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UPSC CDS Ancient Indian History — practice questions — page 17

Explore 779 free Ancient Indian History questions in UPSC CDS History. Open each question or exercise to read its content, reference answers and available explanation.

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Ancient Indian History questions and exercises with answers

Showing questions 481–510 of 779.

Most early inscriptions referred to a king as Piyadassi, meaning:Read the answer and worked solution →Early Buddhist and Jaina texts mention how many mahajanapadas?Read the answer and worked solution →Mahajanapadas where power was shared by a number of men called rajas were known as:Read the answer and worked solution →Magadha's iron mines lay in present-day:Read the answer and worked solution →The ambitious Magadhan kings best known from Buddhist and Jaina texts include Bimbisara, Ajatasattu and:Read the answer and worked solution →In the fourth century BCE the capital of Magadha shifted from Rajagaha to:Read the answer and worked solution →Asokan inscriptions in Afghanistan used which scripts?Read the answer and worked solution →Chandragupta Maurya founded the Mauryan Empire in about:Read the answer and worked solution →Asoka conquered Kalinga, which is present-day coastal:Read the answer and worked solution →Megasthenes was a Greek ambassador at the court of:Read the answer and worked solution →The Arthashastra is traditionally attributed to:Read the answer and worked solution →Besides the capital Pataliputra, the Mauryan provincial centres were Taxila, Ujjayini, Tosali and:Read the answer and worked solution →Megasthenes describes a military committee with how many subcommittees?Read the answer and worked solution →Special officers appointed by Asoka to spread dhamma were the:Read the answer and worked solution →The Mauryan Empire lasted about:Read the answer and worked solution →The ancient Tamil country of the Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas was called:Read the answer and worked solution →Kushana rulers adopted the title devaputra, meaning:Read the answer and worked solution →The Prayaga Prashasti praising Samudragupta was composed by:Read the answer and worked solution →The Sudarshana lake in Gujarat is known from a rock inscription of the Shaka ruler:Read the answer and worked solution →Paddy production in the Ganga valley rose dramatically through:Read the answer and worked solution →Greek sources credit the Mauryan ruler with a standing army of how many foot-soldiers?Read the answer and worked solution →Catch the mahajanapadasRead the answer and worked solution →Pop the Mauryan wordsRead the answer and worked solution →Run the Mauryan ageRead the answer and worked solution →Slice the early society wordsRead the answer and worked solution →Maurya or GuptaRead the answer and worked solution →Sort rulers, texts and placesRead the answer and worked solution →Type the numberRead the answer and worked solution →Early states bingoRead the answer and worked solution →The Harshacharita, a biography of Harshavardhana of Kanauj, was composed by:Read the answer and worked solution →

Worked practice questions

Most early inscriptions referred to a king as Piyadassi, meaning:

  1. Conqueror of all
  2. Pleasant to behold
  3. Beloved of gods
  4. Lord of the earth
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Correct answer: B. Pleasant to behold

1. A few inscriptions also called him Asoka. 2. Piyadassi means pleasant to behold. 3. This redirected the study of early political history. _Source: syllabus Themes in Indian History I, Theme 2, Kings, Farmers and Towns._

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Early Buddhist and Jaina texts mention how many mahajanapadas?

  1. Sixteen
  2. Twelve
  3. Twenty
  4. Eleven
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Correct answer: A. Sixteen

1. The lists vary between texts. 2. There were sixteen mahajanapadas. 3. Vajji, Magadha, Koshala and Avanti recur. _Source: syllabus Themes in Indian History I, Theme 2, Kings, Farmers and Towns._

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Mahajanapadas where power was shared by a number of men called rajas were known as:

  1. Kula or gotra
  2. Ganas or sanghas
  3. Rajya or rashtra
  4. Grama or nagara
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Correct answer: B. Ganas or sanghas

1. They were oligarchies. 2. Such states were ganas or sanghas. 3. Mahavira and the Buddha belonged to them. _Source: syllabus Themes in Indian History I, Theme 2, Kings, Farmers and Towns._

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