Ancient India: From Indus to the Guptas: questions and answers
Study every question with its correct answer and explanation.
1. Which Indus Valley site in Gujarat is famous for a brick-lined structure widely interpreted as a dockyard?
- A. Kalibangan
- B. Lothal
- C. Banawali
- D. Rakhigarhi
Answer: Lothal
Lothal, near the Gulf of Khambhat, had a large brick basin that most archaeologists interpret as a dockyard, showing that Harappans carried on maritime trade. Dholavira, another Harappan city in Gujarat, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2021.
2. The 'Great Bath' of the Indus Valley Civilisation was discovered at which site?
- A. Harappa
- B. Lothal
- C. Kalibangan
- D. Mohenjo-daro
Answer: Mohenjo-daro
The Great Bath, a waterproofed brick tank in the citadel of Mohenjo-daro (in Sindh, present-day Pakistan), was probably used for ritual bathing. Harappa, the first Indus site to be excavated, by Daya Ram Sahni in 1921, gave the civilisation its other name — the Harappan Civilisation.
3. The Gayatri Mantra is found in which Veda?
- A. Rigveda
- B. Samaveda
- C. Yajurveda
- D. Atharvaveda
Answer: Rigveda
The Gayatri Mantra, addressed to the sun deity Savitr, appears in the third mandala of the Rigveda, the oldest of the four Vedas. The Rigveda is divided into ten mandalas (books), while the Samaveda consists largely of Rigvedic verses arranged for chanting.
4. India's national motto 'Satyameva Jayate' is taken from which Upanishad?
- A. Katha Upanishad
- B. Isha Upanishad
- C. Mundaka Upanishad
- D. Chandogya Upanishad
Answer: Mundaka Upanishad
'Satyameva Jayate' ('Truth alone triumphs') comes from the Mundaka Upanishad and is inscribed below the National Emblem of India in Devanagari script. The emblem itself is adapted from the Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath.
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5. Megasthenes, the author of 'Indica', came to the court of Chandragupta Maurya as the envoy of which ruler?
- A. Alexander the Great
- B. Seleucus I Nicator
- C. Darius I
- D. Antiochus I
Answer: Seleucus I Nicator
Megasthenes was sent by Seleucus I Nicator as ambassador to Chandragupta Maurya's capital, Pataliputra; his 'Indica' survives only through quotations by later Greek and Roman writers. The Arthashastra, a treatise on statecraft and economy, is traditionally attributed to Kautilya (Chanakya), Chandragupta's adviser.
6. Which of Ashoka's edicts describes his remorse after the Kalinga War?
- A. Major Rock Edict XIII
- B. Major Rock Edict I
- C. Minor Rock Edict at Maski
- D. Pillar Edict VII
Answer: Major Rock Edict XIII
Major Rock Edict XIII records Ashoka's regret over the death and suffering caused by his conquest of Kalinga (c. 261 BCE) and his turn from conquest by war to conquest by dhamma. Ashoka's Brahmi inscriptions were first deciphered by James Prinsep in 1837.
7. Which Gupta ruler was called the 'Napoleon of India' by the historian V. A. Smith?
- A. Chandragupta I
- B. Chandragupta II
- C. Samudragupta
- D. Skandagupta
Answer: Samudragupta
V. A. Smith gave Samudragupta this title because of his many successful military campaigns across the subcontinent. These conquests are recorded in the Allahabad (Prayag) Pillar inscription, composed by his court poet Harishena.
8. Which Chinese Buddhist pilgrim visited India during the reign of Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya)?
- A. Hiuen Tsang
- B. I-Tsing
- C. Sung Yun
- D. Fa-Hien
Answer: Fa-Hien
Fa-Hien (Faxian) travelled through India in the early 5th century CE, during Chandragupta II's reign, in search of Buddhist texts. Hiuen Tsang (Xuanzang) came in the 7th century, during the reign of Harshavardhana, and studied at Nalanda.
9. The founding of Nalanda Mahavihara in Bihar is generally credited to which ruler?
- A. Kumaragupta I
- B. Harshavardhana
- C. Dharmapala
- D. Ashoka
Answer: Kumaragupta I
Nalanda is generally credited to the Gupta ruler Kumaragupta I in the 5th century CE, and it later flourished under the patronage of Harshavardhana and the Pala kings. The ruins of Nalanda were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016.
10. The mathematician-astronomer Aryabhata, author of the 'Aryabhatiya', belonged to which period?
- A. Maurya period
- B. Kushan period
- C. Satavahana period
- D. Gupta period
Answer: Gupta period
Aryabhata composed the Aryabhatiya in 499 CE, in the Gupta period; he proposed that the Earth rotates on its axis and gave a very accurate value of pi. India's first satellite, launched in 1975, was named Aryabhata in his honour.