Ancient History MCQ Quiz - Objective Question with Answer for Ancient History - Download Free PDF

The correct answer is Dhruvadevi.

Key Points

• Chandragupta II, also known as Vikramaditya, was married to Dhruvadevi.
• Dhruvadevi was the daughter of a powerful king from the Lichchhavi dynasty, which strengthened the political alliances of the Gupta Empire.
• This marriage was a significant political move, consolidating Chandragupta II's rule and alliances in northern India.
• The marriage is documented in various historical records and played a role in the expansion of the Gupta Empire's influence.

Additional Information

• Chandragupta II, ruling during the "Golden Age of India," promoted arts, culture, and education, leaving a lasting legacy in Indian history.
• Dhruvadevi's marriage to Chandragupta II ensured a strong political alliance, which helped the Gupta Empire consolidate its power.
• Chandragupta II is known for his successful military campaigns, which expanded his empire, particularly in northern and western India.
• The Lichchhavi dynasty, with which Dhruvadevi was associated, was influential in the region, and the marriage helped secure important alliances for the Gupta Empire.

The correct answer is Rakhigrahi.Key Points

• The port cities of the Indus Valley Civilisation are
  • Sutkagendor,
  • Balakot,
  • Lothal,
  • Allahdino, and
  • Kuntasi.
• ​Rakhigarhi is NOT a port town of the Indus Valley Civilisation.

Additional Information

• Rakhigarhi is the largest Harappan site in the Indian subcontinent.
• At Rakhigarhi, excavations are being done to trace its beginnings and to study its gradual evolution from 6000 BCE (Pre-Harappan phase) to 2500 BCE.
• The site was excavated by Amarendra Nath of ASI.
• The site is located in the Sarasvati river plain, some 27 km from the seasonal Ghaggar river.
• In May 2012, the Global Heritage Fund, declared Rakhigarhi one of the 10 most endangered heritage sites in Asia.

The correct answer is Pavapuri.

Key Points

• The salvation place of Mahavir Ji, the originator of the Jain religion is Pavapuri.
• Pavapuri is located in the Nalanda district of Bihar.
• Pavapuri is a sacred place in Jainism as it was a cremation area of Mahavir Ji.
• The Jal Mandir meaning Water Temple, also known as Apapuri, in Pawapuri, meaning a town without sins, in the Indian state of Bihar.
  • It is a highly revered temple dedicated to Lord Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara.

Additional Information 

• Jainism came into prominence in the 6th century B.C., when Lord Mahavira propagated the religion.
• There were 24 great teachers, the last of whom was Lord Mahavira.
  • These twenty-four teachers were called Tirthankaras-people who had attained all knowledge (Moksha) while living and preached it to the people.
  • The first Tirthankara was Rishabnatha.
• The word ‘Jain’ is derived from Jina or Jaina which means the ‘Conqueror’.

The correct answer is Alamgirpur.Key Points

• Alamgirpur was discovered by Bharat Sevak Samaj on the bank of river Hindon.
• Excavation was done in 1958 under the directions of Yag Dutt Sharma.
• Alamgirpur is a late-Harappan site situated on the banks of the river Hindon, a tributary of Yamuna river.
• It is the eastermost site of the Indus Valley Civilisation.
• It is located near Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.
• The people of Alamgirpur were involved in the cultivation of cotton and lived in villages.

Additional Information

• Belan Valley
  • ​Belan Valley is an old stone age site.
  • It is located in Uttar Pradesh.
  • It is situated on the northern spurs of the Vindhyas and middle part of Narmada valley.
  • All the three phases of stone age i.e., palaeolithic, mesolithic and neolithic ages are found here.

The correct answer is Vajji & Malla

 Key Points

• Gana sanga is also known as early republics. Gana means tribe or a clan. Sanga means association or organization
• Vajji and Malla were Gana-Sanghas. The Gana-Sanghas had a government by the assembly and within the assembly, they had an oligarchy
• Many smaller states and tribes near these great states also had the gana sangha form of government, such as the Koliyas, and the Shakyas, the small tribal state in which Gautama Buddha was born.

