Ancient & Medieval India: Themes in Indian History
50 questions · NCERT Class 12 · BPSC prelims pattern
How this test works
Click the option you think is right. It locks, turns green if correct or red if not, and the explanation opens underneath. Your score updates in the bar at the top as you go, and Calculate final score at the bottom gives the full breakdown. Choose (E) Not attempted when you would only be guessing.
+1 mark — Correct answer
−1/3 mark — Wrong answer
0 — no penalty — Option E, not attempted
−1/3 mark — Row left completely blank in the real exam
Questions 7, 8 and 16 carry a note where the key is contested or a name is misspelled in the source.
Harappan Civilisation12 questions
1. At which Harappan site have remains of canals been found?
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Answer: (A) Shortughai
Shortughai, in northern Afghanistan near the lapis lazuli sources, is the one Harappan site where traces of canals survive. Dholavira is known instead for its reservoirs and water-harvesting structures.
2. Consider the following statements with reference to Harappan settlements:
1. Generally, the settlements of Harappan sites were divided into two parts.
2. One was smaller but built at a height, called the citadel, and the other was much bigger but built below, called the lower town.
Select the true statement.
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Answer: (C) Both 1 and 2
Both hold. The citadel was walled and raised on a mud-brick platform, while the lower town was larger and also walled, with houses built on platforms of their own.
3. Consider the following statements about Harappan burials:
1. Evidence of the concept of life after death is found in these burials.
2. Jewellery has been found from the burials of both men and women.
3. The inhabitants of the Harappan civilisation believed in burying valuable objects with the dead.
Select the true statement.
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Answer: (B) 1 and 2 only
The third statement fails. Pots and some ornaments were placed in graves, and jewellery has come from both men’s and women’s burials, but the Harappans do not appear to have buried precious things with the dead on any scale.
4. Match the object with its place of discovery or origin in the Harappan period:
1. Shell 2. Lapis Lazuli 3. Copper 4. Gold
A. Balakot B. South India C. Khetri Mines D. Shortughai
1. Shell 2. Lapis Lazuli 3. Copper 4. Gold
A. Balakot B. South India C. Khetri Mines D. Shortughai
Select the correct code (1, 2, 3, 4).
Show answer
Answer: (A) A D C B
Shell came from coastal Balakot, lapis lazuli from Shortughai, copper from the Khetri mines of Rajasthan, and gold most likely from South India.
5. Consider the following statements regarding Harappan trade:
1. Harappan trade also took place through sea routes.
2. Harappa was called Meluha in Dilmun’s writings.
Select the true statement.
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Answer: (A) Only 1
Maritime trade is well attested, including the dockyard at Lothal. But Meluha is the name used in Mesopotamian texts, not Dilmun’s; Dilmun (Bahrain) and Magan were themselves separate trading regions named in those same Mesopotamian records.
6. Consider the following statements with reference to Harappan weights:
1. The weights were made from rock salt or limestone.
2. The lower denominations of these weights were decimal, while the higher denominations followed the binary system.
Select the true statement.
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Answer: (D) Neither 1 nor 2
Both are wrong as worded. The weights were cut from chert, a hard stone, and were usually cubical with no markings. The system runs the other way round: the lower denominations were binary (1, 2, 4, 8, up to 64) and the higher ones decimal.
7. Select the false statement regarding the end of the Harappan civilisation.
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Answer: (D) The number of Harappan settlements decreased.
The key treats (D) as false because population expanded into new settlements in Gujarat, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh even as the older centres emptied.
Check this one. This one rewards care. Mature Harappan sites in Cholistan and the Indus core genuinely were abandoned by about 1800 BCE, so on a narrow reading (D) is true and the item becomes shaky. The key works only if “Harappan settlements” is read as the total across all regions, counting the new sites in Gujarat and Haryana.
8. Who wrote The Story of Indian Archaeology?
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Answer: (A) S. N. Rao
The book is a history of the discipline covering 1784 to 1947.
Check this one. The author’s name is normally spelled S. N. Roy. Do not confuse him with S. R. Rao, the excavator of Lothal, who appears as an option in question 9.
