Ancient History Test 2

Solution: b)

Paryushana is the most important annual holy events for Jains and is usually celebrated in August or September in Hindi calender Bhadrapad Month’s Shukla Paksha.[1][2] It lasts 8 Days for swetambara and 10 days for digambara sect of Jains . Jains increase their level of spiritual intensity often using fasting and prayer/meditation to help.  The five main vows are emphasized during this time. There are no set rules, and followers are encouraged to practice according to their ability and desires.

Solution: d)

Jain ethical code prescribes two dharmas or rules of conduct. One for those who wish to become ascetic and another for the śrāvaka (householders). Five fundamental vows are prescribed for both votaries. These vows are observed by śrāvakas (householders) partially and are termed as anuvratas (small vows). Ascetics observe these fives vows more strictly and therefore observe complete abstinence. These five vows are:- Ahiṃsā (Non-violence) Satya (Truth) Asteya (Non-stealing) Brahmacharya (Chastity) Aparigraha (Non-possession)

Solution: c)

Ajivika, an ascetic sect that emerged in India about the same time as Buddhism and Jainism and that lasted until the 14th century; the name may mean “following the ascetic way of life.” It was founded by Goshala Maskariputra (also called Gosala Makkhaliputta), a friend of Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara (“Ford-maker,” i.e., saviour) of Jainism. His doctrines and those of his followers are known only from Buddhist and Jain sources, which state that he was lowborn and died after a quarrel with Mahavira shortly before the Buddha died.

Solution: a)

Vinaya Piṭaka, (Pāli and Sanskrit: “Basket of Discipline”), the oldest and smallest of the three sections of the Buddhist canonical Tipiṭaka (“Triple Basket”) and the one that regulates monastic life and the daily affairs of monks and nuns according to rules attributed to the Buddha. It varies less from school to school than does either the Sutta (discourses of the Buddha and his disciples) or Abhidhamma (scholastic) sections of the canon, and the rules themselves are basically the same even for Mahāyāna schools, although some of the latter greatly extended the accompanying narrative and commentarial material.

Solution: b)

Digambara (/dɪˈɡʌmbərə/; “sky-clad”) is the oldest extant universal religion stream and one of the two major branches of Jainism. The Samayasāra and the Pravacanasāra are considered the bible of Digambaras. The word Digambara (Sanskrit) is a combination of two words: dig (directions) and ambara (sky), referring to those whose garments are of the element that fills the four quarters of space. Digambara monks do not wear any clothes.

Solution: a)

With the Gupta dynasty (~4th to 6th century), the growth in ritualistic Mahayana Buddhism, and the adoption of Buddhist ideas into Hindu schools, the differences between Buddhism and Hinduism blurred. Vaishnavism, Shaivism and other Hindu traditions became increasingly popular, and Brahmins developed a new relationship with the state. As the system grew, Buddhist monasteries gradually lost control of land revenue. In parallel, the Gupta kings built Buddhist temples such as the one at Kushinagara, and monastic universities such as those at Nalanda, as evidenced by records left by three Chinese visitors to India.

According to Hazra, Buddhism declined in part because of the rise of the Brahmins and their influence in socio-political process.

Statements 2 and 3 are wrong.

Solution: b)

CSP – 2013

He was victim of robberies on Indian roads. So, statement 1 is wrong.

If you want to know more about Chinese travellers to India

http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/travel_records.pdf (Very good source)

Solution: a)

Similar question was asked in CSP-2008 (on Baudhayana)

The Shulba Sutras 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. Unique fire-altar shapes were associated with unique gifts from the Gods. For instance, “he who desires heaven is to construct a fire-altar in the form of a falcon”; “a fire-altar in the form of a tortoise is to be constructed by one desiring to win the world of Brahman” and “those who wish to destroy existing and future enemies should construct a fire-altar in the form of a rhombus”.^[1]

The four major Shulba Sutras, which are mathematically the most significant, are those attributed to Baudhayana, Manava, Apastamba and Katyayana.^[1] Their language is late Vedic Sanskrit, pointing to a composition roughly during the 1st millennium BCE.^[1] The oldest is the sutra attributed to Baudhayana, possibly compiled around 800 BCE to 600 BCE.^[1] while the youngest content may date to about 200 CE

Solution: c)

CSP – 2011

NCERT Class XII Themes in Indian History, Theme – I, Chapter 1 (page 22 – cotton)

