Mauryan Empire — Part 2 MCQs with Explanations

The rock edict XIII gives a clue that Kalinga was a country previously unconquered, thus Ashoka's declaration of war was that of unprovoked aggression. The Kalinga war witnessed terrible manslaughter and destruction.

The Seleucid–Mauryan War was fought between 305 and 303 BCE. It started when Seleucus I Nicator, of the Seleucid Empire, sought to retake the Indian satrapies of the Macedonian Empire which had been occupied by Emperor Chandragupta Maurya, of the Maurya Empire.

Ashoka became a upasaka of Buddha. He established an intimate relation with the Buddhist Sangha and is said to have become a monk. He undertook Dharma yatra instructing Dharma to the people. He took up pilgrimages to the birth place of the Sakyamuni. To spread the message of Dharma to the vast extent of his empire. He appointed officers in charge of religious propagation. They were called Dharma Mahamatras, to spread his ideas of Dharma and spread Buddhism all over India and Ceylon.

The Maurya Empire was founded in 322 BCE by Chandragupta Maurya, who had overthrown the Nanda Dynasty and rapidly expanded his power westward across central and western India in order to take advantage of the disruptions of local powers in the wake of the withdrawal by Alexander the Great 's armies.

The Maurya Empire was centralized by conquering the Indo-Gangetic Plain in the eastern extent of the empire and had its capital city at Pataliputra (modern Patna).

The most accurate description of The Mauryan monarchy under Ashoka was Enlightened despotism.

During the Arab invasion of Sindh (712 AD), Muhammad bin Qasim first attacked Debal, a word derived from Deval meaning temple. It was situated on the sea-coast not far from modern Karachi. It was garrisoned by 4000 Kshatriya soldiers and served by 3000 Brahmans. All males of the age of seventeen and upwards were put to the sword and their women and children were enslaved. "700 beautiful females, who were under the protection of Budh (that is, had taken shelter in the temple), were all captured with their valuable ornaments, and clothes adorned with jewels." Muhammad despatched one-fifth of the legal spoil to Hajjaj which included seventy-five damsels, the rest four-fifths were distributed among the soldiers.

It represented an important transition in Indian art from use of wood to stone. It was a royal art patronized by Mauryan kings especially Ashoka. Pillars are the most prominent examples.

The Maurya king was an absolute ruler. He was at the apex of administration. His ideal of kingship was benevolent despotism. The main principle of administration was welfare of the people.

In 298 BCE, Chandragupta voluntarily abdicated the throne in favour of his son Bindusara, who became the new Mauryan emperor. What we know after this point seems closer to legend than an actual historical account. It is said that Chandragupta turned into an ascetic and follower of Jainism.

Ashoka lead a huge army against Kalinga. This took place in 261 BC, the freedom loving people of Kalinga offered a stiff resistance to the Mauryan army.

During the Mauryan Empire, various forms of revenue and taxes were collected by the state to support its administration and activities. Among these revenue items, "Hiranya" refers to gold and precious metals, which were collected only in cash. The Mauryan administration collected revenue through various means, including taxes on land, agriculture, trade, and other economic activities. The revenue collected from these sources was used to fund the empire's infrastructure, military, and other administrative expenses. Option A: Kara, Option B: Bhaga, and Option C: Pranaya were not specifically associated with the collection of revenue only in cash. These terms might refer to different types of taxes, shares, or contributions collected by the Mauryan administration. Therefore, the correct answer is Option D: Hiranya , as it represents an item that was collected only in cash under the Mauryan Empire.

Bindusara is also known as Amitraghata (amitra-enemy, ghata-slayer) in Sanskrit Literature. Strabo has named him Amitrochates or Allitrochades which are greek version of the name Amitraghata.

Chandragupta Maurya with the help of Chanakya decided to overthrow the Nandas because the Nandas accumulated a great deal of wealth by extortion and oppression of the people.

The Shunga Empire was an ancient Indian dynasty from Magadha that controlled areas of the central and eastern Indian subcontinent from around 187 to 78 BCE. The dynasty was established by Pushyamitra Shunga, after the fall of the Maurya Empire.

Megasthenes was an ancient Greek historian, diplomat and Indian ethnographer and explorer in the Hellenistic period. He described India in his book Indika, which is now lost, but has been partially reconstructed from the writings of the later authors.

Megasthenes describes the administration of the armed forces as comprising of six committees with five members on each. The first committee was concerned with naval warfare, second equivalent to the modern commissariat supervising the transport of war materials, third supervising the infantry, the fourth supervising cavalry, the fifth was concerned with chariots and the sixth supervised the elephant corps.

After the death of Alexander in June 323 BC, Seleucus initially supported Perdiccas, the regent of Alexander's empire, and was appointed Commander of the Companions and chiliarch at the Partition of Babylon in 323 BC. Seleucus ruled not only Babylonia, but the entire enormous eastern part of Alexander's empire.

