CHAPTER 3: EMPIRES AND KINGDOMS: 6TH TO 10TH CENTURIES
1. Which major historical period does this chapter cover?
A. 2nd to 5th centuries
B. 6th to 10th centuries
C. 11th to 15th centuries
D. 16th to 18th centuries
Answer: B. 6th to 10th centuries
2. In which year did Harṣhavardhana’s rule begin at Kannauj?
A. 550 CE
B. 606 CE
C. 647 CE
D. 750 CE
Answer: B. 606 CE
3. Which dynasty rose to prominence in Bengal and eastern India during this period?
A. Pāla dynasty
B. Pallava dynasty
C. Chola dynasty
D. Chera dynasty
Answer: A. Pāla dynasty
4. Who was the first king of the Pāla dynasty?
A. Dharmapāla
B. Gopāla
C. Devapāla
D. Bhoja
Answer: B. Gopāla
5. Which three powers participated in the Tripartite Struggle for Kannauj?
A. Pālas, Gurjara-Pratīhāras and Rāṣhṭrakūṭas
B. Pallavas, Cholas and Cheras
C. Chālukyas, Pāṇḍyas and Pālas
D. Guptas, Mauryas and Pallavas
Answer: A. Pālas, Gurjara-Pratīhāras and Rāṣhṭrakūṭas
6. What was the earlier capital of Harṣhavardhana’s dynasty?
A. Vātāpi
B. Sthāneśhvara
C. Mānyakheṭa
D. Tanjāvūr
Answer: B. Sthāneśhvara
7. Which dynasty did Harṣhavardhana belong to?
A. Puṣhyabhūti or Vardhana dynasty
B. Pāla dynasty
C. Chola dynasty
D. Rāṣhṭrakūṭa dynasty
Answer: A. Puṣhyabhūti or Vardhana dynasty
8. Which river confluence was associated with Harṣha’s five-yearly assembly at Prayāga?
A. Ganga and Yamuna
B. Narmada and Tapi
C. Krishna and Godavari
D. Indus and Jhelum
Answer: A. Ganga and Yamuna
9. Which ruler stopped Harṣhavardhana’s southward expansion beyond the Narmada?
A. Pulakeśhin II
B. Gopāla
C. Vijayālaya
D. Amoghavarṣha I
Answer: A. Pulakeśhin II
10. Who wrote Harṣhacharita, a biography of Harṣhavardhana?
A. Kalhaṇa
B. Bāṇabhaṭṭa
C. Ravikīrti
D. Brahmagupta
Answer: B. Bāṇabhaṭṭa
11. Which literary work by Bāṇabhaṭṭa is described in the chapter as one of the world’s first novels?
A. Rājatarangiṇī
B. Kādambarī
C. Brahmasphutasiddhānta
D. Harṣhacharita
Answer: B. Kādambarī
12. Which Chinese pilgrim travelled around the Indian subcontinent between 630 and 644 CE?
A. Faxian
B. Xuanzang
C. Al-Masūdī
D. Sulaiman
Answer: B. Xuanzang
13. What did Xuanzang bring back to China from India?
A. More than 600 Sanskrit Buddhist manuscripts
B. Hundreds of Roman coins
C. Military weapons
D. Agricultural machinery
Answer: A. More than 600 Sanskrit Buddhist manuscripts
14. Which ruler founded the Pāla dynasty in 750 CE, according to an inscription mentioned in the chapter?
A. Dharmapāla
B. Gopāla
C. Bhoja
D. Nāgabhaṭa I
Answer: B. Gopāla
15. Which Buddhist institutions were founded or patronised by Dharmapāla?
A. Vikramaśhilā and Somapura
B. Kailaśhanātha and Shore Temple
C. Shankaracharya and Jyeshteshwara temples
D. Meguti and Kaiyuan temples
Answer: A. Vikramaśhilā and Somapura
16. Where was Vikramaśhilā established?
A. On the banks of the Ganga
B. On the coast of Tamil Nadu
C. In the Kashmir Valley
D. In the Deccan Plateau near Mānyakheṭa
Answer: A. On the banks of the Ganga
17. What was the role of a dvārapaṇḍita at Vikramaśhilā?
A. Collecting taxes from merchants
B. Testing students before admission
C. Leading the royal army
D. Managing maritime trade
Answer: B. Testing students before admission
