GK Library - Unlocking Knowledge, Empowering Minds

Question Answer Set - 11 for WBCS/WBPSC/RAIL/BANK

1. Who identified the name Sandrocottus as

Chandragupta Maurya?

(a) Megasthenes (b) Justin

2. Which dynasty ruled over Magadha after Nanda

dynasty?

(a) Maurya (b) Gupta

3. Who was the founder of Maurya dynasty?

(a) Chandragupta II (b) Chandragupta Maurya

4. The most important source for the study of

Mauryan history is

(a) Mudrarakshasa

(b) Natural Historica

(d) Arthashastra

5. Who was the author of Arthashastra?

(a) Vasudeva (b) Megasthenes

6. Who of the following was a contemporary of

Alexander the great?

(a) Chandragupta Maurya

(b) Pushyamitra Sunga

(d) Ashoka

7. Who was the mentor of Chandragupta Maurya?

(a) Vishakhadutta (b) Chanakya

8. During the reign of Chandragupta Maurya,

Pataliputra was administered by a board consisting

of the members numbered.

(a) 20 (b) 30

9. Who was Ashoka’s contemporary king of Ceylon?

(a) Abhaya

(b) Pakanduka

(d) Mutasiva

10. The Mauryan administrative centre Samapa can

be identified with

(a) Girnar (b) Dhauli

11. Which among the following was the first empire

to stretch from sea to sea from the Bay of Bengal

to the Arabian sea?

(a) Nanda (b) Maurya

12. In which of the following inscriptions, Ashoka

declared some concessions in taxes?

(a) Minor rock Edict, Sasaram

(b) Bhabru-Bairat Edict

(d) Rock Edict XII

13. Who among the following said that Chandragupta

Maurya overran and subdued the whole of India

with an army of six lakhs?

(a) Justin (b) Strabo

14. Who among the following was the Governor of

Saurashtra during the reign of Ashoka?

(a) Tusashpha (b) Suvishakha

15. Rulers of which of the following dynasties

maintained diplomatic relations with distant

countries like Syria in the west?

(a) Maurya (b) Gupta

16. In which of the following inscriptions, Ashoka

made his famous declaration “All men are my

children” ?

(a) Minor Rock Edict of Ahrawra

(b) Pillar Edict VII

(d) Separate Kalinga Rock Edict I

17. Who were the beneficiaries of Ashoka’s donations

in the region of Barabar Hill?

(a) Buddhists (b) Ajivikas

18. The earliest example of rock cut architecture is

evident for the time of

(a) Pre-Mauryan (b) Mauryan

19. Which of the following Ashoka inscriptions is in

Kharosthi script?

(a) Lumbini (b) Girnar

20. Who was the son of Ashoka mentioned in an

inscription?

(a) Mahendra (b) Kunala

21. Sarnath Stambh was built by

(a) Harshwardhan (b) Ashoka

22. The officers related to survey and settlement work

under Ashoka were called

(a) Rajukas

(b) Prativedaka

(d) Sannidhata

23. Which one of the following inscriptions refers to

construction of two granaries to be used in the time

of distress?

(a) Madhuban copper plate

(b) Poona copper plate

(d) Sohagaura copper plate

24. Ashoka’s deep devotion to Buddha, Dhamma

and Sangha is mentioned in which of following

inscriptions?

(a) Rock Edict III

(b) Pillar Edict VII

(d) Bhabru Minor Rock Edict

25. Who replaced Megasthanese as the ambassador

of the Syrian king Antiochus I in the court of

Bindusara?

(a) Diodorus (b) Arrian

26. Turamaya mentioned in the inscriptions of Ashoka

was his contemporary king of

(a) Afghanisthan (b) Egypt

27. The Gujarra minor rock edict, on which the name

of Ashoka is mentioned, is located in

(a) Uttar Pradesh (b) Madhya Pradesh

28. Which of the following Ashokan inscriptions is

devoted to the principle of religious tolerance

completely?

(a) Rock Edict XIII

(b) Rock Edict XII

(d) Bhabru Minor Rock Edict

29. Which of the following mentions about the meeting

of Sandrokottas (Chandragupta Maurya) with

Alexander the Great?

