Solution: (b)
Samvat is any of the various Hindu calendars. In India, there are several calendars in use. The Saka Samvat is associated with 78 A.D; Gupta Samvat with 320 A.D; and Hijri Samvat with 622 A.D. The first year of Hijri era was the Islamic year beginning in AD 622 during which the emigration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina, known as the Hijra, occurred. The Gregorian calendar, also called the Western calendar and the Christian calendar, is the internationally ac cepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gre gory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February, 1582.
The home of Gargi, Maitrey, and Kapila was at
(a) Vidisha
(b) Ujjain
(c) Pataliputra
(d) Mithila
Solution: (d)
The name ‘Mithila‘ goes back to Puranic times. It occurs in the Mahabharata and in Pali literature. Ac cording to the Puranic tradition the name has been derived from that of Mithi (son of Nimi) King of Ay odhya and grandson of Manu who founded a king dom which was called Mithila after him. It is associat ed with Valmiki, Ashtavakra, Yajnavalkya, Udayana, Mahavira, Kanada, Jaimini and Kapila as well as the women philosophers, such as, Gargi, Maitreyi, Bha rati and Katyayani. After the era of the Ramayana it is said that the three seats of culture in Vedic period – Kosala, Kasi and Videha – merged to form the Vajjians confederacy and the centre of political gravity shifted from Mithila to Vaishali
Which area of India was known as Avantika in ancient times ?
(a) Avadh
(b) Ruhelkhand
(c) Bundelkhand
(d) Malwa
Solution: (d)
Ujjain (Avanti, Avantikapuri), is an ancient city of Malwa region in central India, on the eastern bank of the Kshipra River, today part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. Avanti with its capital at Ujjaini, is mentioned in Buddhist literature as one of the four great powers along with Vatsa, Kosala and Magadha
Which of the following Vedas provides information about the civilisation of the Early Vedic Age?
(a) Rig-veda
(b) Yajur-veda
(c) Atharva-veda
(d) Sama-veda
Solution: (a)
The archaeological record of the Indus civilization provides practically no evidence of armies, kings, slaves, social conflict, prisons, and other oft-negative traits that we traditionally associated with early civilizations. If there were neither slaves nor kings, a more egalitarian system of governance may have been practiced. Besides, compared to other ancient civilizations the houses were of nearly equal size indicating a more egalitarian social structure i.e. The Social System of the Harappans was fairly egalitarian.
The university which became famous in the post-Gupta Era was :
(a) Kanchi
(b) Taxila
(c) Nalanda
(d) Vallabhi
Solution: (a)
Nalanda was an ancient centre of higher learning in Bihar, which was a Buddhist centre of learning from the fifth or sixth century A.D. to 1197 CE. Nalanda flourished between the reign of the Sakraditya (whose identity is uncertain and who might have been either Kumara Gupta I or Kumara Gupta II) and 1197 A.D, supported by patronage from the Hindu Gupta rulers as well as Buddhist emperors like Harsha and later emperors from the Pala Empire.
Banabhatta was the court poet of which emperor ?
(a) Vikramaditya
(b) Kumaragupta
(c) Harshavardhana
(d) Kanishka
Solution: (c)
Banabhatta was a Sanskrit scholar and poet of India. He was the Asthana Kavi in the court of King Harshavardhana, who reigned in the years 606–647 CE in north India. Bana’s principal works include a biography of Harsha, the Harshacharita and one of the world’s earliest novels, Kadambari. The other works attributed to him is the Parvatiparinaya.
The First Tirthankara of the Jains was :
(a) Arishtanemi
(b) Parshvanath
(c) Ajitanath
(d) Rishabha
Solution: (c)
In Jainism, Rishabh was the first of the 24 Tirthankaras who founded the Ikshavaku dynasty and was the first Tirthankara of the present age. Because of this, he was called Adinath. He is mentioned in the Hindu text of the Bhagavata Purana as an avatar of Vishnu. In Jainism, a Tirthankara is a human being who helps in achieving liberation and enlightenment as an “Arihant” by destroying all of their soul constraining (ghati) karmas, became a role-model and leader for those seeking spiritual guidance.
The rulers of which dynasty started the practice of granting tax-free villages to Brahmanas and Buddhist Monks?
(a) Satavahanas
(b) Mauryas
(c) Guptas
(d) Cholas
Solution: (a)
Land grants formed an important feature of the Satavahana rural administration. Inscriptions show that the Satavahanas started the practice of granting fiscal and administrative immunities to Brahmins and Buddhist monks. Earlier, the grants to individuals were temporary but later grants to religious beneficiaries were permanent. Perhaps the earliest epigraphic grant of land is found in the Nanaghat Cave Inscription of naganika, who bestowed villages (grama) on priests for officiating at Vedic sacrifices, but it does not speak of any concessions in this context. These appear first in grants made by Gautamiputra Satakarni in the first quarter of the second century A.D.
The most important text of Vedic mathematics is :
(a) Satapatha Brahman
(b) Atharva Veda
(c) Sulva Sutras
(d) Chhandogya Upanishad
Solution: (c)
The Shulba Sutras are sutra texts belonging to the Strauta ritual and containing geometry related to firealtar construction. They are part of the larger corpus of texts called the Shrauta Sutras, considered to be appendices to the Vedas. They are the only sources of knowledge of Indian mathematics from the Vedic period. The four major Shulba Sutras, which are mathematically the most significant, are those composed by Baudhayana, Manava, Apastamba and Katyayana.
Who started the Saka Era which is still used by the Government of India?
(a) Kanishka
(b) Vikramaditya
(c) Samudra Gupta
(d) Asoka
Solution: (a)
The mightiest of the Kushan rulers in India was Kanishka. He was in power from 78 AD to 120 AD. It was Kanishka who initiated the Saka Era in 78 AD. Through inheritance and conquest, Kanishka’s kingdom covered an area extending from Bukhara (now in Uzbekistan) in the west to Patna in the Ganges Valley in the east, and from the Pamirs (now in Tajikistan) in the north to central India in the south. His capital was Purushpura (Peshawar).