18. Who founded the Gurjara-Pratīhāra dynasty in the mid-8th century, according to the chapter?
A. Nāgabhaṭa I
B. King Bhoja
C. Dantidurga
D. Pulakeśhin I
Answer: A. Nāgabhaṭa I
19. Which ruler of the Gurjara-Pratīhāras was also known as Mihira and Ādi Varāha?
A. King Bhoja
B. Harṣhavardhana
C. Dharmapāla
D. Amoghavarṣha I
Answer: A. King Bhoja
20. Who became the first independent Rāṣhṭrakūṭa ruler after overthrowing the Chālukyas in the Deccan?
A. Krishna I
B. Dantidurga
C. Amoghavarṣha I
D. Pulakeśhin II
Answer: B. Dantidurga
21. What was the capital of the Rāṣhṭrakūṭas?
A. Kānchī
B. Kannauj
C. Mānyakheṭa
D. Madurai
Answer: C. Mānyakheṭa
22. Which Rāṣhṭrakūṭa ruler commissioned the Kailaśhanātha temple at Ellora?
A. Krishna I
B. Dantidurga
C. Amoghavarṣha I
D. Nāgabhaṭa I
Answer: A. Krishna I
23. Which ruler of the Rāṣhṭrakūṭa dynasty was strongly drawn to Jainism and ruled for 64 years?
A. Amoghavarṣha I
B. Krishna I
C. Dantidurga
D. Bhoja
Answer: A. Amoghavarṣha I
24. Which Sanskrit historical work records the history of Kashmir’s ruling dynasties?
A. Kādambarī
B. Rājatarangiṇī
C. Harṣhacharita
D. Brahmasphutasiddhānta
Answer: B. Rājatarangiṇī
25. Who composed the Rājatarangiṇī in the 12th century?
A. Bāṇabhaṭṭa
B. Kalhaṇa
C. Ravikīrti
D. Bhāskara I
Answer: B. Kalhaṇa
26. Which queen consolidated her power in Kashmir in the late 10th century?
A. Āṇḍāḷ
B. Diddā
C. Tribhuvana Mahadevi I
D. Prabhāvatī Gupta
Answer: B. Diddā
27. Which Chālukya ruler founded the dynasty in the mid-6th century CE?
A. Pulakeśhin I
B. Pulakeśhin II
C. Vijayālaya
D. Narasimhavarman I
Answer: A. Pulakeśhin I
28. What was the capital of the Chālukyas under Pulakeśhin II?
A. Vātāpi
B. Kānchī
C. Tanjāvūr
D. Kānyakubja
Answer: A. Vātāpi
29. Which Pallava ruler defeated Pulakeśhin II and captured Badami?
A. Mahendravarman I
B. Narasimhavarman I
C. Narasimhavarman II
D. Aditya I
Answer: B. Narasimhavarman I
30. Which city served as the capital of the Pallavas?
A. Kānchī
B. Mānyakheṭa
C. Madurai
D. Sthāneśhvara
Answer: A. Kānchī
31. Which Pallava site is famous for rock-cut caves and monolithic temples?
A. Māmallapuram
B. Vikramaśhilā
C. Somapura
D. Shravanabelagola
Answer: A. Māmallapuram
32. Which dynasty overthrew the Pallavas in the late 9th century?
A. Cholas
B. Pālas
C. Rāṣhṭrakūṭas
D. Gurjara-Pratīhāras
Answer: A. Cholas
33. Who revived Chola power in the 9th century and established a new capital at Tanjāvūr?
A. Vijayālaya
B. Aditya I
C. Krishna I
D. Pulakeśhin I
Answer: A. Vijayālaya
34. Which geographical feature helped the Chola heartland maintain steady agricultural output?
A. The fertile Kāveri delta
B. The Thar Desert
C. The Himalayan glaciers
D. The dry plateau of western Rajasthan
Answer: A. The fertile Kāveri delta
35. Which dynasty was associated with Madurai as its capital and maritime trade through the port of Korkai?
A. Pāṇḍyas
B. Pallavas
C. Pālas
D. Gurjara-Pratīhāras
Answer: A. Pāṇḍyas
36. What were sāmantas in the political and administrative system of this period?
A. Subordinate rulers who governed regions on behalf of powerful kings
B. Foreign merchants who traded with India
C. Buddhist scholars at universities
D. Village artisans responsible for temple sculpture