(a) Pliny (b) Justin

30. Which of the Mauryan kings wanted a Sophist

from Greece to his court?

(a) Chandragupta Maurya

(b) Bindusara

(d) Kunal

31. Which of the following was an administrative

centre of the Southern province of Ashoka’s

empire?

(a) Isila (b) Samapa

32. In which of the following pillars, inscription of

Ashoka the name of his queen “Karuvaki” is

mentioned?

(a) Sarnath Pillar

(b) Allahabad Pillar

(d) Lauria Nandan Garh Pillar

33. Who of the Jain saints is associated with

Chandragupta Maurya?

(a) Umaswami (b) Sthulbhadra

The book Indica was written by

(a) Seleucas (b) Megasthenes

35. Which was the currency in circulation during the

Maurya period?

(a) Pana (b) Tola

36. The earliest epigraphic reference to Chandragupta

Maurya is found in the

(a) Barabar cave inscription of Ashoka

(b) Hathigumpha inscription of Kharvela

(d) Junagarh Rock inscription of Rudradaman

37. Rupadarsaka in the Mauryan administration was

(a) Manager of stage

(b) Examiner of gold, silver and copper

(d) Superintendent of courtesans

38. The superintendent of weights and measures in the

Mauryan administration was

(a) Samsthadhyaksha (b) Lavanadhyaksha

39. Name the famous ruler of ancient India, who

adopted Jain Dharm in his last days.

(a) Chandragupta Maurya

(b) Ashoka

(d) Bindusara

40. The Arthashastra of Kautilya is a

(a) Play about Chandragupta Maurya

(b) Biography

(d) Book on principles of Government

41. The name by which Ashoka is generally referred

to in his inscription is

(a) Chakravarti (b) Devraja

42. Which one of the following texts of ancient India

allows divorce to a wife deserted by her husband?

(a) Kamasutra (b) Arthashastra

43. Which one of the following scripts of ancient India

was written from right to left?

(a) Kharoshti (b) Brahmi

44. Which one of the following edicts mentions the

personal name of Ashoka?

(a) Kalsi

(b) Rummindei

(d) Maski

45. The Ashoka major rock edicts which tell us about

the Chola, Pandya, Satyaputta and Kerelaputta?

(a) I and VII (b) II and III

46. Realizing the need of water, the first ruler who got

a lake constructed in the Girnar area was

(a) Chandragupta Maurya

(b) Ashoka

(d) Skandagupta

47. The Lumbini was the birth place of Gautama

Buddha, is confirmed by an inscription of

(a) Ashoka (b) Kanishka

48. Which of the following were called Sarthavaha?

(a) Brokers (b) Carvan of traders

49. Which of the following sources gives a detailed

account of city administration of the Mauryas?

(a) Kautilya’s Arthashastra

(b) Megasthanese’s Indica

(d) Inscription of Ashoka

50. Who was the first to have successfully read the

Ashoka’s inscriptions?

(a) Charles Wilkins

(b) Dayaram Sahni

(d) James Prinsep

Answer Key :

1. (b) The Roman historian Justin described

Sandrocottus (Greek version of Chandragupta’s

name) conquered the northwest India.

2. (a) Maurya dynasty ruled over Magadha after

Nanda dynasty. Chandragupta destroyed the Nanda

dynasty around 321 BC, and became the first king of

the great Mauryan empire.

4. (d) Kautilya’s Arthasastra is a very important source

for the knowledge of Mauryan dynasty. Chanakya or

Kautilya, the minister of Chandra Gupta throws a

flood of light upon the contemporary social, political

and economic conditions of the country at that time.

It also gave a wealth of information regarding duties

of the king, his foreign policy and organization of

spies.

6. (a) Chandragupta Maurya set up the Mauryan

Empire following Alexander’s retreat. There

is evidence to show that Chandragupta was a

contemporary of Alexander.

7. (a) Chanakya was the mentor of Chandragupta

Maurya. He was a great scholar, teacher of economics

and political science in ancient India. Different lessons

of politics and war were taught to Chandragupta by

Chanakya. Chandragupta Maurya established Maurya

Empire by defeating Dhana Nanda of Nanda dynasty.

