Day-757 | Daily MCQs | UPSC Prelims | HISTORY

Answer: D
Explanation:
● Burzahom is one of the important Neolithic sites located above the floodplain of the Jhelum region, Srinagar (J&K). Burzahom is a Kashmiri word meaning ‘place of birch’, and the discovery of burnt birch in the excavations indicates that birch trees grew in the area in neolithic times as well.
● Other sites are also Neolithic sites located in Kashmir.

Answer: D
Explanation:
● Mehrgarh located in a fertile plain near the Bolan pass was one of the earliest places where people learnt to grow barley and wheat, and rear sheep and goat for the first time in this area.
● Bones of wild animals such as the deer and pig, and also bones of sheep and goat were found.
● The site also has remains of compartmentalised (four or more) square or rectangular houses, suggesting storage areas also.
● Several burial sites have also been found. In one of the burials, a dead person is buried with a goat, showing the beliefs of the people.

Answer: C
Explanation:
● Chauth:- 25 per cent of the land revenue claimed by zamindars. In the Deccan, this was collected by the Marathas.
● Sardeshmukhi:- 9 –10 per cent of the land revenue paid to the head revenue collector in the Deccan.
● Under a number of able leaders in the eighteenth century, the Sikhs organised themselves into a number of bands called jathas, and later on misls. Their combined forces were known as the grand army (dal khalsa). The entire body used to meet at Amritsar at the time of Baisakhi and Diwali to take collective decisions known as “resolutions of the Guru (gurmatas)”. A system called rakhi was introduced, offering protection to cultivators on the payment of a tax of 20 percent of the produce.

Answer: A
Explanation:
Vijayanagara or “city of victory” was the name of both a city and an empire. The empire was founded in the fourteenth century. People remembered it as Hampi, a name derived from that of the local mother goddess, Pampadevi.
● The ruins at Hampi were brought to light in 1800 by an engineer and antiquarian named Colonel Colin Mackenzie. An employee of the English East India Company, he prepared the first survey map of the site. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
● According to tradition and epigraphic evidence two brothers, Harihara and Bukka, founded the Vijayanagara Empire in 1336. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
● On their northern frontier, the Vijayanagara kings competed with contemporary rulers – including the Sultans of the Deccan and the Gajapati rulers of Orissa – for control of the fertile river valleys and the resources generated by lucrative overseas trade. Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.

Answer: D
Explanation:
The site of Mohenjodaro is divided into two sections, which highlights the town planning of this site. They are:
● Citadel
● Lower town
Features of this division:
Citadel – Lower town
● It is higher and smaller – ● It is lower and larger
● Built on platform (mud-brick) – ● Built on platform
● Walled – ● Walled
● Settlement was first planned and then executed – ● Settlement was first planned and then executed

So, here the correct answer is option D. Why?
Although both the towns were built on platforms, the height of Citadel town was more as compared to Lower town. The citadel was walled which physically separated it from the lower town.

Answer: A
Explanation:
Harappan seals provide evidence of their writing skill and script. Although the script remains undeciphered to date, some points are apparent.
● Most inscriptions are short, the longest containing about 26 signs. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
● It is not alphabetical and has many signs. It is logo-syllabic. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
● The script is written from right to left. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Answer: A
Explanation:
Art historians had to acquire familiarity with hagiographies of the Buddha in order to understand Buddhist sculpture. According to hagiographies, the Buddha attained enlightenment while meditating under a tree. Many early sculptors did not show the Buddha in human form – instead, they showed his presence through symbols.
● The empty seat was meant to indicate the meditation of the Buddha
● The stupa was meant to represent the mahaparinibbana.
● Another frequently used symbol was the wheel. This stood for the first sermon of the Buddha, delivered at Sarnath.

Answer: B
Explanation:
● The Rashtrakutas were initially the feudatories/subordinate to the Chalukyas of Karnataka. The kingdom was founded by Dantidurga who set up his capital at Malkhed or Manyakheta near modern Sholapur. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect and 2 is correct.
● After assuming the throne, they performed a ritual called hiranya-garbha (literally, the golden womb). When this ritual was performed with the help of Brahmanas, it was thought to lead to the “rebirth” of the sacrificer as a Kshatriya, even if he was not one by birth. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Answer: D
Explanation:
● Cave 15 of the Ellora Caves, known as Dashavatara Cave, belongs to the period of the Rashtrakuta king, Dantidurga. This cave mainly depicts Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu in various forms. This two-storeyed structure has a large courtyard in which stands a monolithic Nandi mandapa. River goddesses flank the entrance. Earlier it was a Buddhist monastery but it was converted into a Shiva temple in the 8th century AD. It has a wall relief, which portrays Vishnu as Narasimha, the man-lion.