Mudrarakshasa deals with court intrigues & access to power of Chandragupta Maurya. The Mudrarakshasa is a Sanskrit-language play by Vishakhadatta that narrates the ascent of the king Chandragupta Maurya to power in India.

According to the Buddhist text Mahavamsa tika, Chandragupta and his guru Chanakya began recruiting an army after he completed his studies at Taxila (now in Pakistan). This was a period of wars, given that Alexander the Great had invaded the northwest subcontinent from Caucasus Indicus (also called Paropamisadae in ancient texts, now called the Hindu Kush mountain range).

The Battle of the Hydaspes was fought in 326 BC between Alexander the Great and King Porus of the Paurava kingdom on the banks of the river Jhelum (known to the Greeks as Hydaspes) in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent (modern-day Punjab, Pakistan).

Nagarjuna- the Mahayana Philosopher. Ashvagosha- the poet, Musician and Buddhist Monk. Vasumitra- the Buddhist Monk who presided the fourth Buddhist council. All of these were contemporary to Kushana Ruler Kanishka.

The Junagadh rock inscription of Rudradaman, also known as the Girnar Rock inscription of Rudradaman, is a Sanskrit prose inscribed on a rock by the Western Satraps ruler Rudradaman I. It is located near Girnar hill near Junagadh, Gujarat, India. The inscription is dated to shortly after 150 CE.

Karuvaki was the second queen of the third Mauryan emperor, Ashoka. She was also the mother of Ashoka's son, Prince Tivala.

The correct descending order of the Mauryan officers, at the district level, was Pradeshika, rajuka, yukta.

The Kalinga War (ended c. 262 BCE) was fought in what is now India between the Maurya Empire under Ashoka and the state of Kalinga, an independent feudal kingdom located on the east coast, in the present-day state of Odisha and north of Andhra Pradesh.

Vima Kadphises was a Kushan emperor from approximately 90 -100 CE. According to the Rabatak inscription, he was the son of Vima Takto and the father of Kanishka.

Kharavela was a king of Kalinga in present-day Odisha, India. He ruled somewhere around first or second century BCE. His name is also transliterated as Kharabeḷa.

Pushkalavati (now known by the name of Charsadda) was the previous capital of NWFP and the Kushan King Kanishka changed the capital from it to Purushapura (now know as Peshawar) in the 2nd century. The name Peshawar has been derived from the Sanskrit word meaning “City of Men”.

It can be appropriately claimed that the Mauryan administration system, though monarchical, was sufficient because it had the privilege of possessing successful administrators such as Chandragupta Maurya, Bindusara Maurya and Ashoka.

Harsha organised religious assemblies every fifth year of his reign at Prayag (Allahabad). He held six such assemblies during his reign. Whatever was left in the state treasury after five years, Harsha used to give it all in charity at that time. It is said that he used to distribute in charity even his personal belongings.

Kautilya, also known as Chanakya, was believed to be the chief minister in the court of Chandragupta Maurya, a contemporary of Alexander and the first great emperor of India who ruled the subcontinent in the 4th Century BC.

The Kalinga War (ended c. 262 BCE) was fought in what is now India between the Maurya Empire under Ashoka and the state of Kalinga, an independent feudal kingdom located on the east coast, in the present-day state of Odisha and north of Andhra Pradesh . The Kalinga War included one of the largest and bloodiest battles in Indian history. Despite an unexpectedly fierce resistance from the Kalingans, the Maurya Empire claimed victory and annexed the state of Kalinga. Kalinga did not have a king as it was culturally run without any. This is the only major war Ashoka fought after his accession to the throne. The bloodshed of this war is said to have prompted Ashoka to adopt Buddhism.

Magadhan dynasties in chronological order: Haryankas (544 - 412 BC) Shishunags (412 - 344 BC) Nandas (344 - 322 BC) Mauryans (323 - 184BC)

Earlier scholars believed that Kanishka ascended the Kushan throne in 78 CE, and that this date was used as the beginning of the Saka calendar era. However, historians no longer regard this date as that of Kanishka's accession.

Numismatic evidence indicates that they controlled territory in the subcontinent until the beginning of the Common Era. The Scythian tribes, renamed Indo-Scythians, brought about the demise of the Indo-Greeks in 70 B.C.E., seizing the region of Mathura, and Gujarat.

Purushapura(Peshawar) was the capital of Kanishka.

Charak was the court physician of Kanishka I. He was one of the principal contributors to the ancient art and science of Ayurveda, a system of medicine and lifestyle developed in Ancient India. He is sometimes referred to as the Father of Indian Medicine.

The Mudrarakshasa is a Sanskrit-language play by Vishakhadatta that narrates the ascent of the king Chandragupta Maurya ( r . c. 324 – c. 297 BCE) to power in India.

Brihadratha Maurya was the last ruler of the Maurya Empire. He ruled from c. 187 – c. 180 BCE. He was killed by his general, Pushyamitra Shunga, who went on to establish the Shunga Empire.