Answer: A. Subordinate rulers who governed regions on behalf of powerful kings
37. What were the directly controlled territories of kingdoms divided into?
A. Provinces, districts and villages
B. Oceans, ports and islands
C. Temples, monasteries and markets only
D. Guilds, merchant ships and trading routes
Answer: A. Provinces, districts and villages
38. Which Chola inscriptions describe the selection process for members of village assemblies?
A. Inscriptions at Uttaramerur
B. Inscriptions at Gwalior
C. Inscriptions at Mandsaur
D. Inscriptions at Banskhera
Answer: A. Inscriptions at Uttaramerur
39. What was one important purpose of land grants during this period?
A. Bringing uncultivated land under cultivation
B. Ending all agricultural activity
C. Stopping trade between regions
D. Preventing the construction of irrigation works
Answer: A. Bringing uncultivated land under cultivation
40. Which dynasty built numerous irrigation tanks in Tamil Nadu?
A. Pallavas
B. Pālas
C. Gurjara-Pratīhāras
D. Puṣhyabhūtis
Answer: A. Pallavas
41. What does the chapter say about the role of merchant guilds?
A. They supported trade and sometimes religious and charitable activities
B. They existed only to recruit soldiers
C. They replaced every village assembly
D. They prevented long-distance commerce
Answer: A. They supported trade and sometimes religious and charitable activities
42. Which professional group became a distinct jāti in the 10th century, according to the chapter?
A. Kāyasthas
B. Nāyanārs
C. Ālvārs
D. Sāmantas
Answer: A. Kāyasthas
43. Which Bhauma-Kara ruler of the 9th century is highlighted for her administrative skills and patronage of Hindu and Buddhist institutions?
A. Tribhuvana Mahadevi I
B. Queen Diddā
C. Āṇḍāḷ
D. Prabhāvatī Gupta
Answer: A. Tribhuvana Mahadevi I
44. Which two groups of Tamil devotional poets were associated with the early spread of the Bhakti tradition in South India?
A. Ālvārs and Nāyanārs
B. Pālas and Varmans
C. Cholas and Cheras
D. Sāmantas and dvārapaṇḍitas
Answer: A. Ālvārs and Nāyanārs
45. The Ālvārs were devotees of which deity?
A. Viṣhṇu
B. Śhiva
C. Buddha
D. Mahāvīra
Answer: A. Viṣhṇu
46. Which mathematician wrote the Brahmasphutasiddhānta and developed rules involving zero and negative numbers?
A. Brahmagupta
B. Kalhaṇa
C. Bāṇabhaṭṭa
D. Ravikīrti
Answer: A. Brahmagupta
47. Which nomadic people originating from Central Asia are discussed in the chapter’s section on the Hūṇas?
A. Huns
B. Cholas
C. Cheras
D. Pāṇḍyas
Answer: A. Huns
48. Who commanded the Arab forces that conquered Sindh in the early 8th century?
A. Muhammad bin Qasim
B. Al-Masūdī
C. Sulaiman
D. Xuanzang
Answer: A. Muhammad bin Qasim
49. Which Gurjara-Pratīhāra ruler is credited in an inscription at Gwalior with crushing a powerful Mlechchha king’s army?
A. Nāgabhaṭa I
B. King Bhoja
C. Dharmapāla
D. Amoghavarṣha I
Answer: A. Nāgabhaṭa I
50. What major contribution of Indian mathematics spread to the Arab world and later Europe through translations and cultural exchange?
A. The decimal numeral system with zero
B. The invention of the printing press
C. The magnetic compass
D. The steam engine
Answer: A. The decimal numeral system with zero
