Day-526 | Daily MCQs | UPSC Prelims | HISTORY OF ANCIENT INDIA

Answer: C
Explanation:
The above given term is related to the administrative history of the Chola empire of Early Medieval India. It refers to high ranking functionaries associated with the court of the Chola kings. Other important functionaries included- adhikari, vayil ketpar, etc.
Additional Information:
● The Chola kings followed a highly efficient system of administration. The entire Tanjore district, parts of Trichy, Pudukottai and South Arcot districts formed the part of the Chola Mandalam. The Cholas had three major administrative divisions called the Central Government, Provincial Government and Local Government. Tanjore was the capital of the Cholas.
● The Chola Empire was divided into nine provinces. They were also called mandalams. Each mandalam was divided into a number of Kottams or Valanadus. Each kottam was sub divided into nadu. Each nadu was further divided into (Urs) villages which form part of the last unit of the administration. Uttaramerur inscriptions speak about the administration of the Cholas.

Answer: A
Explanation:
Brahmadeyas were a category of villages which were given for brahmana settlement, which were tax- free i.e., it was not that revenue was not collected from the peasants, but the State has given away its right to revenue collection to the brahmanas.
● Statement 1 is incorrect: Earlier the officials were the intermediaries who were responsible for the collection of revenue, but now brahmadeyas villages had brahmanas as revenue collectors. Also, as the state has given away its right to collect taxes, now there is only the brahmanas and peasants. The brahmanas are not intermediaries, but the sole beneficiaries of taxes.
● Statement 2 is correct: Brahmadeyas or agrahara villages were granted to brahmanas which were tax-free villages.
● Statement 3 is incorrect: Under the brahmadeyas villages peasants were still obliged to pay taxes, not to the state, but to the donees.

Answer: D
Explanation:
All the given authors are Jaina philosophers and texts.
The correctly matched pairs are:
● Akalanka- Tattvartharajavarttika
● Haribhadra- Anekantajayapataka
● Vidyananda- Aptamimam-salamkrita
Additional Information:
● The sacred books of the Jainas are collectively known as the Siddhanta or Agama. The language of the earliest texts is an eastern dialect of Prakrit known as Ardha-Magadhi.
● The Jaina monastic order came to be divided into the Shvetambara and Digambara schools, perhaps in about the 3rd century ce. The Shvetambara canon includes the 12 Angas, 12 Uvamgas (Upangas), 10 Painnas (Prakirnas), 6 Cheya Suttas (Cheda Sutras), 4 Mula Suttas (Mula Sutras), and a number of individual texts such as the Nandi Sutta (Nandi Sutra) and Anugodara (Anuyogadvara).
● According to Shvetambara tradition, the Angas were compiled at a council held at Pataliputra. The compilation of the entire canon is supposed to have taken place in the 5th or 6th century at a council held in Valabhi in Gujarat, presided over by Devarddhi Kshamashramana.

Answer: C
Explanation:
During the post- Mauryan period, the links by road and river between the main cities and trading towns were an essential element in the general infrastructure facilitating the volume of trade as a whole.
All the major routes led to the five main international ports of that period, namely Barbaricum in the Indus delta, Barygaza on the Gujarat coast, Muziris on the Kerala coast, Arikamedu on the Coromandel coast and Tamralipti in the Ganges delta. These ports handled the bulk of the sea trade of India with Arabia, the Levant, the Roman Empire and South East Asia.

Land and sea routes of ancient Indian international trade

Answer: C
Explanation:
Statement 1 is incorrect: The Satapatra series (1848- 50) was written by ‘Lokahitavadi’ Gopal Hari Deshmukh.
Statement 2 is incorrect: Projecting Shivaji as a Shudra king, was done by Jotiba Phule in one of the ballad composed in 1869.
Statement 3 is correct: Satapatra series (1848- 50) called for social reforms, advocated indigenous enterprise, but broadly welcomed British rule.
Additional Information:
● Gopal Hari Deshmukh wrote a number of open letters in the Marathi weekly newspaper Prabhakar, which was published from Raigad (Maharashtra) under the pen name Lokhitawadi during 1848-49.
● The letters of Lokhitawadi reflect his progressive and far-sighted outlook. He was a pioneer political thinker, who through his letters demanded Indian representation in the British parliament as a means to reforming the flawed and oppressive British regime. He even went so far as to say that if the British did not abstain from imposing their will on the people of India, they would be compelled to leave altogether.
● Deshmukh was also one of the pioneers of the Swadeshi philosophy and understood the need to revitalize Indian industries to fight against poverty and unemployment. Deshmukh’s political and economic ideas circulated throughout Maharashtra through his letters and played a critical role in provoking political thinking and discourse in the region.
● Through Prabhakar, the letters of Gopal Hari Deshmukh caught the attention of the youth of Maharashtra and his ideas laid the foundation for the future struggle for Indian freedom.