Ancient Indian History MCQs

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Lord Parshvanath was the 23rd Jain Tirthankara who lived around 872-772 BCE. He was born to King Ashvasena and Queen Vama of Kashi/Varanasi as a royal prince. He gave up worldly comforts and became an ascetic at age 30 in search of spiritual awakening. He attained Kevala Jnana under a Dhaataki tree near Varanasi after 83 days of deep penance. His main teachings were non-violence, not stealing, not lying and non-attachment to possessions. His iconic symbol is a snake or serpent sheltering him.

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The Rashtrakutas adopted Garuda as their dynastic emblem after the imperial Guptas. The Gupta period used Garuda as their royal emblem.

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Megasthenes – an ancient Greek historian and diplomat, author of an account of India, the Indica, in four books. He was sent by the Hellenistic king Seleucus I on embassies to the Mauryan emperor Chandragupta Maurya. He wrote that the dress worn by the Indians was made of cotton of a brighter white colour than any cotton found elsewhere.

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Metronymics: A name derived from the name of a mother or female ancestor. The metronymics are borne by the later Satavahanas and not by the early Satavahanas. It was mainly because Satavahanas had to establish matrimonial alliance with maharathis. The metronymics of the Satavahanas was the result of such alliances.

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In classical Sanskrit drama, Vidushaka (Bufoon) is essentially a Brahmin and is a confident / attendent of the Hero. Despite being educated in Sanskrit, he speaks in Prakrit, the vernacular language of the time. Bharata mentions him along with the principal characters in his Natyasastra.

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Rig Veda Purusha sukta is the Xth mandal of the Rig Veda that explains the origin of four varnas viz. Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra.

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The first evidence of the Stone Age culture in India surfaced in Karnataka as early as in 1842 when Dr. Primrose discovered polished stone knives and arrow heads at Lingsugur in Raichur district of Karnataka.

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The Junagarh inscription gives the information about the Sudarshan lake that the lake was an artificial reservoir, was built by the Mauryan emperors for checking floods. Around 150 AD, the lake was repaired by the Shaka ruler Rudradaman-I. And, it was again repaired under the Skandgupta’s reign (415 AD- 455 AD) by his governor Parnadatta.

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The nine gems or Navratnas adorned in the court of Chandragupta II Vikramaditya are Amarsimha, Dhanvantri, Harisena, Kalidasa, Kahapanaka, Sanku, Varahamihira, Vararuchi and .Vetalbhatta

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The capital of Kanishka I was at Purushapura (modern Peshawar) and regional capitals were Taxila (Pakistan), Begram (Afghanistan) and Mathura (India).