Mauryan & Gupta — Set 10

Correct Answer: B. Mahayana Buddhism

• **Nalanda University** = premier center for **Mahayana Buddhism**; also taught Vedas, logic, grammar, medicine, and astronomy. • Founded by **Kumaragupta I** (5th century CE); supported by revenue of **100 villages** donated by Gupta kings. • Destroyed by **Bakhtiyar Khilji** in **1193 CE** — library (Dharmaganj) burned for months; a catastrophic loss for world knowledge. • 💡 Hinayana Buddhism = Theravada (Sri Lanka tradition, not Nalanda); Jainism = Valabhi was a Jain center; Vedic Rituals = no dedicated Nalanda department — Nalanda's main focus = Mahayana Buddhism.

Correct Answer: C. Seleucus Nicator

• **Megasthenes** = Greek ambassador of **Seleucus Nicator**; sent to the court of **Chandragupta Maurya** in Pataliputra. • Wrote **'Indica'** (Greek) — describes Pataliputra's layout, Mauryan administration, Indian customs and caste system. • Indica is **lost** but preserved in fragments quoted by Arrian, Strabo, Diodorus, and Pliny — key secondary sources. • 💡 Alexander = earlier Greek conqueror (not Megasthenes's sender); Antiochus = sent Deimachus to Bindusara; Darius = Persian king — Megasthenes's sender = Seleucus Nicator.

Correct Answer: B. Kautilya (Chanakya)

• **Kautilya (Chanakya)** = called **'Indian Machiavelli'** for his pragmatic, realpolitik approach in the Arthashastra. • Both Kautilya and Machiavelli wrote on **acquiring and maintaining power** through statecraft, strategy, and espionage. • Arthashastra (~4th century BCE) **predates Machiavelli's 'The Prince'** (1513 CE) by nearly 1,800 years. • 💡 Harisena = court poet (Prayag Prasasti); Ashoka = Dhamma (moral ruler, not Machiavellian); Kalidasa = court poet — 'Indian Machiavelli' = Kautilya/Chanakya.

Correct Answer: B. Kharosthi

• **Kharosthi** = script used in Ashoka's NW inscriptions at **Mansehra** and **Shahbazgarhi** (modern Pakistan). • Derived from **Aramaic** (Persian Achaemenid administrative script); written **right to left** — unlike Brahmi (left to right). • All other Ashokan edicts across India used **Brahmi** script; Kandahar edicts used **Greek and Aramaic** — multilingual policy. • 💡 Devanagari = modern script (not used in Ashoka's era); Tamil = South India (different tradition); Brahmi = used in most Ashokan edicts — NW Ashokan script = Kharosthi.

Correct Answer: D. Aryabhatta

• **Aryabhatta** = Gupta-period mathematician-astronomer; first to state **Earth rotates on its own axis** (not sun moving). • In **Aryabhatiya** (499 CE): gave value of **Pi ≈ 3.1416**, calculated year length as **365.358 days**, explained eclipses scientifically. • Explained **solar and lunar eclipses** as Earth's shadow — centuries before Western astronomy accepted this truth. • 💡 Varahamihira = Brihat Samhita (encyclopedic astronomy); Brahmagupta = rules for zero arithmetic; Bhaskara = later medieval — Earth rotates on axis = Aryabhatta.

Correct Answer: D. Ashoka

• **Sanchi Stupa** = originally built by **Ashoka** in 3rd century BCE as a simple brick structure over Buddha's relics. • Later **Satavahana rulers** enlarged it and added **stone railings (vedika)** and the four ornamental **gateways (toranas)**. • Located in **Raisen district, Madhya Pradesh**; UNESCO World Heritage Site; torana carvings depict **Jataka Tales**. • 💡 Samudragupta = Prayag Prasasti; Kanishka = 4th Buddhist Council; Harsha = post-Gupta Buddhist patron — Sanchi Stupa originally built by = Ashoka.

Correct Answer: D. Samudragupta

• **Samudragupta** = called **'Kaviraja'** (King of Poets) — title appears on his coins and in the Prayag Prasasti. • **Prayag Prasasti** (by Harisena) praises him as musician, poet, warrior, and administrator — a true Renaissance monarch. • He also played **Veena** — depicted on his gold coins; combined military genius with profound artistic talent. • 💡 Chandragupta II = 'Vikramaditya' title; Skandagupta = 'restorer of Gupta glory'; Chandragupta I = 'Maharajadhiraja' — 'Kaviraja' title = Samudragupta.

Correct Answer: C. Skandagupta

• **Skandagupta** = defeated the **Huna (White Hun)** invaders (~455 CE); called 'restorer of Gupta glory'. • His victory is recorded in the **Bhitari Pillar Inscription** (Ghazipur, UP) — describes shaking the earth like an ocean. • Constant wars with Hunas **drained the treasury** — Skandagupta issued debased coins; his successors could not hold off further invasions. • 💡 Kumaragupta = founded Nalanda; Samudragupta = 21 kingdoms conquered (no Hunas); Chandragupta I = Gupta dynasty founder — Hun defeater = Skandagupta.

Correct Answer: A. Gold

• **Dinara** = **gold coin** issued by Gupta rulers; name derived from Roman **Denarius** — showing India-Rome trade links. • Standard high-value currency of the Gupta Empire; Guptas issued the **largest quantity and finest quality** gold coins in ancient Indian history. • Coin types: **Ashvamedha type** (horse + yupa), **Archer type**, **Veena/Lyrist type** (Samudragupta) — each type tells a story. • 💡 Lead = impure alloy, not a major coin metal; Silver = Rupaka (Gupta silver coin); Copper = lower-value coin — Dinara = gold.

Correct Answer: B. Pataliputra

• **Pataliputra** (modern Patna) = capital of the **Mauryan Empire**; located at confluence of **Ganga and Son** rivers. • Megasthenes described it as **9 miles long, 1.5 miles wide** with a wooden palisade; 64 gates, 570 towers — a massive fortification. • Also served as Gupta capital; remained India's most important political center from Nanda dynasty through Harsha's era. • 💡 Ujjain = western Mauryan provincial capital; Vaishali = Licchavi republic capital; Taxila = northern provincial capital — Mauryan Empire capital = Pataliputra.