Solution: (b)
The concept of zero as a number and not merely a symbol for separation is attributed to India, where, by the 9th century AD, practical calculations were carried out using zero, which was treated like any other number, even in case of division. The credit for inventing ‘zero (0)’ goes to Indian mathematicians and the number zero first appears in a book about ‘arithmetic’ written by an Indian mathematician ‘Brahamagupta’. Zero signifies ‘nothing’ and the current definition calls it an ‘additive identity’. The Indian mathematicians Bhaskara, Mahavira and Brahamagupta worked on this new number and they tried to explain its properties. It wasn’t that somebody suddenly came up with the idea of the zero and the mathematicians throughout the world accepted it. Around 500 AD, Aryabhatta, an Indian mathematician, devised a numbers system and the symbol he used for the number zero was also the number used to represent an unknown element (x).
The language used to write source materials in ancient time was
(a) Sanskrit
(b) Pali
(c) Brahmi
(d) Kharosthi
Solution: (b)
Pali is a Middle Indo-Aryan language (of Prakrit group) of the Indian subcontinent. It is best known as the language of many of the earliest extant Buddhist scriptures, as collected in the Pali Canon or Tipitaka, and as the liturgical language of Theravada Buddhism. T. W. Rhys Davids in his book Buddhist India, and Wilhelm Geiger in his book Pali Literature and Language, suggested that Pali may have originated as a form of lingua franca or common language of culture among people who used differing dialects in North India, used at the time of the Buddha and employed by him.
Most of the chola temples were dedicated to
(a) Ganesh
(b) Shiva
(c) Durga
(d) Vishnu
Solution: (a)
The five great events in Buddha’s life are represented by symbols as under: (a) Birth by Lotus and Bull, (b) Great Renunciation by Horse, (c) Nirvana by Bodhi Tree, (d) First Sermon by Dharmachakra or Wheel and (e) Parinirvana or death by the stupa.
‘Buddha’ means
(a) The Enlightened one
(b) The Religious Preacher
(c) The Genius
(d) The Powerful
Solution: (a)
The word Buddha is a title for the first awakened being in an era. “Buddha” is also sometimes translated as “The Enlightened One”. As Gautam fully comprehended the Four Noble Truths and as he arose from the slumbers of ignorance he is called a Buddha. Before His Enlightenment he was a bodhisattva which means one who is aspiring to attain Buddhahood. He was not born a Buddha, but became a Buddha by his own efforts. Every aspirant to Buddhahood passes through the bodhisattva period — a period comprising many lives over a vast period of time.
The essential feature of the Indus Valley Civilisation was
(a) worship of forces of nature
(b) organized city life
(c) pastoral farming
(d) caste society
Solution: (b)
Among all the Bronze Age cultures, the Indus Valley civilization was the most urbanized. A sophisticated and technologically advanced urban culture is evident in the Indus Valley Civilization making them the first urban centres in the region. The quality of municipal town planning suggests the knowledge of urban planning and efficient municipal governments. By 2600 BCE, the Early Harappan communities had been turned into large urban centres. Such urban centres include Harappa, Ganeriwala, Mohenjo-Daro in modern day Pakistan, and Dholavira, Kalibangan, Rakhigarhi, Rupar, and Lothal in modern day India.
Name the capital of the Pallavas
(a) Kanchi
(b) Vatapi
(c) Trichnapalli
(d) Mahabalipuram
Solution: (a)
Pallavas ruled regions of northern Tamil Nadu and southern Andhra Pradesh between the second to the ninth century CE. Kanchipuram served as the capital city of the Pallava Kingdom from the 4th to the 9th century. It is also known by its former names Kanchiampathi, Conjeevaram, and the nickname “The City of Thousand Temples’. Kanchipuram was mentioned in the Mahabhasya, written by Patanjali in the 2nd century BC.
Which metal was first used by the Vedic people?
(a) Silver
(b) Gold
(c) Iron
(d) Copper
Solution: (d)
The Rig Veda mentions such artisans as the carpenter, the chariot-maker, the weaver, the leather worker, the potter, etc. This indicates that they practiced all these crafts. The term, ayas used for copper or bronze shows that metal working was known. Gold was known as ‘hiranya’.
Arabs were defeated in 738 A.D. by
(a) Pratiharas
(b) Rashtrakutas
(c) Palas
(d) Chalukyas
Solution: (d)
The Battle of Rajasthan is a battle (or series of battles) where the Hindu alliance defeated the Arab invaders in 738 CE and removed the Arab invaders and pillagers from the area east of the Indus River and protected whole India. The main Indian kings who contributed to the victory over the Arabs were the north Indian ruler Nagabhata of the Pratihara Dynasty and the south Indian Emperor Vikramaditya- II of the Chalukya dynasty in the 8th century..
The Seven Pagodas of Mahabalipuram are a witness to the art patronised by the
(a) Pallavas
(b) Pandyas
(c) Cholas
(d) Cheras
Solution: (a)
“Seven Pagodas” has served as a nickname for the south Indian city of Mahabalipuram, also called Mamallapuram, since the first European explorers reached it. The phrase “Seven Pagodas” refers to a myth that has circulated in India, Europe, and other parts of the world for over eleven centuries. Mahabalipuram’s Shore Temple, built in the 8th century CE under the reign of Pallava king Narasimhavarman II, stands at the shore of the Bay of Bengal. Legend has it that six other temples once stood with it.
Name the clan Buddha belonged to
(a) Gnathrika
(b) Maurya
(c) Shakya
(d) Kuru
Solution: (c)
Shakya was an ancient tribe (janapada) of the Indian Subcontinent in the 1st millennium BCE. In Buddhist texts the Shakyas, the inhabitants of Shakya janapada, are mentioned as a Kshatriya clan of Gotama gotra. The most famous Shakya was Gautama Buddha, a member of the ruling Gautama clan of Lumbini, who is also known as Shakyamuni Buddha, “sage of the Shakyas”, due to his association with this ancient kingdom. The Puranas mention Shakya as a king of Ikshvaku dynasty.
