Day-751 | Daily MCQs | UPSC Prelims | HISTORY

Answer: A
Explanation:
● There are four Vedas- Rig Veda, Sam Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda. The Rig Veda is the oldest Veda, which includes a thousand hymns, called ‘sukta’ or ‘well-said’. These hymns are in praise of various gods and goddesses.
● Rig Veda is written in old Sanskrit, rather than classical Sanskrit. Classical Sanskrit has its roots from the work of Panini’s Ashtadhyai. The modern Sanskrit has its root in the classical Sanskrit, and is different from old Sanskrit. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
● The Rigveda was to be recited and heard rather than read. This is because they are thought to be eternal, self-existent truth realised by the seers or revealed through God. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
● Some of the Rig Vedic hymns are in the form of dialogues, majority of them are in praise of Gods. Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.

Answer: C
Explanation:
● Megaliths refers to the practice of erecting stone boulders to mark burial sites. This practice was prevalent throughout the Deccan, south India, in the north-east and Kashmir. It was not found around the areas of Ganga Valley.

Answer: A
Explanation:
● James Princep, an officer in the mint of the East India Company, is credited for deciphering Brahmi and Kharosthi, two scripts used in the earliest inscriptions and coins. This gave a new direction to investigations into early Indian political history.

Answer: D
Explanation:
The correct sequence is: Champa, Vaishali, Shravasti and Ujjayini
The 16 Mahajanapadas and their capitals are given below:

Also, refer to the map given below:

Answer: C
Explanation:
● The term mansabdar refers to an individual who holds a mansab, meaning a position or rank. It was a grading system used by the Mughals to fix (1) rank, (2) salary and (3) military responsibilities.
● Mansabdars received their salaries as revenue assignments called jagirs. Mansabdars did not actually reside in or administer their jagirs. They only had rights to the revenue of their assignments which was collected for them by their servants while the mansabdars themselves served in some other part of the country.

Answer: D
Explanation:
● The administrative system of the Gonds was centralised. The kingdom was divided into garhs. Each garh was controlled by a particular Gond clan. This was further divided into units of 84 villages called chaurasi. The chaurasi was subdivided into barhots which were made up of 12 villages each. So, the village was the lowest unit of administration and not barhots. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
● With time, the Gonds developed into a large state. The Gond chiefs now wished to be recognised as Rajputs. So, Aman Das, the Gond raja of Garha Katanga, assumed the title of Sangram Shah. His son, Dalpat, married princess Durgawati, the daughter of Salbahan, the Chandel Rajput raja of Mahoba. So, they established matrimonial relations with the Rajputs and not Mughals. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
● In 1565, the Mughal forces under Asaf Khan attacked Garha Katanga. A strong resistance was put up by Rani Durgawati. She was defeated and preferred to die rather than surrender. Her son, too, died fighting soon after. Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.

Answer: C
Explanation:
● Ahom society was very sophisticated. Poets and scholars were given land grants. Theatre was encouraged. Important works of Sanskrit were translated into the local language. Historical works, known as buranjis, were also written – first in the Ahom language and then in Assamese. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
● In 1662, the Mughals under Mir Jumla attacked the Ahom kingdom. Despite their brave defence, the Ahoms were defeated. But direct Mughal control over the region could not last long. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
● Ahom society was divided into clans or khels. There were very few castes of artisans, so artisans in the Ahom areas came from the adjoining kingdoms. A khel often controlled several villages. The peasant was given land by his village community. Even the king could not take it away without the community’s consent. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Answer: A
Explanation:
● The seventh to ninth centuries saw the emergence of new religious movements, led by the Nayanars (saints devoted to Shiva) and Alvars (saints devoted to Vishnu) who came from all castes including those considered “untouchable” like the Pulaiyar and the Panars. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
● There were 63 Nayanars, who belonged to different caste backgrounds, such as potters, “untouchable” workers, peasants, hunters, soldiers, Brahmanas and chiefs. The best known among them were Appar, Sambandar, Sundarar and Manikkavasagar. There are two sets of compilations of their songs – Tevaram and Tiruvacakam. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
● There were 12 Alvars, who came from equally divergent backgrounds, the best known being Periyalvar, his daughter Andal, Tondaradippodi Alvar and Nammalvar. Their songs were compiled in the Divya Prabandham. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.

Answer: C
Explanation:
● In Kashmir, the Rishi order of Sufism flourished in the 15th and 16th centuries. This order was established by Sheikh Nuruddin Wali also known as Nund Rishi and had a deep impact on the life of the people in Kashmir.

Answer: B
Explanation:
● Surdas was an ardent devotee of Krishna. His compositions, compiled in the Sursagara, Surasaravali and Sahitya Lahari, express his devotion.
● Ramcharitmanas is the composition of Tulsidas, written in the Awadhi language.