Additional Information

•  Vajji and Malla were two important Mahajanapadas.
• The term "Mahajanapadas" refers to the 16 powerful and large kingdoms that existed in ancient India from the 6th to 4th centuries BCE. These kingdoms were significant political and geographical entities during the later Vedic period and the early part of the Buddhist era. 
• The Mahajanapadas were spread across the northern and eastern regions of the Indian subcontinent. They covered a vast area from present-day Afghanistan in the west to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in the east.

• The 16 Mahajanapadas were significant ancient kingdoms in the Indian subcontinent. Th6 16 Mahajanapadas with their capitals are

• Mahajanapadas	Capital
  Anga	Champa
  Magadha	Rajagriha
  Kasi	Kasi
  Vatsa	Kaushambi
  Kosala	Shravasti (northern), Kushavati (southern)
  Shurasena	Mathura
  Panchala	Ahichchhatra and Kampilya
  Kuru	Indraprastha
  Matsya	Viratanagara
  Chedi	Sothivathi
  Avanti	Ujjaini or Mahishmati
  Gandhara	Taxila
  Kamboja	Poonch
  Asmaka	Potali/Podana
  Vajji	Vaishali
  Malla	Kusinara

The correct answer is Rakhigarhi.

Key Points

• Rakhigarhi site of Indus valley civilisation situated at Rakhigarhi village in Hisar district.
• The site is located in the Sarasvati river plain, some 27 km from the seasonal Ghaggar river.
• The Global Heritage Fund declared Rakhigarhi one of the 10 most endangered heritage sites in Asia.
•  A team of Indian and South Korean researchers carried out excavations in Rakhigarhi.
• The team unearthed a fire altar, parts of a city wall, drainage structures as well as a hoard of semi-precious beads.

Additional Information

Important Sites of Harappan Civilization:

The correct answer is Harishen.

Key Points

• Harishena was the court poet of the Gupta Emperor, Samudragupta.
• Allahabad Pillar inscription is also known as Prayag Prashasti consists of 33 lines composed by Harishena. 
• Prayag Prashasti is one of the important epigraphic sources to know about the political history of the Gupta dynasty.
• Samudragupta was a patron of many poets and scholars, one of whom was Harishena.
• Samudragupta was the son and successor of Chandragupta I and was the greatest ruler of the Gupta dynasty.
• He conquered the Kushans and other small kingdoms and greatly expanded the Gupta empire.
• He had been termed as the Nepolean of India by V. A. Smith.
• He annexed the territories after defeating the monarchs of North India but did not annex south India.
• His authority over Java, Sumatra, and Malaya Island prove that he maintained a strong navy.
• He is said to have composed numerous poems.
• Some of his coins present him playing Veena. 
• He also performed Ashvamedha sacrifices.
• According to Chinese sources, Meghaverma, the ruler of Srilanka, sent a missionary to him for permission to build a Buddhist temple at Gaya.
• The Allahabad pillar inscription mentions the title Dharma Prachar Bandhu i.e. he was the upholder of Brahmanical religion.

Additional Information

• Banabhatta was the court poet of King Harsha Vardhana.
• Chand Bardai was the court poet of Prithviraj Chauhan.
• Bhavabhuti was the court poet of the King of Kannauj, Yashovarman.

The correct answer is Lothal.

Key Points

• In Lothal Dockyard was found.
• List of Important sites with their features:

Additional Information

• The Indus Valley Civilization was spread from present-day North-East Afghanistan to Pakistan and North-West India.
• The civilization flourished in the river basins of the Ghaggar-Hakra river and the Indus.
• Indus valley civilization is one of the four oldest civilizations in the world.
• It is also known as Harappan Civilization and is well-known for its organized planning based on the grid system.

Important facts to be remembered.

• Social features:-
  • Indus valley civilization is the first urbanization in India.
  • It has a well-planned drainage system, grid pattern, and town planning.
  • They have possessed equality in society.

