Mauryan & Post-Mauryan India Quiz: Ancient Indian History Practice

Spoilers! These are the Starter quiz’s answers. Easy, Medium, Hard and Mixed rounds show their own answers when you finish.

1. Which Greek ambassador at the court of Chandragupta Maurya wrote the "Indica"?

   • Deimachus
   • Megasthenes
   • Ptolemy
   • Pliny

   Answer: Megasthenes. Megasthenes was sent by Seleucus Nicator. His Indica survives only in quotations by later Greek and Roman writers.

2. Which of Ashoka's inscriptions describes the Kalinga war and his remorse over it?

   • Major Rock Edict XIII
   • Pillar Edict VII
   • Minor Rock Edict I
   • Major Rock Edict I

   Answer: Major Rock Edict XIII. Rock Edict XIII records the deaths and deportations in Kalinga and Ashoka's turn to conquest by dhamma.

3. Who deciphered the Brahmi script of Ashoka's inscriptions in 1837?

   • Alexander Cunningham
   • William Jones
   • James Prinsep
   • Charles Wilkins

   Answer: James Prinsep. James Prinsep, an official of the Calcutta mint, read the Brahmi inscriptions and identified "Devanampiya Piyadasi".

4. In which of these inscriptions is the name "Ashoka" itself (not just "Devanampiya Piyadasi") mentioned?

   • Girnar
   • Kalsi
   • Dhauli
   • Maski

   Answer: Maski. The Maski minor rock edict in Karnataka names "Devanampiya Asoka", which confirmed that Piyadasi was Ashoka.

5. The last Mauryan ruler, Brihadratha, was killed by his commander:

   • Vasudeva Kanva
   • Pushyamitra Shunga
   • Kharavela
   • Simuka

   Answer: Pushyamitra Shunga. Pushyamitra Shunga killed Brihadratha around 185 BCE and founded the Shunga dynasty.

6. The Hathigumpha inscription gives an account of which ruler?

   • Rudradaman I
   • Gautamiputra Satakarni
   • Kharavela
   • Menander

   Answer: Kharavela. Kharavela of the Chedi dynasty of Kalinga had it carved in the Udayagiri hills near Bhubaneswar. He was a patron of Jainism.

7. The Saka era, which begins in 78 CE, is traditionally associated with the accession of:

   • Kanishka
   • Rudradaman I
   • Chandragupta II
   • Vima Kadphises

   Answer: Kanishka. Most historians link the start of the Saka era with Kanishka's accession. India's national calendar uses this era.

8. The Junagadh rock inscription, the first long inscription in chaste Sanskrit, was issued by:

   • Nahapana
   • Kanishka
   • Samudragupta
   • Rudradaman I

   Answer: Rudradaman I. The Shaka ruler Rudradaman I recorded his repair of the Sudarshana lake (c. 150 CE), first built under Chandragupta Maurya.

9. The Pali text "Milindapanho" is a dialogue between the Indo-Greek king Menander and the monk:

   • Nagarjuna
   • Nagasena
   • Ashvaghosha
   • Vasumitra

   Answer: Nagasena. Menander (Milinda) questioned Nagasena on Buddhist doctrine, and is said to have become a Buddhist.

10. Consider the following statements about the Satavahanas: 1. Several kings bore names taken from their mothers, such as Gautamiputra. 2. They issued a large number of lead coins. 3. The Nasik inscription of Gautami Balashri records the achievements of Gautamiputra Satakarni. Which of the statements given above are correct?

    • 1 and 2 only
    • 2 and 3 only
    • 1 and 3 only
    • 1, 2 and 3

    Answer: 1, 2 and 3. All three are correct. The Nasik inscription was put up by Gautamiputra's mother, Gautami Balashri. The Satavahanas also gave land grants to Buddhist monks.