8. (b) Chandragupta, the founder of the Mauryan

Empire was not only a great warrior but also an able

administrator. He set up a sound and efficient system

of administration in his vast empire. There was a

municipal committee of 30 members to look after the

affairs of the city. They looked after public buildings,

water supply, sanitation, roads, gardens, hospitals,

schools, temples and other works of public utility.

9. (c) Ashoka maintained close relations with Tissa,

the ruler of Ceylon. Devaanampiya Tissa was the

second son of Mutasiva. He was a friend of Asoka

even before he became king.

10. (d) Samapa, modern-day Jaugada was administrative

centre of the Mauryan empire after the Kalinga

conquered by Ashoka.

11. (b) The Mauryan empire became the first to

stretch from sea to sea – from the Bay of Bengal

to the Arabian Sea. More probably it was intended

to engross the lucrative maritime trade in timbers,

textiles, spices, gems and precious metals between

the ports of India and the Persian Gulf.

12. (c) Lumbini pillar inscriptions, King Ashoka visited

Lumbini and worshipped the Buddha, the sage of

the Sakyans was born there. He set up a pillar and

the village of Lumbini was exempted from tax and

required to pay only one-eighth of the produce

because the Lord was born there.

14. (a) Yavana Tushaspha was the Governor of

Saurashtra in Ashoka’s reign, evidently because

Pushyagupta’s son had become a Jain monk and

left no descendants behind. Pushyagupta was

the Governor of Saurashtra appointed by the

Chandragupta Maurya.

15. (a) Mauryan Emperor Bindusara had friendly

relations with the Greek King Antiochos-I of Syria.

Deimachos was a Syrian Ambassador who came in

the court of Bindusara. Mauryan Emperor Ashoka

the Great also mentions the names of Hellenic

king– Antiochus II of Syria in his 13th rock edict.

This shows that Mauryan dynasty maintained the

diplomatic relations with distant countries like Syria

in the West.

17. (b) The edicts of Ashoka are a collection of 33

inscriptions on the Pillars of Ashoka. One of the

edicts of Asoka’s Barbara cave inscription mentions

the donation of Barbara hills region to Ajivika sect.

19. (d) The inscriptions of Ashoka are written in two

scripts known as Brahmi and Kharosthi. Kharosthi

script has been used in the inscriptions found

at Shahbazgarhi in Mardan District of Khyber-

Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan and Manshera

also in Pakistan.

20. (c) The Buddhist texts mention about the family of

Ashoka. His first wife was a princess of Ujjaini called

Devi or Vedisa. His two other wives were Karuvaki

and Asandhimitra. Asoka’s only son mentioned in

inscriptions is Tivara, who was born to Karuvaki.

The name of Karuvaki and Tivara are mentioned in

Queen’s edict.

21. (b) Ashoka built the Sarnath pillar to commemorate

the site of the first preaching of Lord Buddha, where

he taught the Dharma to five monks. The Ashoka

Pillar at Sarnath is about 15.24 m in height and weighs

50 tons. The four-lion sculpture placed on top of this

pillar is now treasured in the Archaeological Museum

of Sarnath.

23. (d) The earliest known copper-plate, known as

the Sohgaura copper-plate, is a Maurya record that

mentions famine relief efforts. The Sohgaura copper

plate refers to a pair of Kosthagara (granaries) to be

used in the time of distress.

24. (d) Bhabru minar rock edict was placed near Viratt

in Jaipur state dated from 258 to 257 BC. In this

inscription, Ashoka expressed or rather confessed his

faith in the Buddha, Dharma and the Sangha. He also

refers to seven examples of Buddhism which were

dear to him and he wished that his subjects should

also follow them.

25. (d) Deimachos succeeded Megasthenes as

ambassador to the court of Bindusara sent by the

Syrian king Antiochus I.

26. (b) In his thirteenth inscription, Ashoka mentions

five Greek contemporary kings. Turamaya has been

identified with the contemporary ruler of Egypt up

to 247 BC.

27. (b) Gujarra edict is located north of the village

Gujarra at the foot of a low hill locally known as

Siddham ki Todiya. It was discovered in 1953 CE.

Gujarra is located near the town of Datia in Madhya

Pradesh. The edict here refers Ashoka with his

personal name.

