Indian History gk questions:Dynasties of Ancient India-Part8

 

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Dynasties of Ancient India-Part8

Daily Online General Knowledge Quiz:Previous year paper gk questions with answers and explanation in English on Indian History:Dynasties of Ancient India.

1. Which of the following dynasties conquered Sri Lanka and South-East Asian countries?
A. The Pandyas
B. The Chalukyas
C. The Cholas
D. The Rashtrakutas

The cholas

Note: The Chola navy played an important role in the expansion of the Chola empire, including the conquest of the Ceylon islands and naval raids on Srivijaya .

The spread of Hinduism, Dravidian architecture and Dravidian culture to South East Asia, inscriptions and historical sources assert that medieval Chola King Rajendra Chola II send a naval expedition to Indo-China, the Malay peninsula and the Indonesian archipelago.

The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India, one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the world's history. The earliest datable references to the Chola are in inscriptions from the 3rd century BCE left by Ashoka, of the Maurya Empire (Ashoka Major Rock Edict No. 13).

The dynasty originated in the fertile valley of the Kaveri River. Karikala Chola was the most famous among the early Chola kings, while Rajaraja Chola, Rajendra Chola and Kulothunga Chola I were famous emperors of the medieval Cholas.

The Cholas were at the height of their power during the tenth, eleventh and twelfth centuries. Under Rajaraja Chola I (Rajaraja the Great) and his son Rajendra Chola, the dynasty became a military, economic and cultural power in Asia. The Chola territories extended from the islands of the Maldives in the South to as far North as the banks of the Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh.

Rajaraja Chola conquered peninsular South India, annexed parts of Sri Lanka and occupied the islands of the Maldives. Rajendra Chola sent a victorious expedition to North India that touched the river Ganga and defeated the Pala ruler of Pataliputra, Mahipala.

Rajaraja Chola also successfully raided kingdoms of the Malay Archipelago. The power of the Cholas declined around the 12th century with the rise of the Pandyas and the Hoysala, eventually coming to an end towards the end of the 13th century.

The earliest Chola kings of whom there is tangible evidence are mentioned in the Sangam literature.

The Sangam literature is full of names of the kings and the princes, and of the poets who extolled them. The Sangam literature is also full of legends about the mythical Chola kings.

These myths speak of the Chola king Kantaman, a supposed contemporary of the sage Agastya, whose devotion brought the Kaveri River into existence. Two names stand out prominently from among those Chola kings known from the Sangam literature: Karikala Chola and Kocengannan.

Urayur (near Thiruchirapalli) was their oldest capital.

The king Vijayalaya chola captured Thanjavur and eventually established the imperial line of the medieval Cholas.

The Chola dynasty was at the peak of its influence and power during the medieval period. Great kings such as Rajaraja Chola I and Rajendra Chola I occupied the throne, and through their leadership and vision helped extension of the Chola kingdom beyond the traditional limits of a Tamil kingdom.

Under Rajaraja Chola I and Rajendra Chola I, the Chola Empire stretched from the island of Sri Lanka in the south to the Godavari basin in the north. The kingdoms along the east coast of India up to the river Ganges acknowledged Chola suzerainty. Chola navies invaded and conquered Srivijaya in the Malayan archipelago.

During the reign of Kulothunga Chola I and Vikrama Chola; the decline of the Chola power started . The Cholas lost control of the island of Lanka and were driven out by the revival of Sinhala power.

Around 1118 they lost the control of Vengi to Western Chalukya king Vikramaditya VI and Gangavadi (southern Mysore districts) to the growing power of Hoysala Vishnuvardhana, a Chalukya feudatory.

In the Pandya territories, the lack of a controlling central administration prompted a number of claimants to the Pandya throne to cause a civil war in which the Sinhalas and the Cholas were involved by proxy. During the last century of the Cholas, a permanent Hoysala army was stationed in Kanchipuram to protect them from the growing influence of the Pandyas.

Kaverippattinam on the coast near the Kaveri delta was a major port town.

Kaveripattinam and Nagapattinam, these two cosmopolitan towns became hubs of trade and commerce and attracted many religious faiths, including Buddhism.

In Chola empire,a number of villages constituted a larger entity known as a Kurram, Nadu or Kottram, depending on the area. A number of Kurrams constituted a valanadu.