• Religious Facts:-
  • Matridevi or Shakti is the Mother goddess.
  • Yoni worship and Nature worship existed.
  • They worshipped trees like Peepal.
  • They also worshipped Fire worship called Havan Kund.
  • Pashupati Mahadeva is known as the lord of Animals.
  • The people of the Indus Valley Civilization worshipped Animal worship like unicorns and ox.
• Economic facts:-
  • Indus valley civilization is based on agriculture.
  • Trade and commerce flourished in this period.
  • A dockyard has been found at Lothal.
  • There were export and import.
  • Production of cotton was there.
  • At Lothal, weights and measures of truth existed in Harappan culture was seen.
  • The weights and were usually cubical in shape and were made of limestone, steatite, etc

The correct answer is Mehrgarh

Key Points:

• Mehrgarh is a neolithic site located near the Bolan pass on the Kacchi Plain of Balochistan, Pakistan, to the west of the Indus River Valley.
• It is the earliest known neolithic site in the Northwest Indian sub-continent, with early evidence of farming (wheat and barley), herding (cattle, sheep, and goats), and metallurgy.
• The oldest known example of the wax-lost techniques comes from a 6000-year-old wheel-shaped copper amulet found at Mehrgarh.

Additional Information

The correct answer is Rig Veda

Key Points

• The Rig-Veda is the oldest of the four collections of hymns and other sacred texts known as the Vedas.
• It contains most of the information about the religious and social life of the early Vedic period.
• These works are considered the "sacred knowledge" of the Aryans.
• The Rig-Veda also contains ideas that served as the basis for India's system of castes(Varna).
• According to Brahminic ideology, Varṇa means hierarchizing society into classes.

Additional Information

• Associated information with different Veda.

The correct answer is Ropar.

Key Points

Given below is the list of Important Indus Valley civilization sites, year of excavation and River associated-

The Correct Answer is 1921.
Key Points

• Harappa was an Indus civilization urban centre.
• It lies in Punjab Province, Pakistan, on an old bank/bed of the River Ravi.
• Harappa was the first site of the civilization to be excavated in 1921.
• The excavation team was led by Daya Ram Sahni.

 Important Points

• Mohenjo-Daro was discovered in 1922 by R. D. Banerji.

Rishabhdev was the first Tirthankara of the Jains.

• He was born to King Nabhi Raja and Queen Marudevi at Ayodhya in the Ikshvaku clan.
• Mahavira (6th century bce) was the last Tirthankara to appear.

The correct answer is Buddha, dhamma(dharma), sangha.

Key Points

Triratna in Sanskrit means 'Three Jewels'

• The Buddha
• Dhamma(dharma): his teaching
• Sangha: the community of all those who follow his teachings.

​Buddhism

• It is faith that was founded by Siddhartha Gautama("the Buddha").
• Siddhartha Gautam, the Lord Buddha was born in 563 B.C at Lumbini in Nepal.
• Attained Nirvana under a Pipal tree at Bodh Gaya & henceforth known as Buddha(The enlightened one).
• Delivered his first sermon at Sarnath (Banaras) know called the Dhammacakkappavattana.
• Died at the age of 80 at Kushinagar (U.P).

Noble truth by Buddha

• The world is full of sorrow.
• People suffer on account of desires
• If desires are conqueredNirvana can be achieved i.e., free from the cycle of birth and death can be achieved by following 8 fold path(ashtangika marga)
  • Right Understanding
  • Right Determination
  • Right Speech
  • Right Action
  • Right Livelihood
  • Right Exercise
  • Right Mindfulness
  • Right Medication

Teaching by Buddha

• Buddha was a practical reformer and did not believe in the soul or God or the metaphysical world and concerned himself with worldly problems.
• Suggested that a person should avoid an excess of both luxury & austerity and prescribed a middle path.
• Laid great emphasis on Karma(Varna based on action not on birth) & Ahimsa.
• Opposed the varna system and laid down the principle of social equality.
• Buddhist Text
  • Tripitaka's: All written in Pali Language
  • Sutta-Pitaka
  • Vinaya-Pitaka
  • Abhidhamma-Pitaka
• Buddhist Councils

• John Marshall was the first scholar who used the term 'Indus Civilization' for the Harappa Civilization. 
• The time period of this civilization was 2500 BC - 1750 BC. 
• This civilization was mainly known for its great urban planning and sewage system. 
• Rakhaldas Bandopadhyay was known for discovering the site of Mohenjodaro whereas Dayaram Sahni was known for his discovery of Harappa. 
• RS Bisht discovered the Indus Valley Civilization site Banawali in 1973.