Sources and Early Indian History Questions and Answers

Answer: D

All four places, Maski, Gujarra, Nittur and Udegolam, are exceptions: in the minor rock edicts at these places the emperor is named Asoka and not only called Devanampiya Piyadasi. Maski and Gujarra give the name Asoka explicitly, and Nittur and Udegolam in Karnataka do so as well.

The shorter codes leave out some of these sites, so they are incomplete and wrong. The edicts at these places are minor rock edicts, and they are important because they give the personal name of the king, which links the title Devanampiya with Asoka.

Answer: C

The source that gives the lie to the tradition of a fratricidal war of Asoka is Asokan Rock Edict IV, according to the key. The edict speaks of proper conduct toward relatives, which sits ill with the tradition of the king killing his brothers.

The Asokavadana and the Dipavamsa are Buddhist texts that are themselves the source of the tradition, and Pillar Edict VII is a late edict that deals with other matters, so they are wrong.

Answer: C

Asoka expresses remorse for the sufferings caused by the Kalinga war in Rock Edict XIII, where he says that the conquest of Kalinga caused him deep regret because of the death and captivity of many people.

The Separate Kalinga Edicts, the Bhabru Edict and Rock Edict IV deal with other matters such as administration, the Buddha's doctrine and the Dhamma, and do not contain this confession. The thirteenth rock edict is the longest and best known of the fourteen major edicts, and it records the change of the emperor from conquest by war to conquest by Dhamma.

Answer: C

Asoka declared that all people were his children in the Separate Kalinga Edicts, which were meant for the officers of the newly conquered Kalinga country and say that all men are his children and that he wishes them welfare and happiness in this and the next world.

The passage printed above also mentions this declaration. The Minor Rock Edict I, Rock Edict XII and the Rummindei Pillar Edict deal with other subjects, so they are wrong.

Answer: B

The key gives the horse.

Indus seals depict many animals, the humped bull, elephant, tiger, rhinoceros, buffalo and the 'unicorn', but no clear depiction of the horse. On this basis the standard textbook view holds that the horse was not known to the Harappans and became important only with the Vedic people.

A few finds, such as bones claimed as horse at Surkotada, have been debated, but the textbook position is the one the question follows. The bull and the elephant were certainly known, so options naming them are wrong.

Answer: D

The answer is None of the above: both statements are wrong.

The two pilgrims are swapped. Fa-Hien (Faxian) visited India in the early fifth century, during the reign of the Gupta king Chandragupta II. Hiuen Tsang (Xuanzang) came in the seventh century, during the reign of Harsha, and stayed at Nalanda.

Since each statement pairs the pilgrim with the wrong king, neither is correct.

Answer: A

The correct match is a-2, b-1, c-4, d-3.

• Charaka wrote the Charaka Samhita, a foundational text of Ayurvedic medicine (2).
• Brahmagupta was a seventh-century mathematician and astronomer who wrote the Brahmasphutasiddhanta (1).
• Varahamihira wrote the Brihat Samhita and works on astrology (4).
• Vishakhadatta was the playwright of the Mudrarakshasa (3).

The other codes misplace at least two of these.

Answer: B

The Nitisara was written by Kamandaka.

The Nitisara of Kamandaka, composed around the Gupta period, is a verse treatise on statecraft and politics. It summarises and builds on the ideas of Kautilya's Arthashastra, to which it pays homage.

Kautilya (Chanakya) wrote the Arthashastra itself, not the Nitisara, and Charaka was the author of the medical Charaka Samhita.

Answer: D

Tools made of limestone were found at Hunsgi.

Hunsgi, in Karnataka, is a Palaeolithic site where a number of early stone tools have been found, many of them made of limestone, which was available locally. Some of the sites there were factory sites, where tools were made.

Koldihwa (Uttar Pradesh) and Inamgaon (Maharashtra) are known for later Neolithic and Chalcolithic remains, such as early rice at Koldihwa and the village settlement at Inamgaon. Brahmagiri (Karnataka) is known for its Neolithic site and megaliths. None of them is the limestone Palaeolithic site.

Answer: C

The correct matching is (a) - (iv), (b) - (iii), (c) - (ii), (d) - (i).

• Punch-marked coins were stamped with symbols using dies (iv).
• Northern Black Polished Ware is an extremely fine, thin pottery with a glossy black finish, found at many sites in the north (iii).
• Amphorae were tall double-handled jars that carried liquids such as wine and olive oil (ii).
• Arretine ware, named after Arretium in Italy and found at Arikamedu, is stamped glazed pottery (i).

All four options agree on punch-marked coins. The other three swap at least one pair: options pairing Northern Black Polished Ware with 'stamped glazed pottery' or amphorae with 'extremely fine pottery' confuse the two kinds of pottery with each other or with the jars.