9. Match the explorers with the related sites:
1. S. R. Rao 2. B. B. Lal 3. M. R. Mughal 4. R. S. Bisht
a. Kalibangan b. Lothal c. Dholavira d. Bahawalpur
1. S. R. Rao 2. B. B. Lal 3. M. R. Mughal 4. R. S. Bisht
a. Kalibangan b. Lothal c. Dholavira d. Bahawalpur
Select the correct code (1, 2, 3, 4).
Show answer
Answer: (A) b a d c
S. R. Rao excavated Lothal, B. B. Lal worked at Kalibangan, M. R. Mughal surveyed Bahawalpur in Cholistan, and R. S. Bisht excavated Dholavira.
10. Consider the following statements regarding agriculture during the Harappan period:
1. Oxen were used to plough the fields.
2. Evidence of ploughed fields has been found in Kalibangan.
3. Two different crops were grown simultaneously.
Select the true statement.
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Answer: (D) 1, 2 and 3
All three hold. Terracotta models of the plough survive, the Kalibangan field shows two sets of furrows at right angles, and that cross-pattern is itself the evidence for two crops being grown together.
11. Consider the following statements regarding the Great Bath:
1. To reach the bottom of the reservoir, two stairs were built on its eastern and western parts.
2. There were chambers on all three sides of the reservoir, one of which had a well.
3. Eight bathrooms were built to the north of the reservoir.
Select the true statement.
Show answer
Answer: (C) Only 2 and 3
The flights of steps are on the north and south, not the east and west, which rules out the first statement. Rooms stood on three sides, one holding a well, and eight small bathrooms lay to the north in two rows.
12. Consider the following statements regarding Harappan inscriptions:
1. James Prinsep was the first to understand the Harappan script.
2. It was written from left to right.
Select the true statement.
Show answer
Answer: (D) Neither 1 nor 2
Neither holds. The Harappan script remains undeciphered to this day, and Prinsep’s achievement was Brahmi and Kharosthi. Where the spacing can be judged, the script appears to run from right to left.
Inscriptions & Ashokan Sources4 questions
13. Who first discovered the meaning of the Brahmi and Kharosthi scripts?
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Answer: (D) James Prinsep
James Prinsep, an officer of the East India Company mint, deciphered both scripts in the 1830s, which is what made the Ashokan edicts readable.
14. Consider the following statements with reference to the inscriptions of Ashoka:
1. Most of the inscriptions of Ashoka are in Prakrit.
2. The inscriptions found from the North-East are in Aramaic and Greek languages.
Select the true statement.
Show answer
Answer: (A) Only 1
The direction is wrong in the second statement. Aramaic and Greek versions come from the north-west, in present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan, where those languages were in use.
15. Which was not included in the political centres of the Maurya Empire?
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Answer: (C) Kashi
The five centres named in Ashokan inscriptions are Pataliputra, Taxila, Ujjayini, Tosali and Suvarnagiri. Kashi was not one of them.
16. Consider the following statements in the context of the Prayag Prashasti:
1. This is a very huge inscription.
2. Prayag Prashasti is written in the Prakrit language.
Select the true statement.
Show answer
Answer: (D) Neither 1 nor 2
The key holds that neither statement survives. The second is plainly wrong: the Prayag Prashasti was composed by Harishena in Sanskrit, not Prakrit.
Check this one. The first statement is the problem. The Allahabad pillar inscription is a long panegyric by any ordinary measure, so calling it “very huge” is defensible and some keys therefore mark (A). The safe ground is the Sanskrit point; treat the rest as a wording judgement.
Early States, Mahajanapadas & Texts6 questions
17. In which language are the Jataka stories written?
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Answer: (A) Pali
The Jatakas, stories of the Buddha’s previous births, were compiled in Pali. Brahmi is a script rather than a language.
18. Consider the following statements regarding the sixth century BCE:
1. The first urbanisation started in India during this period.
2. Various religious ideologies developed.
3. Iron was used for the first time.
Select the true statement.
