UPSC Static Quiz – History : 6 December 2025

Solution: A

Statement 1 is incorrect.

Statement 1 and 2: Silver was being used since Harappan times. So, 1 is wrong. It is an era associated with early states, cities, the growing use of iron, the development of coinage, etc.

Statement 3: It also witnessed the growth of diverse systems of thought, including Buddhism and Jainism. Early Buddhist and Jaina texts mention, amongst other things, sixteen states known as mahajanapadas.

While most mahajanapadas were ruled by kings, some, known as ganas or sanghas, were oligarchies, where power was shared by a number of men, often collectively called rajas. Both Mahavira and the Buddha belonged to such ganas.

In some instances, as in the case of the Vajji sangha, the rajas probably controlled resources such as land collectively.

Solution: D

• Exchanges were facilitated by the introduction of coinage. Punch-marked coins made of silver and copper (c. sixth century BCE onwards) were amongst the earliest to be minted and used by many dynasties including the Mauryas.
• The first coins to bear the names and images of rulers were issued by the Indo-Greeks, who established control over the north-western part of the subcontinent c. second century BCE.
• The first gold coins were issued in the first century CE by the Kushanas (some sources dispute this fact). These were virtually identical in weight with those issued by Roman emperors and the Parthian rulers of Iran.
• Coins were also issued by tribal republics of Punjab and Haryana called the Yaudheyas. Archaeologists have unearthed several thousand copper coins issued by the Yaudheyas.
• Some of the most spectacular gold coins were issued by the Gupta rulers. The earliest coins issued by Guptas were remarkable for their purity. These coins facilitated long-distance transactions from which kings also benefited.

Solution: d)

The Tripartite Struggle for control of northern India took place in the ninth century. The struggle was between the Pratihara Empire, the Pala Empire and the Rashtrakuta Empire. Towards the end of the successor of Nagabhata II of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty, he successfully attacked Kanauj and established control there.

Solution: A

Statement 3 is incorrect.

• The conception of bhakti did away with the elite tradition of Sanskrit and accepted the more acceptable language of the common man.
• Bhakti also attacked the age-old caste system and devoted itself to the worship of humanity, because the catchword of bhakti is that God is there in every human being. The movement was in essence subaltern, as most of its poets belonged to the so-called ‘lower’ castes.
• Bhakti is anti-theology and against any kind of conceptual erudition.

Solution: A

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.