UPSC STATIC QUIZ – Ancient & Medieval India : 6 January 2024

Solution: b)

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

In 327 B.C. Alexander crossed the Hindukush Mountains and spent nearly ten months in fighting with the tribes. He crossed the Indus in February 326 B.C. with the help of the bridge of boats. He was warmly received by Ambhi, the ruler of Taxila

Solution: b)

Statement 3 is incorrect.

The Edicts are divided into:

• Pillar Edicts
• Major Rock Edicts: 14 Edicts (termed 1st to 14th) and 2 separate ones found in Odisha
• Major Rock Inscriptions: Minor Rock Edicts, the Queen’s Edict, Barabar Caves inscriptions and the Kandahar bilingual inscription.

Statement 1 and 3:  In these inscriptions, Ashoka refers to himself as “Beloved servant of the Gods” (Devanampiyadasi) The identification of Devanampiyadasi with Ashoka was confirmed by an inscription discovered in 1915 by C. Beadon, a British gold-mining engineer, at Maski, a village in Raichur district of Karnataka.

Another minor rock edict bearing such a description is found at the village Gujarra in Datia district of Madhya Pradesh. These edicts were deciphered by British archaeologist and historian James Prinsep.

Some pillar edicts like VII gives a summary of his efforts to promote the Dhamma within his kingdom.

They are written in Pali language and in some places prakrit was used. The Brahmi script was employed for writing.

Solution: b)

Statement 3 is incorrect.

As the rulers of the mahajanapadas were (a) building huge forts (b) maintaining big armies, they needed more resources. And they needed officials to collect these. So they started collecting regular taxes.

There were taxes on crafts persons. These could have been in the form of labour. For example, a weaver or a smith may have had to work for a day every month for the king.

There were also taxes on goods that were bought and sold, through trade.

Taxes on crops were the most important. This was because most people were farmers. Usually, the tax was fixed at 1/6th of what was produced. This was known as bhaga or a share.

Solution: c)

Statement 4 is incorrect.

Statement 2:  An ingenious method was devised of downward distillation of the zinc vapour formed after smelting zinc ore. The text Rasaratnakara describes this technique of Zinc production.

Another remarkable artistic innovation by Indian metalworkers of the past was the use of zinc in making highly elegant bidri ware, an inlayed zinc alloy, which came into vogue under the Muslim rulers of the Bidar province in the Hyderabad region from about the 14th century.

Statement 3:  The pillar has attracted the attention of archaeologists and materials scientists and has been called “a testament to the skill of ancient Indian blacksmiths” because of its high resistance to corrosion.

The corrosion resistance results from an even layer of crystalline iron hydrogen phosphate hydrate forming on the high phosphorus content iron, which serves to protect it from the effects of the local Delhi climate

Statement 4: India has been reputed for its iron and steel since Greek and Roman times with the earliest reported finds of high-carbon steels in the world coming from the early Christian era.

Wootz is the anglicized version of ukku in the languages of the states of Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh, a term denoting steel.

Studies on Wootz indicate that it was an ultra-high carbon steel with between 1-2% carbon and was believed to have been used to fashion Damascus blades with a watered steel pattern.

Literary accounts suggest that steel from the southern part of the Indian subcontinent was exported to Europe, China, the Arab world and the Middle East.

Solution: a)

• The Hindu princes of north India formed a confederacy under the command of Prithiviraj Chauhan.
• Prithviraj defeated Ghori in the battle of Tarain near Delhi in 1191 A.D.
• In the ensuing Second Battle of Tarain in 1192, Muhammad Ghori thoroughly routed the army of Prithiviraj, who was captured and killed.
• The second battle of Tarain was a decisive battle. It was a major disaster for the Rajputs. Their political prestige suffered a serious setback.
• The whole Chauhan kingdom now lay at the feet of the invader. The first Muslim kingdom was thus firmly established in India at Ajmer and a new era in the history of India began.