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Answer: (B) Only 2
Only the second holds. The sixth century BCE brought the second urbanisation, the first having been Harappan, and iron was already in use in the subcontinent from around 1000 BCE. What is distinctive about the period is the proliferation of new religious and philosophical schools.
19. What were the reasons for the emergence of Magadha as the first empire among the Mahajanapadas?
1. Fertile land
2. Availability of forests
3. Iron mines
Select the true statement.
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Answer: (D) 1, 2 and 3
All three contributed. The Ganga plain gave high agricultural yields, the forests supplied elephants and timber for the army and for building, and the iron mines of south Bihar furnished weapons and tools.
20. Which areas were included under “Tamilakam”?
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Answer: (A) Some parts of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala
Tamilakam, the ancient Tamil country, covered parts of present-day Andhra Pradesh and Kerala besides Tamil Nadu itself.
21. Consider the following statements regarding the oldest inscriptions:
1. The oldest inscriptions were written in the Brahmi language.
2. Inscriptions are also found in the Tamil language.
Select the true statement.
Show answer
Answer: (B) Only 2
The first statement confuses a script with a language. Brahmi is a script, used to write Prakrit among others. Tamil inscriptions do survive, many of them in the Tamil-Brahmi script.
22. In which period was the Manusmriti compiled?
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Answer: (C) 200 BCE to 200 CE
The Manusmriti, the best known of the Dharmashastras, was compiled between roughly 200 BCE and 200 CE.
Varna, Kinship & Caste3 questions
23. The Purushasukta, which contains an account of the origin of the four varnas, is related to which Veda?
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Answer: (A) Rigveda
The Purushasukta is a hymn of the Rigveda describing the four varnas as emerging from the body of the primeval Purusha.
24. What was called the “exogamy” system?
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Answer: (C) Marriage in different gotras
Exogamy required marriage outside one’s own gotra. Members of the same gotra counted as descendants of a common ancestor, which made marriage between them prohibited.
25. What measures did the Brahmanas adopt to enforce the laws of the Dharmashastras?
1. The caste system was described as a divine system.
2. Rulers were instructed to implement this system.
3. People were made to believe that their status was based on birth.
Select the true statement.
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Answer: (D) 1, 2 and 3
All three were used together: asserting that the varna order was of divine origin, advising kings to enforce it within their realms, and persuading people that their rank followed from birth.
Buddhism & Jainism5 questions
26. What does the term “Theravadins” literally mean?
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Answer: (C) Followers of the path of old, respected teachers
Thera means elder, so Theravada is the doctrine of the elders. “Followers of the Great Vehicle” describes the Mahayana instead.
27. In the context of ancient Indian religious traditions, the term “ayudhas” refers to:
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Answer: (C) Weapons or auspicious objects held by deities in sculptures
Ayudhas are the attributes a deity holds, such as Vishnu’s discus and conch. They are one of the main ways an image is identified.
28. Consider the following statements regarding the Buddhist Sangha and women:
1. Initially, the Buddha was against women entering the Sangha.
2. Buddhist nuns who attained nirvana were called theri.
Select the true statement.
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Answer: (C) Both 1 and 2
Both are accurate. The Buddha admitted women only after Ananda persuaded him, beginning with his foster mother Mahapajapati Gotami, and nuns who attained liberation were known as theris.
29. Consider the following statements regarding the teachings of the Buddha:
1. The teachings of the Buddha are compiled in the Vinaya Pitaka.
2. He described the world as impermanent.
3. According to him, the world is soulless.
Select the true statement.
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Answer: (C) Only 2 and 3
The first statement misplaces the text. The Vinaya Pitaka holds the rules for the monastic order; the teachings themselves are in the Sutta Pitaka. Impermanence (anicca) and soullessness (anatta) are both central to the doctrine.
30. Consider the following statements regarding Jaina philosophy:
1. The entire world is lifeless; hence, the path of non-violence should be adopted.
2. Sacrifice is necessary for freedom from karma.
Select the true statement.
