Question 1

The Arthashastra of Kautilya was rediscovered and published for the first time in 1909 by which scholar?

Accepted Answer

R. Shamasastry — R. Shamasastry discovered a manuscript of the Arthashastra in 1904 and published it in 1909, transforming the study of Mauryan administration and statecraft by giving historians a detailed indigenous treatise to work with.

Question 2

Which inscription provides explicit evidence of early irrigation public works through the repair of the Sudarshana Lake embankment?

Accepted Answer

Junagadh Rock Inscription of Rudradaman I — Rudradaman I's Junagadh inscription records the repair of the Sudarshana Lake dam (originally built under Chandragupta Maurya, repaired under Ashoka too) — key evidence for continuous state involvement in irrigation infrastructure from Mauryan to Western Kshatrapa times.

Question 3

The Sangam period Patinenkilkanakku collections consist primarily of texts belonging to which theme?

Accepted Answer

Didactic, ethical, and moral treatises — The Patinenkilkanakku ("Eighteen Minor Works"), which includes the Tirukkural, are predominantly didactic works on ethics, conduct, and moral philosophy, distinct from the heroic/martial Puram poetry of the main Sangam anthologies.

Question 4

In epigraphy, the script known as Kharosthi was written in which direction?

Accepted Answer

Right to Left — Kharosthi, used mainly in the northwest (Gandhara region) and derived from Aramaic, was written right to left — unlike Brahmi, which was written left to right, this is a commonly tested distinguishing feature between the two major early Indian scripts.

Question 5

Which of the following sites has yielded the earliest physical evidence of cultivated rice in the Indian subcontinent, dating back to c. 6000 BCE?

Accepted Answer

Lahuradewa / Koldihwa — Lahuradewa and Koldihwa in the Middle Ganga valley have produced some of the earliest claimed evidence of rice cultivation in South Asia, pushing back the timeline for Neolithic agriculture in the eastern Gangetic region, though some early rice-husk dating remains debated among archaeologists.

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