Answer: D
Explanation:
● The inscriptions of the Cholas who ruled in Tamil Nadu refer to more than 400 terms for different kinds of taxes. The most frequently mentioned tax is vetti, taken not in cash but in the form of forced labour, and kadamai, or land revenue. There were also taxes on thatching the house, the use of a ladder to climb palm trees, a cess on succession to family property, etc.

Answer: B
Explanation:
The correct matches are:
● Vidarbha, part of Maharashtra
● Saindhava refers to Sindh
● Anarta, part of Gujarat
● Vanga is part of Bengal and not Odisha
For more information refer to the image given below. Read and memorize all the historical places and their associated geographical locations.

Answer: B
Explanation:
● The Upanishads are part of the later Vedic texts. Upanishad literally means ‘approaching and sitting near’ and the texts contain conversations between teachers and students. Often, ideas were presented through simple dialogues. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
● Many of the Upanishadik thinkers felt that there was something permanent in the universe that would last even after death. They described this as the atman or the individual soul and the brahman or the universal soul. They believed that ultimately, both the atman and the brahman were one. Hence, statement 1 is correct and 2 is incorrect.

Answer: D
Explanation:
All the pairs are correctly matched.
Over centuries, India’s intellectual exploration of truth has come to be represented by six systems of philosophy.
● These are known as Vaishesika, Nyaya, Samkhya, Yoga, Purva Mimansa and Vedanta or Uttara Mimansa. These six systems of philosophy are said to have been founded by sages Konada, Gotama, Kapila, Patanjali, Jaimini and Vyasa, respectively.

Answer: A
Explanation:
● The zamindars were landed proprietors who enjoyed certain social and economic privileges by virtue of their superior status in rural society. Caste was one factor that accounted for the elevated status of zamindars; another factor was that they performed certain services (khidmat) for the state.
● The zamindars held extensive personal lands termed milkiyat, meaning property. Milkiyat lands were cultivated for the private use of zamindars, often with the help of hired or servile labour.

Answer: C
Explanation:
● The first dynasty, known as the Sangama dynasty, exercised control till 1485. They were supplanted by the Saluvas, military commanders, who remained in power till 1503 when they were replaced by the Tuluvas. Krishnadeva Raya belonged to the Tuluva dynasty. Krishnadeva Raya (ruled 1509-29), the most famous ruler of Vijayanagara, composed a work on statecraft in Telugu known as the Amuktamalyada.

Answer: A
Explanation:
● Aihole, the capital of the Chalukyas, was an important trading centre. The best-known Chalukya ruler was Pulakeshin II. We know about him from a prashasti, composed by his court poet Ravikirti. This tells us about his ancestors, who are traced back through four generations from father to son. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
● Harsha, the ruler of Kanauj tried to cross the Narmada to march into the Deccan, but was stopped by a ruler belonging to the Chalukya dynasty, Pulakeshin II. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
● Gupta king, Chandragupta II, as a mark of victory over the Shakas and assumed the title of Vikramaditya. Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.

Answer: D
Explanation:
The Pallavas and Chalukyas were the most important ruling dynasties in south India during the early medieval period.
Some of the administrative posts associated with local administration were-
● nagara shreshthi or chief banker or merchant of the city
● the sarthavaha or leader of the merchant caravans,
● the prathama-kulika or the chief craftsman, and the
● head of the kayasthas or scribes.

Answer: D
Explanation:
All the statements are incorrect.
● A famous Tamil epic, the Silappadikaram, was composed by a poet named Ilango, around 1800 years ago. It is the story of a merchant named Kovalan, who lived in Puhar and fell in love with a courtesan named Madhavi, neglecting his wife Kannagi. It is not a part of Sangam literature.
● Another Tamil epic, the Manimekalai was composed by Sattanar around 1400 years ago. This describes the story of the daughter of Kovalan and Madhavi.

Answer: A
Explanation:
● Megasthenes was an ambassador who was sent to the court of Chandragupta by the Greek ruler of West Asia named Seleucus Nicator. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
● The most famous Mauryan ruler was Ashoka. He was the first ruler who tried to take his message to the people through inscriptions. Most of Ashoka’s inscriptions were in Prakrit and were written in the Brahmi script. The Gupta rulers were the first to use Sanskrit as court language. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
● Ashoka fought a war to conquer Kalinga. However, he was so horrified when he saw the violence and bloodshed that he decided not to fight any more wars. He is the only king in the history of the world who gave up conquest after winning a war. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Answer: B
Explanation:
The correct matches are as follows:
● Sindhia of Gwalior
● Gaekwad of Baroda
● Bhonsle of Nagpur
● Sindhia of Ujjain
● Holkar of Indore