Show answer
Answer: (B) Only 2
Jaina thought holds the opposite of the first statement: the whole world is animate, and even stones and water possess life, which is precisely why non-violence is required. Freedom from the cycle of karma calls for asceticism and penance, which is the sense of “sacrifice” intended here rather than Vedic ritual sacrifice.
Travellers’ Accounts8 questions
31. What obstacles did Al-Biruni face in understanding Indian society?
1. Language
2. Difference in religious status and practice
3. Lack of money
Select the true statement.
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Answer: (B) 1 and 2 only
Al-Biruni named three barriers, and money was not among them. They were language, the difference in religious belief and practice, and the self-absorption and insularity of the local population.
32. Consider the following statements regarding the description of the postal system by Ibn Battuta:
1. There were two types of postal system in India. The horse postal system was called uluq.
2. The postal system on foot was called dawa.
3. The foot postal system was faster than the horse postal system.
Select the true statement.
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Answer: (D) 1, 2 and 3
All three are as Ibn Battuta described them. Runners were stationed every third of a mile and worked in relays, which made the foot post quicker than the horse post over distance.
33. Who wrote Travels in the Mughal Empire?
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Answer: (C) François Bernier
Bernier, a French physician and philosopher, spent twelve years in India and dedicated the work to Louis XIV.
34. Who developed the theory of Oriental despotism?
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Answer: (C) Montesquieu
Montesquieu built the idea of Oriental despotism on Bernier’s account, arguing that rulers in Asia held absolute power over subjects kept in servitude. Marx later drew on the same line of thinking for the Asiatic mode of production.
35. Consider the following statements:
1. Slave trade took place on a large scale in medieval India.
2. Slaves were used as informants.
3. Bernier wrote in detail about the practice of sati.
Select the true statement.
Show answer
Answer: (D) 1, 2 and 3
All three hold. Slaves were openly sold in markets, some were placed in households to watch and report on their masters, and Bernier left a detailed and horrified account of sati.
36. Consider the following statements regarding Al-Biruni:
1. He wrote the Kitab-ul-Hind.
2. He wrote in the Arabic language.
3. He came to India in the twelfth century.
Select the true statement.
Show answer
Answer: (A) 1 and 2 only
The century is wrong in the third statement. Al-Biruni arrived in the eleventh century, having come to the subcontinent in the wake of Mahmud of Ghazni’s campaigns.
37. Consider the following statements regarding Ibn Battuta:
1. He wrote his travelogue Rihla in the Persian language.
2. He came to India in the thirteenth century during the reign of Muhammad bin Tughlaq.
Select the true statement.
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Answer: (D) Neither 1 nor 2
Both fail. The Rihla was written in Arabic, and Ibn Battuta reached India in the fourteenth century, arriving in 1333 and serving Muhammad bin Tughlaq as qazi of Delhi.
38. Select the false statement.
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Answer: (C) The French jeweller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier visited India at least seven times.
Tavernier travelled to India at least six times, not seven. The other three statements are accurate as they stand.
Bhakti & Sufi Traditions8 questions
39. Consider the following statements regarding the Virashaiva tradition:
1. It originated in Karnataka in the thirteenth century.
2. They bury their dead in a systematic manner.
Select the true statement.
Show answer
Answer: (B) Only 2
The movement began in Karnataka in the twelfth century under Basavanna, not the thirteenth. Lingayats do bury their dead with ceremony rather than cremating them, which set them apart from Brahmanical practice.
40. Consider the following statements with reference to Muslim traders settled on the Malabar Coast:
1. They adopted the local Malayalam language.
2. However, instead of adopting local values like matriarchy, they emphasised patriarchy.
Select the true statement.
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Answer: (A) Only 1
The second statement reverses what happened. These traders adopted local customs including matriliny and matrilocal residence, alongside the local language.
41. Consider the following statements with reference to the development of Sufism:
1. Sufis criticised the intellectual interpretation of the Quran and Sunna made by religious leaders.
2. Sufis interpreted the Quran on the basis of their personal experiences.
Select the true statement.