Answer: C
Explanation:
● The essence of Shankaradeva’s devotion came to be known as ‘Eka Sarana Nama Dharma’ (supreme surrender to the One). The teachings of Shankaradeva were based on the Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavata Purana. He also encouraged the establishment of satra or monasteries for transmission of knowledge. His major compositions included Kirtana-ghosha.

Answer: D
Explanation:
● An important contribution of Bhakti saints was towards the development of music. Jayadeva of Bengal composed the Gita Govinda in Sanskrit, each song composed in a particular raga and tala.
● A unique feature of most of the bhakti saints is that their works were composed in regional languages and could be sung. They became immensely popular and were handed down orally from generation to generation.

Answer: A
Explanation:
● Kabir, who probably lived in the fifteenth-sixteenth centuries, was one of the most influential saints. He was brought up in a family of Muslim julahas or weavers settled in or near the city of Benares (Varanasi). We get to know of his ideas from a vast collection of verses called sakhis and pads said to have been composed by him and sung by wandering bhajan singers. Some of these were later collected and preserved in the Guru Granth Sahib, Panch Vani and Bijak.

Answer: D
Explanation:
● Guru Angad compiled the compositions of Baba Guru Nanak, to which he added his own in a new script known as Gurmukhi. The three successors of Guru Angad also wrote under the name of “Nanak” and all of their compositions were compiled by Guru Arjan in 1604. To this compilation were added the writings of other figures like Shaikh Farid, Sant Kabir, Bhagat Namdev and Guru Tegh Bahadur.
● In 1706, this compilation was authenticated by Guru Tegh Bahadur’s son and successor, Guru Gobind Singh. It is now known as the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of the Sikhs.

Answer: A
Explanation:
● The Chera kingdom of Mahodayapuram was established in the ninth century in the south-western part of the peninsula, part of the present-day Kerala. The rulers introduced the Malayalam language and script in their inscriptions. In fact, this is one of the earliest examples of the use of a regional language in official records in the subcontinent. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
● At the same time, the Cheras also drew upon Sanskritic traditions. The temple theatre of Kerala, which is traced to this period, borrowed stories from the Sanskrit epics. The first literary works in Malayalam, dated to about the twelfth century, are directly indebted to Sanskrit. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
● A fourteenth-century text, the Lilatilakam, dealing with grammar and poetics, was composed in Manipravalam – literally, “diamonds and corals” referring to the two languages, Sanskrit and the regional language. Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.

Answer: C
Explanation:
● In the twelfth century, one of the most important rulers of the Ganga dynasty, Anantavarman, decided to erect a temple for Purushottama Jagannatha at Puri. Subsequently, in 1230, king Anangabhima III dedicated his kingdom to the deity and proclaimed himself as the “deputy” of the God.

Answer: C
Explanation:
● Apart from the Mughal Empire, another region that attracted miniature paintings was the Himalayan foothills around the modern-day state of Himachal Pradesh. By the late seventeenth century, this region had developed a bold and intense style of miniature painting called Basohli. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
● Nadir Shah’s invasion and the conquest of Delhi in 1739 resulted in the migration of Mughal artists to the hills to escape the uncertainties of the plains. Here they found ready patrons which led to the founding of the Kangra school of painting. By the mid-eighteenth century the Kangra artists developed a style which breathed a new spirit into miniature painting. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
● The source of inspiration was the Vaishnavite traditions. Soft colours including cool blues and greens, and a lyrical treatment of themes distinguished Kangra painting. The most popular text to be painted here was Bhanudatta’s Rasamanjari. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Answer: B
Explanation:
All the above-mentioned texts are related to Bengali literature. Early Bengali literature is divided into two categories – one indebted to Sanskrit and the other independent of it.
● The first includes translations of the Sanskrit epics, the Mangalakavyas (literally auspicious poems, dealing with local deities) and bhakti literature, such as the biographies of Chaitanyadeva, the leader of the Vaishnava bhakti movement.
● The second includes Nath literature, such as the songs of Maynamati and Gopichandra, stories concerning the worship of Dharma Thakur, and fairy tales, folk tales and ballads.

Answer: D
Explanation:
● Bengal witnessed a temple-building spree from the late fifteenth century, which culminated in the nineteenth century. Many of the modest brick and terracotta temples in Bengal were built with the support of several “low” social groups, such as the Kolu (oil pressers) and the Kansari (bell metal workers).
● When local deities, once worshipped in thatched huts in villages, gained the recognition of the Brahmanas, their images began to be housed in temples. The temples began to copy the double-roofed (dochala) or four-roofed (chauchala) structure of the thatched huts. This led to the evolution of the typical Bengali style in temple architecture.

Answer: D
Explanation:
● Sawai Jai Singh, the ruler of Amber constructed five astronomical observatories, one each in Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain, Mathura and Varanasi. Commonly known as Jantar Mantar, these observatories had various instruments to study heavenly bodies.