UGC NET History Practice Question

Which ancient Greek historian wrote Geographia, providing detailed coordinates of places across the Indian subcontinent during the 2nd century CE?

Arrian

Strabo

Ptolemy ✓

Pliny

Claudius Ptolemy's Geographia (2nd century CE) provided latitude/longitude-style coordinates for numerous Indian towns, rivers, and regions, making it an important (if sometimes distorted) source for reconstructing ancient Indian historical geography.

The rock-cut caves of Barabar and Nagarjuni were dedicated by Ashoka and Dasharatha to the monks of which religious sect?

Theravada Buddhism

Digambara Jainism

Ajivika sect ✓

Charvaka school

The Barabar and Nagarjuni hill caves near Gaya, among the earliest known rock-cut caves in India, were dedicated by Ashoka and his grandson Dasharatha to Ajivika monks — a now-extinct heterodox sect contemporary with early Buddhism and Jainism.

Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW) pottery is historically associated with which urban phase of Indian history?

First Urbanization (Harappan)

Second Urbanization (Gangetic Plain, c. 600 BCE) ✓

Early Medieval Urban revival

Megalithic culture of South India

NBPW, a fine, lustrous pottery, is closely associated with the "Second Urbanization" of the Gangetic plains from around 600 BCE onward, coinciding with the rise of the Mahajanapadas and early cities like Kaushambi and Rajgir.

What is the main subject matter of the Acharanga Sutra?

Rules of conduct and ascetic discipline for Jain monks ✓

Cosmological theories of Ajivikas

Vedic rituals performed by kings

Philosophical debates of Theravada Buddhists

The Acharanga Sutra is one of the oldest Jain Agamas (canonical texts), laying out the rules of conduct and ascetic discipline expected of Jain monks — a primary source for early Jain monastic life.

The Bhabru Rock Edict is historically significant because in it, Emperor Ashoka explicitly declares his faith in:

The doctrine of Ahimsa only

The Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha ✓

The worship of Shiva and Vishnu

The Jain concept of Syadvada

In the Bhabru (or Bairat) Edict, Ashoka explicitly professes faith in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha (the Three Jewels of Buddhism) and recommends specific Buddhist texts to the monastic community — direct epigraphic evidence of his personal Buddhist devotion.

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More Free UGC NET History Practice

This question is part of our free Unit-Wise mock test series, drawn from the same real question bank used across every UGC NET History mock test on this site. For structured, chapter-by-chapter notes covering everything these questions test, see our UGC NET History Notes, or try the History Glossary Flashcard Quiz for daily term-by-term practice.