Jivaka-chintamani by Tirutakkadevar and Sulamani by Tolamoli are among notable literature works.

The art of Tirutakkadevar is marked by all the qualities of great poetry. It is considered as the model for Kamban for his masterpiece Ramavatharam.

Kamban flourished during the reign of Kulothunga Chola III. His Ramavatharam is the greatest epic in Tamil Literature

2. Gupta dynasty was famous for?
A. art and architecture
B. Imperialism
C. Revenue and land reform
D. None of the above

art and architecture

Note: The peace and prosperity created under the leadership of the Guptas enabled the pursuit of scientific and artistic endeavours.

This period is called the golden age of India and was marked by extensive inventions and discoveries in science, technology, engineering and art.

3. The paintings in the Ajanta and Ellora caves are indicative of development of art under the?
A. Rashtrakutas
B. Pallavas
C. Pandyas
D. Chalukyas

Rashtrakutas

Note: The Ellora caves were patronised mainly by the Chalukya and the Rashtrakuta dynasty ruleres and the Ajanta caves in Maharashtra are 28-30 rock-cut cave monuments containing paintings and sculptures considered to be masterpieces of both Buddhist religious art and universal pictorial art.

4. The Rashtrakuta kingdom was founded by?
A. Danti Durga
B. Amoghavarsha
C. Govinda III
D. Indra III

Danti Durga

Note: Danti Durga was the founder of the Rashtrakuta empire of Manyakheta. His capital was based in Gulbarga. He was succeeded by his uncle Krishna I, who extended his kingdom to all of Karnataka.

5. The Ajanta paintings belong to the ?
A. Harappan period
B. Mauryan period
C. Buddhist period
D. Gupta period

Gupta period

Note: The Ajanta caves in Aurangabad district are have about 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments. The caves include paintings and sculptures masterpieces of Buddhist religious art, with figures of the Buddha and depictions of the Jataka tales. Most of the paintings belong to the Vakataka Gupta period.

6. The rulers of which dynasty started the practice of granting tax-free villages to Brahmans and Buddhist monks?
A. Satavahanas
B. Mauryas
C. Guptas
D. Cholas

Satavahanas

Note: Land grants formed an important feature of the Satavahana rural administration. Inscriptions show that the Satavahanas started the practice of granting fiscal and administrative immunities to Brahmins and Buddhist monks. Satavahana inscription of the 1st century BC give earliest epigraphic record of land grants, referring the grant of a village as a gift in the Ashvamedha sacrifice.

7. Yavanika or curtain was introduced in Indian theatre by which of the following.?
A. Shakas
B. Parthians
C. Greeks
D. Kushans

Greeks

Note: The most interesting term in Indian drama with Greek connotation is 'Yavanika' which means a stage curtain.

For the first time in Panini's grammar, there is a reference to yavana and Yavanani writting. Here Yavani means Greek woman.

8. Which Chola king founded the city of Puhar?
A. Rajendra Chola
B. Elara
C. Senguttavan
D. Karikala

Karikala

Note: Karikala was a very popular Chola ruler who founded the city of 'Puhar'.

Today is a town in the Nagapattinam district in the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, which for a while , served as the capital of the early Chola kings in Tamilakam

9. The Gupta era was started by whom?
A. Ghatotkacha
B. Sri Gupta
C. Chandragupta I
D. Samudragupta

Sri Gupta

Note: The Gupta empire was an ancient Indian empire and covered much of the Indian sub-continent. It was founded by Maharaja Sri Gupta.

The first evidence of Sri Gupta comes from the writings of I-Tsing around 690 CE, who describes that the Poona copper inscription of Prabhavati Gupta, describes 'Maharaja Sri-Gupta' as the founder of the Gupta dynasty.

10. Which Rashtrakuta ruler built the famous Kailash temple of Siva at Ellora?
A. Danti Durga
B. Amoghvarsha I
C. Krishna I
D. Vatsraja

Krishna I

Note: Kailash Nath temple is a famous temple, one of the 34 monasteries and temples known collectively as the Ellora caves located at Ellora.

It is a megalith carved out of one single rock. It was built in the 8th century by the Rashtrakuta king Krishan I.