Start learning →

UPSC CDS Mauryan Empire — practice questions

Explore 30 free Mauryan Empire questions in UPSC CDS History. Open each question or exercise to read its content, reference answers and available explanation.

Practise Mauryan Empire with Quill →

Mauryan Empire questions and exercises with answers

Showing questions 1–30 of 30.

An East India Company mint officer deciphered Brahmi and Kharosthi in the 1830s. Who was he?Read the answer and worked solution →In Asokan inscriptions the king is called Piyadassi. What does the title mean?Read the answer and worked solution →Early Buddhist and Jaina texts list how many great states or mahajanapadas?Read the answer and worked solution →Mahajanapadas where power was shared by several men called rajas were known as:Read the answer and worked solution →Which mahajanapada in present-day Bihar became the most powerful between the sixth and fourth centuries BCE?Read the answer and worked solution →Rajagaha, the first capital of Magadha, is present-day:Read the answer and worked solution →Chandragupta Maurya founded his empire in about which year?Read the answer and worked solution →Asoka conquered Kalinga, which lies in which present-day region?Read the answer and worked solution →Megasthenes, whose account survives in fragments, was a Greek ambassador to whose court?Read the answer and worked solution →Parts of the Arthashastra were probably composed by whom?Read the answer and worked solution →Who was the first ruler to inscribe messages to subjects and officials on stone?Read the answer and worked solution →Which Mauryan provincial centre, meaning golden mountain, tapped the gold mines of Karnataka?Read the answer and worked solution →How many sub-committees did Megasthenes say coordinated Mauryan military activity?Read the answer and worked solution →For roughly how many years did the Mauryan Empire last?Read the answer and worked solution →Which rulers adopted the title devaputra, son of god, and set up colossal statues at Mat near Mathura?Read the answer and worked solution →The Prayaga Prashasti praising Samudragupta was composed by which court poet?Read the answer and worked solution →The Gandatindu Jataka describes subjects fleeing a wicked king. In which language were the Jatakas written?Read the answer and worked solution →In Sangam texts, large landowners were called vellalar and slaves adimai. What were ploughmen called?Read the answer and worked solution →Prabhavati Gupta, who granted a village by inscription, was the daughter of which ruler?Read the answer and worked solution →The Harshacharita, a biography of Harshavardhana, was written by whom?Read the answer and worked solution →The first coins bearing names and images of rulers were issued by whom?Read the answer and worked solution →In which year did James Prinsep finally decipher Asokan Brahmi?Read the answer and worked solution →Catch the Mauryan centresRead the answer and worked solution →Pop the mahajanapadasRead the answer and worked solution →Run the authorsRead the answer and worked solution →Slice the Magadha kingsRead the answer and worked solution →Ruler or textRead the answer and worked solution →Sort the coin issuersRead the answer and worked solution →Type the numberRead the answer and worked solution →Early states bingoRead the answer and worked solution →

Worked practice questions

An East India Company mint officer deciphered Brahmi and Kharosthi in the 1830s. Who was he?

  1. James Prinsep
  2. John Marshall
  3. William Jones
  4. Charles Wilkins
Show answer and solution

Correct answer: A. James Prinsep

1. Prinsep worked in the Company mint. 2. He read Brahmi and Kharosthi. 3. Most inscriptions named a king Piyadassi. _Source: syllabus Themes in Indian History Part I, Theme 2, Kings, Farmers and Towns: Early States and Economies._

Open this question →

In Asokan inscriptions the king is called Piyadassi. What does the title mean?

  1. Beloved of gods
  2. Pleasant to behold
  3. Lord of the earth
  4. Son of the gods
Show answer and solution

Correct answer: B. Pleasant to behold

1. Piyadassi means pleasant to behold. 2. Devanampiya means beloved of the gods. 3. Both titles refer to Asoka. _Source: syllabus Themes in Indian History Part I, Theme 2, Kings, Farmers and Towns: Early States and Economies._

Open this question →

Early Buddhist and Jaina texts list how many great states or mahajanapadas?

  1. Sixteen
  2. Eleven
  3. Twelve
  4. Twenty
Show answer and solution

Correct answer: A. Sixteen

1. The sixth century BCE was a turning point. 2. Texts mention sixteen mahajanapadas. 3. Vajji, Magadha, Koshala, Kuru, Panchala, Gandhara and Avanti recur. _Source: syllabus Themes in Indian History Part I, Theme 2, Kings, Farmers and Towns: Early States and Economies._

Open this question →

How to practise

  1. Choose a Mauryan Empire question and try to work out your answer.
  2. Open the question to check the correct answer and read its worked solution.
  3. Continue in the app for bite-sized lessons, explanations and review with Quill. You can start without creating an account.

More History topics

Indian HistoryArt & CultureIndian History TimelineModern Indian HistoryAncient Indian HistoryWorld HistoryMedieval Indian HistoryPolitical Theory