[Mission 2024] STATIC QUIZ, 1 July 2023 – Ancient and Medieval India

Solution: b)

Statement 2 is incorrect.

Black on Red ware is a famous pottery of this age.

It is marked by the use of copper as the first major metal in India. Bronze too was used. The Chalcolithic age is followed by Iron Age. Iron is frequently referred to in the Vedas.

Solution: c)

Maski is a town and an archaeological site in the Raichur district of the state of Karnataka, India. It lies on the bank of the Maski river which is a tributary of the Tungabhadra.

Maski derives its name from Mahasangha or Masangi. The site came into prominence with the discovery of a minor rock edict of Emperor Ashoka by C. Beadon in 1915.It was the first edict of Emperor Ashoka that contained the name Ashoka in it instead of the earlier edicts that referred him as Devanampiya piyadasi.

Solution: a)

Only statement 1 is correct.

Caste system was widely prevalent during the Chola period. Brahmins and Kshatriyas enjoyed special privileges. The inscriptions of the later period of the Chola rule mention about two major divisions among the castes – Valangai and Idangai castes.

Education was also given importance. Besides the temples and mathas as educational centres, several educational institutions also flourished.

A number of temples were built with the patronage of Chola kings and queens. The temples remained centres of economic activity during this period.

The mathas had great influence during this period. Both agriculture and industry flourished. Reclamation of forest lands and the construction and maintenance of irrigation tanks led to agricultural prosperity.

Solution: c)

• Sant Tukaramwas a seventeenth century Marathi poet Saint, related to the Bhakti movement of Maharashtra. He was a contemporary of saints like Eknath and Ramdas.
• Tukaram was a devotee of Vitthal (a form of Lord Krishna), the supreme God in Vaishnavism.

Tukaram believed in a formless God. According to him, it was not possible to
enjoin spiritual joy with worldly activities. He stressed the all-pervasiveness of God. He rejected Vedic sacrifices, ceremonies, pilgrimages, idol worship, etc. He also preached the virtue of piety, forgiveness and peace of mind. He spread the message of equality and brotherhood. He tried to foster Hindu-Muslim Unity. Some of his verses are devoted to this theme. He wrote his abhangas in Marathi

Solution: a)

One means of claiming high status was to identify with a variety of deities. This strategy is best exemplified by the Kushanas (c. first century BCE-first century CE), who ruled over a vast kingdom extending from Central Asia to northwest India.

• Colossal statues of Kushana rulers have been found installed in a shrine at Mat near Mathura (Uttar Pradesh). Similar statues have been found in a shrine in Afghanistan as well. Some historians feel this indicates that the Kushanas considered themselves godlike. Many Kushana rulers also adopted the title devaputra, or “son of god”, possibly inspired by Chinese rulers who called themselves sons of heaven.
• The Vijayanagara kings claimed to rule on behalf of the god Virupaksha. Rulers also indicated their close links with the gods by using the title “Hindu Suratrana” this meant Hindu Sultan.