Question 1

The Mahavamsa and Dipavamsa are historical chronicles composed in which country that serve as key sources for Ashokan history?

Accepted Answer

Sri Lanka — The Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa are Pali chronicles composed in Sri Lanka, tracing the island's Buddhist and dynastic history back to Ashoka's reign and his son/daughter Mahinda and Sanghamitta's mission — vital, though partly legendary, sources for Mauryan-era Buddhism.

Question 2

In ancient Indian numismatics, the term Nishka in the early Vedic period originally signified:

Accepted Answer

Gold ornament or necklet used as a unit of value — In the Rigveda, Nishka refers to a gold ornament (likely a necklet) used as a store/unit of value in a pre-coinage barter economy — it only later, in some contexts, came to loosely denote a coin, so the earliest Vedic sense is ornamental, not monetary in the modern sense.

Question 3

Which Chinese monk wrote the record titled Fo-Guo-Ji (A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms) detailing his travels during the Gupta period?

Accepted Answer

Faxian — Faxian travelled through India c. 399-414 CE, during Chandragupta II's reign, and recorded his journey in the Fo-Guo-Ji — an invaluable eyewitness account of Gupta-era administration, Buddhism, and society, predating Xuanzang's visit by over two centuries.

Question 4

The Hathigumpha Inscription of King Kharavela is inscribed on the Udayagiri hills near Bhubaneswar in which script?

Accepted Answer

Brahmi — The Hathigumpha Inscription, King Kharavela of Kalinga's own detailed autobiographical record, is written in Brahmi script and Prakrit language — a major source for the political history of Kalinga and one of the longest early royal prashastis.

Question 5

Which early Vedic text contains the Purusha Sukta, which introduces the concept of four Varnas?

Accepted Answer

Tenth Mandala of the Rigveda — The Purusha Sukta appears in the tenth (and latest-composed) Mandala of the Rigveda, describing the cosmic sacrifice of Purusha from whom the four varnas emerged — its late position in the Rigveda is itself used by historians to argue the varna system developed later in the Vedic period, not from the start.

UGC NET History Practice Question

More Free UGC NET History Practice