Solution: b)

NCERT Class XII Themes in Indian History, Theme – I, (Page – 99-100)

Answer – c

• Cornwallis (1786-1793) had an excellent team ofsubordinates comprising John Shore, James Grant, and Sir William In the work of judicial reorganization, Cornwallis secured theservices of Sir William Jones, who was a judge and a great scholar Civil and criminal courts were completely reorganized.
• Lord Cornwallis’ most conspicuous administrative measure wasthe Permanent Land Revenue Settlement of Bengal, which wasextended to the provinces of Bihar and Orissa. Recall that Warren Hastings introduced the annual lease system ofauctioning the land to the highest bidder. After a prolonged discussion withhis colleagues like Sir John Shore and James Grant he decided toabolish the annual lease system and introduce a decennial (Ten years)settlement which was subsequently declared to be continuous.
• Cornwallis inaugurated the policy of makingappointments mainly on the basis of merit thereby laying thefoundation of the Indian Civil Service. To cut down on extravagances,he abolished a number of surplus posts. Another major reform thatCornwallis introduced was the separation of the three branches ofservice, namely commercial, judicial and revenue. The collectors,the king-pins of the administrative system were deprived of theirjudicial powers and their work became merely the collection of

Answer – b

• The Doctrine of Lapse was applied by Dalhousie to Satara and itwas annexed in 1848. Jhansi and Nagpur were annexed in 1854. At the end of the second Anglo-Sikh War in 1849, Punjab wasannexed by Dalhousie. In 1851, William Sleeman, Resident at Lucknow,reported on the “spectacle of human misery and careless misrule”.But Sleeman was against the policy of annexing Oudh. After surveyingthe situation in Oudh, Dalhousie annexed it in 1856
• The principality of Cachar lying in the North East Frontier came under the protection of the British in accordance with the Treaty of Yandaboo concluded at the end of the first Burmese War. The Raja of this small state was assassinated in 1832 but there was no heir to succeed him. Bentinck annexed this state at the wish of the people.
• In March 1816, the Treaty of Sagauli under Lord Hastings was concluded. The Gurkhas gave up their claim over the Tarai region and ceded the areas of Kumaon and Garhwal to the British. The British now secured the area around Simla and their north-western borders touched the Himalayas. The Gurkhas had to withdraw from Sikkim and they also agreed to keep a British Resident at Katmandu. The British had also obtained the sites of hill stations like Simla, Mussoori, Nainital, Ranikhet and developed them as tourist and health resorts.

Answer – b

• With a few exceptions, the magistrates, mostly European, favoured the planters with whom they dined and hunted regularly. Those few who tried to be fair were soon transferred. Twenty-nine planters and a solitary Indian zamindar were appointed as Honorary Magistrates in 1857, which gave birth to the popular saying ‘je rakhak se bhakak ’
• A significant feature of the Indigo Revolt was the role of the intelligentsia of Bengal which organized a powerful campaign in support of the rebellious peasantry. It carried on newspaper
  campaigns, organized mass meetings, prepared memoranda on peasants’ grievances and supported them in their legal battles. Outstanding in this respect was the role of Harish Chandra Mukherji, editor of the Hindoo Patriot. Din Bandhu Mitra’s play, Neel Darpan, was to gain great fame for vividly portraying the oppression by the planters
• The Government’s response to the Revolt was rather restrained and not as harsh as in the case of civil rebellions and tribal uprisings. It appointed a commission to inquire into the problem of indigo cultivation. Government issued a notification in November 1860 that ryots could not be compelled to sow indigo and that it would ensure that all disputes were settled by legal means.

Answer – b

• According to Tamil legends, there existed three Sangams (Academy of Tamil poets) in ancient Tamil Nadu popularly called Muchchangam. These Sangams flourished under the royal patronage of the Pandyas.
• The first Sangam, held at Then Madurai, was attended by gods and legendary sages but no literary work of this Sangam was available.
• The second Sangam was held at Kapadapuram but the all the literary works had perished except Tolkappiyam. Tolkappiyam authored by Tolkappiyar is the earliest of the Tamil literature. It is a work on Tamil grammar but it provides information on the political and socioeconomic conditions of the Sangam period
• The third Sangam at Madurai was founded by Mudathirumaran. It was attended by a large number of poets who produced voluminous literature but only a few had survived.

