Ancient Indian History MCQs

Notes:
Sakatayana was a Jain writer of the 9th century A.D.He lived during the reign of  Rashtrakuta ruler Amoghavarsha. He was the founder of a new school. His main work was Sabdansusana.

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Krishna III who ruled the Rashtrakuta empire from 939 A.D. to 967 A.D. is considered as the last great Rashtrakuta ruler, who consolidated the empire so that it stretched from the Narmada River to Kaveri River.

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Rajendra I in the year 1022 CE, led an expedition to the north. He followed the same route which was taken by the great conqueror Samudragupta and crossed Ganga. He defeated the Pala ruler, Mahipal I and the Western Chalukyas. He assumed the title of Gangaikondachola which means ‘the Chola conqueror of Ganga’ to commemorate this occasion.

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The term ‘Sangam’ means an assembly or ‘meeting together’ of Tamil poets. The three Sangams are believed to have been convened one after the other at different places under the patronage of the Pandya kings of Madurai.

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The first Buddhist Council was held in the Sattapani cave at Rajgir in 483 BC during the reign of Ajatasatru. It was presided by Mahakassapa. The council was held with the purpose of preserving Buddha’s teachings (Sutta) and rules for disciples. During this council, the teachings of Buddha were divided into three Pitakas.

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Asoka appointed officials, known as the Dhamma Mahamatta, who went from place to place teaching people about dhamma. Besides, Ashoka got his messages inscribed on rocks and pillars, instructing his officials to read his message to those who could not read it themselves. He also sent messengers to spread ideas about dhamma to Syria, Egypt, Greece and Sri Lanka.

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There is eight kind of marriages in Vedic Period. During the Vedic period, when a man and a woman married for love and without the consent of their families, that marriage was called Gandharva Vivaah or ‘love marriage.’ It was based on mutual attraction between two people, with no rituals, witnesses or family participation.

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The Jaina literature is known as Angas. The first attempts to systematise the preachings of Lord Mahavira, were made in the Pataliputra Council in the 4th century BC, but they were finally rearranged, redacted and committed to writing in the Valabhi Council in 512 AD under the presidentship of Devardhi Kshamasramana.

Notes:
The Kushana emperor Kanishka is credited with the initiation of the Saka era on his accession to the throne in 78 A D. After the downfall of Kushanas their feudatory, the Sakas of Ujjain continued to use this era. The Saka era has been used in the Indian National Calendar.

Notes:
Fire had a very important role in the life of primitive people as it was useful in cooking, burning forest and fighting animals etc. Hence, Agni is the second most important Rig Vedic god as there are roughly 200 hymns dedicated to him. Many of the rituals during that time involved offering oblations in a burning fire. Agni was termed as an intermediary between the god and the people because the oblations offered in the fire during a ritual were supposed to be carried to the gods in the form of smoke. Hence, option d is correct.