Indian History Bits – Questions & Answers

1.How many Upanishads are there in Hinduism ?

Ans:108

2.How many Upanishads are there in Hinduism ?

Ans:108

3.Emperor Ashoka belonged to which dynasty?

Ans:Maurya dynasty

4.Who wrote the Arthashastra?

Ans:Chanakya (Kautilya)

5.Which two cities are the best-known sites of the Indus Valley Civilisation?

Ans:Harappa and Mohenjo-daro

6.Over what period did the Indus Valley Civilisation flourish?

Ans:About 2500 to 1750 BCE

7.For what are Indus Valley towns particularly noted?

Ans:Planned towns and drainage systems

8.What was composed during the Vedic Age (c. 1500-600 BCE)?

Ans:The Vedas

9.How many Mahajanapadas existed around 600 BCE?

Ans:Sixteen great kingdoms

10.Which Mahajanapada was the most powerful?

Ans:Magadha

11.Name two rulers of the Haryanka dynasty of Magadha.

Ans:Bimbisara and Ajatashatru

12.Who founded the Maurya Empire?

Ans:Chandragupta Maurya

13.Which period is called the "Golden Age" of India?

Ans:The Gupta Empire (c. 320-550 CE)

14.Who was the last great emperor of ancient north India?

Ans:Harshavardhana of the Vardhana dynasty

15.Which was the first Indus Valley site to be excavated?

Ans:Harappa, excavated in 1921 by Daya Ram Sahni

16.At which Indus Valley site was the Great Bath found?

Ans:Mohenjo-daro

17.Which Indus Valley site in Gujarat had a dockyard?

Ans:Lothal

18.Which is the oldest of the four Vedas?

Ans:The Rigveda

19.Where was Gautama Buddha born?

Ans:Lumbini (in present-day Nepal)

20.Where did Gautama Buddha attain enlightenment?

Ans:Bodh Gaya, in Bihar