Answer – d

• In addition to the Sangam literature, the Greek authors like Megasthenes, Strabo, Pliny and Ptolemy mention the commercial contacts between the West and South India.
• The Asokan inscriptions mention the Chera, Chola and Pandya rulers on the south of the Mauryan empire.
• The Hathikumbha inscription of Kharavela of Kalinga also mentions about Tamil kingdoms.
• The excavations at Arikkamedu, Poompuhar, Kodumanal and other places reveal the
  overseas commercial activities of the Tamils.

Answer – c

• Lahore Congress of 1929 had authorized the Working Committee to launch a programme of civil disobedience including non-payment of taxes. In mid-February, 1930, the Working Committee, meeting at Sabarmati Ashram, invested Gandhiji with full powers to launch the Civil Disobedience Movement at a time and place of his choice.
• It had also called upon all members of legislatures to resign their seats.

Answer – d

• In Tamil Nadu, C. Rajagopalachari, led a salt march from Trichinopoly to Vedaranniyam on the Tanjore coast.
• In Malabar, K. Kelappan, the hero of the Vaikom Satyagraha, walked from Calicut to Payannur to break the salt law.
• A band of Satyagrahis walked all the way from Sylhet in Assam to Noakhali on the Bengal Coast to make salt.
• In Andhra, a number of sibirams (military-style camps) were set up in different districts to serve as the headquarters of the salt Satyagraha, and bands of Satyagrahis marched through villages on their way to the coastal centres to defy the law.

Answer – b

• Lower Palaeolithic culture was quite widespread phenomenon between 6,00,000 and 60,000 B.C. On the basis of scientifc dates the middle Palaeolithic period can be dated between 1,50,000 B.C. and 40,000B.C. or even slightly later
• In the north, Kashmir Valley and the Sohan Valley in Rawalpindi (now in Pakistan) have yielded Palaeolithic tools. In Rajasthan, Palaeolithic tools were found at the sites along the river Luni. In Western India, the Palaeolithic tools were also discovered from the sites of the rivers Sabarmati, Mahi and their tributaries in Gujarat. In Maharashtra, the most important sites are Nevasa on a tributary of Godavari and Patne in the Tapti river system. In Madhya Pradesh, the rock shelters at Bhimbetka (near Bhopal) and Adamgarh in the district Hoshangabad have yielded tools from the Palaeolithic to the Mesolithic period. In Uttar Pradesh, the Belan Valley (the region broadly from Allahabad to Varanasi) is the most prominent site. Towards the east, Assam and neighbouring areas including Meghalaya (Garo Hills) have yielded prehistoric artifacts. Palaeolithic tools have also been found at various sites in Bengal, Orissa and Bihar. In Peninsular India, Palaeolithic tools have been reported from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. In Tamil Nadu, an important site is Attirampakkam in Chingleput region.

Answer – c

• In 1827 Charles Masson was the frst recorded European to visit Harappa on his way to the Punjab after deserting the army of the British East India Company. Four years later, another soldier and explorer Sir Alexander Burnes visited Harappa after mapping the Indus River.
• The activities and reports of these early explorers eventually came to the attention of Sir Alexander Cunningham the frst director of the Archaeological Survey of India. He visited the site twice, once in 1853 and later in 1856. However by the time of his second visit much damage had been done from the removal of bricks used to build the bed for the Lahore Multan railway in what is now Pakistan. He concluded that the material was related to the ruins of nearby 7th Century AD.

Answer – a

• The inscriptions are thought to have been mostly written from right to left, but sometimes follow boustrophedonic style.
• A written pictographic language also existed as is evidenced by the Indus scripts written on clay seals. We see rectangular Harappan seals in the Indus region, round Harappan seals in Bahrain and one combination Harappan script/Akkadian illustration cylinder seal in Mesopotamia, which is further evidence of intercultural contact.
• The scripts appeared as early as c.3300-2800 BC in the Ravi Phase at Harappa. We can assume with some degree of confdence that these were used in trade to mark ownership. However, the Indus seals are not extensive, there is no Rosetta stone-like object and it is different to any other known language.
• Recent studies suggest that the Harappan script consists of about 400 signs and that it was written from right to left. However, the script has not been deciphered as yet. We do not know the language they spoke, though scholars believe that they spoke “Brahui”, a dialect used by Baluchi people in Pakistan today. However further research alone can unveil the mystery and
  enable us to know more about the Harappan script