Ancient History MCQs – 8 ( Maurya Dynasty )

Ans - C ( Bindusara ).

• Bindusara was the second Mauryan emperor of India.
• He was also known as Amitrochates (in Greek) or Amitraghata (in Sanskrit) meaning Slayer of all enemies.

  
  

Ans - D ( Ashoka ).

• In various rock edicts, King Ashoka was referred to as ‘Devanam Piyadasi’. 

• Maski edict found in the Raichur district of the state of Karnataka was the first edict of Emperor Ashoka that contained the name ‘Asoka’ in it instead of the earlier edicts that referred to him as ‘Devanampiya’ or ‘Piyadasi’. 

Ans - C ( Ambassador of Seleucus  ).

• After the defeat of Selukas Niketar in the hands of Chandragupta, Selukas sent a Greek ambassador to the Mauryan court.
• During his tenure in India he observed and noted the culture, daily affairs, social structure etc. of the people of the Mauryan Empire.
• The compilation of his works today is known as ‘Indica’. 

Ans - A (Seleucus  ).

• Chandragupta overthrew the Nanda dynasty and then ascended to the throne of the Magadha kingdom, in present-day Bihar state, India, about 325 BCE. 
• While returning back from India, Alexander put his conquered territories under his governors.
• Alexander died in 323.
• In 305 B.C, Chandragupta marched against Selukas Niketar, who was Alexander’s General controlling northwestern India.
• Chandragupta defeated him and a treaty was signed by Selukas Niketar.
• According to the treaty,Seleukas ceded many trans-Indus territories to the Mauryan Empire. 
• Megasthenes was sent to the Mauryan court as Greek ambassador. 

Ans - B (Sarnath ).

• The state emblem of India(Also used in currency notes) is an adaptation from the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka.
• In the original, there are four lions, standing back to back, mounted on an abacus.
• Carved out of a single block of polished sandstone, the Capital is crowned by the Wheel of the Law (Dharma Chakra).
• In the state emblem, adopted by the Government of India on 26 January 1950, only three lions are visible, the fourth being hidden from view.
• The words ‘Satyameva Jayate’ from Mundaka Upanishad, meaning 'Truth Alone Triumphs', are inscribed below the abacus in Devanagari script.

Ans - D (Officers appointed to supervise the spread of Dhamma ).

• Asoka appointed special offices called ‘Dhamma Mahamatras’ to supervise the spread of Dhamma.
• Major Rock Edict V mentioned about ‘Dhamma Mahamatras’.

  
  

Ans - D ( Major Rock Edict XIII  ).

• Major Rock Edict XIII mentions Ashoka's victory over Kalinga. 
• The thirteenth rock edict which was issued at the end of the Kalinga war gives a vivid picture of the change of Ashoka from an aggressive and violent warrior to a great lover and preacher of peace.
• After the Kalinga war, Ashoka converted to Buddhism.

Ans - B ( Prakrit  ).

• Ashokan inscriptions were composed in the Prakrit language and written in Brahmi script throughout the greater part of the empire.
• In the north-western part of the Indian Subcontinent, they appear in Kharosthi script and in Kandahar in Afghanistan, they were written in Aramaic, in Greek script and Greek language.

  
  

Ans - B ( Ashoka ).

• The great Emperor Ashoka, the third monarch of the Maurya dynasty converted to Buddhism after witnessing the horrific effects of war in Kalinga. 
• He became a patron of Buddhism and strove to spread Dhamma throughout his empire and beyond.
• He erected pillars and edicts all over the Indian subcontinent and even in modern-day Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan to spread the Buddha’s teachings.
• In Kalinga Edicts, Asoka declared that 'All men are my Children' and just as I desire happiness in those worlds and the next, so also I desire for all men’.

  
  

Ans - B (  Mudrarakshasa ).

• The Mudrarakshasa is a Sanskrit-language play by Vishakhadatta that narrates the ascent of the Maurya Emperor Chandragupta Maurya (Reign: 324 BCE–297 BCE) to power in India. 
• Vishakhadatta was a contemporary of the Gupta Emperor Chandragupta II and lived in the late 4th century to early 5th century.