28. (b) The Rock edict XII of Ashoka inscriptions

is devoted to the principle of religious tolerance

completely. Ashoka pleaded for tolerance of different

religious sects in an attempt to create a sense of

harmony.

30. (b) Bindusara conquered some of the parts of

southern peninsula. He also maintained contact with

his Greek counterparts. He asked the Greek kings to

send a Sophist to his court.

31. (a) During 4th and 3rd century BCE, Karnataka was

part of Nanda and Maurya Empire. The Brahmagiri

edicts in Chitradurga dated around 230 BCE belong

to emperor Ashoka and says of the nearby region as

‘Isila’ which means ‘fortified region’. These rock

edicts indicated that the Isila was the southernmost

extent of the Mauryan empire.

33. (d) It is believed that Chandragupta Maurya adopted

Jainism and became an ascetic under the Jain saint

Bhadrabahu and migrated south with him. He ended

his life at Sravanabelgola in present day Karnataka

by Jainism custom Santhara (death by fasting).

34. (b) The Greek author Megasthenes wrote ‘Indica’.

During Alexander’s invasion in the western part of

India around 300 Christian era, Megasthenes came to

India. Indica is the most authentic book to know about

the Mauryan period and the regime of Chandragupta

Maurya.

35. (a) Mauryas’ India had evolved its own monetary

system based on indigenous standards. In the

Arthasashtra, the silver pana with its sub-divisions is

evidently recognized as the standard coin, while the

copper mashaka with its divisions ranks as a token

currency.

40. (d) The Arthashastra is an ancient Indian treatise

on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy

which identifies its author by the names ‘Kautilya’

and ‘Vishnugupta’, both names that are traditionally

identified with Chanakya. The book, written in

Sanskrit, discusses theories and principles of

governing a state.

41. (d) The rock inscriptions of Devanampriya

Priyadarshi were being discovered all over India

for centuries. But for a long time, the identity of

this ‘Devanampriya Priyadarshi’ remained a puzzle.

In the year 1915 near a village called Maski in

Raichur District of Karnataka, a rock inscription was

discovered on a hill. In this inscription, for the first

time, the name of Ashoka was found with titles like

Devanampriya and Priyadarshi. It was then certain

that Devanampriya Priyadarshi was no other than

Ashoka.

42. (b) According to social law of ancient India, a

woman was always considered a minor. Divorce

was prohibited, although it sometimes took place.

According to the Arthashastra, a wife who had been

deserted by her husband could seek a divorce.

43. (a) The Kharosthi script is an ancient script used by

the ancient Gandhara culture of South Asia primarily

in modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan. Kharosthi

is mostly written right to left (type A), but some

inscriptions (type B) already show the left to right

direction that was to become universal for the later

South Asian scripts.

45. (d) Major Rock Edict II mentions Chola, Pandya,

Satyaputra and Keralpautra kingdoms in South India.

Major Rock Edict XIII speaks of Asoka’s annexation

of Kalinga. It mentions Asoka’s victory by dhamma

over Greek kings and the Chola, Pandya, and Andhra

kingdoms in South India.

46. (a) It is evident from the note of Megasthenes,

importance of land and water management was

realised even during 300 B.C for social welfare.

During this period, famous Sudarshan lake on Girnar

hill in Gujarat was built by Chandragupta Maurya.

48. (b) Proper rules of conduct of trade were laid by

the head of trade guilds, known as Sarthavaha or

Srenipramukha. The rules were called Samay and

Srenidharma. Taxila, Pushkalavati, Kapisa and

Vidisha prospered as trade centres, under the Indo-

Greek rulers.

49. (b) Megasthenes stayed at Pataliputra for about

five years. He wrote a book called ‘Indica’ in which

he gave a detailed account of his observations of

Mauryan government and social life.

50. (d) James Princep was an English scholar, orientalist

and antiquary. Remained unread until James Princep

successfully deciphered Ashoka’s edicts inscription

in 1837. Stories of Ashoka flourished from the time

of his death and grew more fanciful with the passing

centuries.

Question Answer Set - 11 for WBCS/WBPSC/RAIL/BANK

Question Answer Set - 11 for WBCS/WBPSC/RAIL/BANK

Post a Comment

Report writing for WBCS/ICDS/PSC MISC/SSC and other exam

Contact Form