000,000 died as a result of the conflict. The war was a turning point in Ashoka’s life. He vowed never to make war again and decided to devote the rest of his life to the spread of Dharma.

Notes:
Lothal is famous for the discovery of several ruins of Indus Valley Civilization. Lothal is located between the Sabarmati River and its tributary Bhogavo, in the Saurasthra region. The people of Lothal made significant and often unique contributions to human civilisation in the Indus era, in the fields of city planning, art, architecture, science, engineering, pottery and religion. Their work in metallurgy, seals, beads and jewellery was the basis of their prosperity.

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Lothal was one of the southernmost cities of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization located in the modern state of Gujarat. It was first excavated in 1957 by S R Rao. The notable structures at Lothal include a dockyard and warehouse.

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The inscriptions found in the central and eastern part of India were written in Magadhi Prakrit using the Brahmi script, while Prakrit using the Kharoshthi script, Greek and Aramaic were used in the northwest. These edicts were deciphered by British archaeologist and historian James Prinsep.

Notes:
The Buddha’s first sermon is sometimes called the “first turning of the dharma wheel.” Or “dharmachakra”. The sermon, Buddha gave to the five monks, was his first sermon and was called the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta. It was given on the full-moon day of Asalha Puja. Buddha subsequently also spent his first rainy season at Sarnath at the Mulagandhakuti.

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The Taittiriya Brahmana, composed during later Vedic period, mentions Indra destroying forts of the dasyus or indigenous people after helping the Aryan King Sudas defeat his enemies in the Battle of Ten Kings. This text references the end of urban centers in the Indus Valley following Aryan migration and has been interpreted by some historians as Indra annihilating Harappan culture, while others dispute this theory. Additional details about decline also emerge from reducing archeological traces of public architecture and written script.

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The Aranyakas are called the ‘forest books’ as they were mainly written by the hermits living in the jungles for their pupils. The Aranyakas deal with mysticism and philosophy. They oppose sacrifice.

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Jainism split into two major sects around third century CE. The Digambara were the ones who remained Sky-clad or naked and the Shvetambara used to be clad in White.

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The five aggregates of Buddhism which are also called Pancha-khanda or Pancha-skandha include Rupa, Vedana, Sanna, Sankharas, and Vinnana. These five aggregates work together to produce the personal experience.

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The Lichchavis of Vaisali was such a powerful state that Ajatasatru, the ruler of the powerful state of Magadha, had to make military preparation for years to annex it. He also maintained diplomatic relations with the Lichchavis.