Ancient Indian History MCQs

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The Seventh Rock Edict mentions of religious tolerance amongst all sects and welfare measures for public. Ashoka propagated such ideas not only in his own kingdom but also in the neighbouring kingdoms of Cholas, Pandyas, and that of Antiochus in the north-west.

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In the Arthashastra of Kautilya there is mention of Pativedakas and Pulisani who functioned as special reporters of the King. They kept the King informed of public opinion.

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Menander or Milinda was converted to Buddhism by Nagasena. He is identified with the King Milinda who is mentioned in the famous Buddhist text Milindapanho (Question of Milinda).

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Hermaius was the last ruler of the the Indo-Greek dynasty. Around the last quarter of the 2nd century BCE he was defeated by the Parthians. This led to the end of Greek rule in Bactria and the area to the south of the Hindu Kush.

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Samudragupta issued coins showing him playing veena. Samudragupta celebrated his conquests by performing ashvamedha sacrifices or horse sacrifice. He also issued ashvamedha coins which portrayed the scene of the sacrifice.

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The Buddha images found in Mathura were different from Sarnath in several ways. The dated stone image of a seated Tirthankara belonging to 432 CE which was excavated at Mathura was also different from the seated figurines of preceding centuries.

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Vindhyashakti I is considered as the founder of the Vakataka dynasty. The Ajanta Inscriptions which was constructed during the time of Harisena describes him as a dvija and praises him for his military achievements.

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Sarvavarmana maintained his hold on Magadha and also kept the later Guptas under control. The Asirgadh Inscription in the Nimar district of Madhya Pradesh tells about the victory of Sarvavarmana over Damodargupta.

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Harsha’s reign was marked by many military victories. He brought most of north India under his control such as- Punjab, Kannauj, Bengal, Orissa, Mithila. He assumed the title of ‘Siladitya’ as mentioned in travel records of Xuanzang (Hsuan Tsang) who was a Chinese traveller.

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Gopala was succeeded by his son, Dharmapala. He ruled for about 40 years. He achieved a lot in his lifetime. Dharmapala also undertook foreign expedition. However he initially suffered defeats at the hands of the Pratiharas and the Rashtrakutas.