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Answer: (C) Both 1 and 2
Both hold, and together they define the Sufi position. They rejected the dogmatic definitions and scholastic methods of the ulama and read the Quran through their own experience of the divine.
42. The compositions of which Sikh Guru were finally included when the Sikh scripture was designated the Guru Granth Sahib?
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Answer: (C) Guru Tegh Bahadur
Guru Gobind Singh added the compositions of the ninth Guru, Tegh Bahadur, to the Adi Granth, and the scripture was then called the Guru Granth Sahib. The compiler of the original Adi Granth in 1604 was Guru Arjan Dev.
43. Who was Mirabai’s teacher?
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Answer: (A) Raidas
Mirabai is described as a disciple of Raidas, also known as Ravidas, a saint from a community regarded as untouchable. Her choice of guru was itself a rejection of caste norms.
44. Consider the following statements regarding the “Great” and “Little” traditions:
1. It describes the cultural behaviour of the entire Indian society.
2. The rituals and practices followed by the dominant sections of society were called Great Traditions.
3. Adherence to local practices was called Little Tradition.
Select the true statement.
Show answer
Answer: (C) Only 2 and 3
The framework comes from the sociologist Robert Redfield, who used it for peasant societies rather than as a description of Indian society as a whole, which is where the first statement overreaches. The other two state the distinction correctly.
45. Select the false statement.
Show answer
Answer: (A) Andal was a Nayanar woman devotee.
Andal was an Alvar, devoted to Vishnu, not a Nayanar. The best known Nayanar woman devotee is Karaikkal Ammaiyar, a votary of Shiva.
46. The poetic composition of which Sufi saint is compiled in the Guru Granth Sahib?
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Answer: (B) Baba Farid
Verses of Baba Farid, the Chishti Sufi of Punjab, are included in the Guru Granth Sahib alongside those of Kabir and other saints.
Vijayanagara Empire4 questions
47. Who discovered the ruins of Hampi?
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Answer: (B) Colin Mackenzie
Colin Mackenzie, an engineer and antiquarian with the East India Company who later became the first Surveyor General of India, brought the ruins to light in 1800.
48. Which city did Krishnadeva Raya establish in the name of his mother?
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Answer: (D) Nagalpuram
Krishnadeva Raya founded Nagalapuram, naming it after his mother Nagala Devi. He is also remembered for the suburban township of Nagalapuram near the capital and for the gopurams he added to major temples.
49. Consider the following statements about the Vijayanagara Empire:
1. It was established in the fourteenth century.
2. Kudirai Chettis was the chief officer of the army.
Select the true statement.
Show answer
Answer: (A) Only 1
The empire was founded in 1336 by Harihara and Bukka, so the first statement holds. Kudirai Chettis, however, were horse traders rather than any military office.
50. Consider the following statements regarding the Battle of Talikota:
1. Vijayanagara was led by its king Rama Raya.
2. In this war, the combined forces of Bijapur, Ahmednagar and Berar defeated Vijayanagara.
Select the true statement.
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Answer: (D) Neither 1 nor 2
Both statements fail on a detail. Rama Raya commanded Vijayanagara but was regent and de facto ruler, not the king; the nominal ruler was Sadashiva Raya. And the victorious alliance in 1565 was Bijapur, Ahmadnagar and Golconda, with Bidar also involved, rather than Berar.
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1 A · 2 C · 3 B · 4 A · 5 A · 6 D · 7 D · 8 A · 9 A · 10 D · 11 C · 12 D · 13 D · 14 A · 15 C · 16 D · 17 A · 18 B · 19 D · 20 A · 21 B · 22 C · 23 A · 24 C · 25 D · 26 C · 27 C · 28 C · 29 C · 30 B · 31 B · 32 D · 33 C · 34 C · 35 D · 36 A · 37 D · 38 C · 39 B · 40 A · 41 C · 42 C · 43 A · 44 C · 45 A · 46 B · 47 B · 48 D · 49 A · 50 D
Scoring: +1 correct, −1/3 wrong, 0 for option E, −1/3 for a row left blank.