Mauryas to Guptas: Sangam age and early medieval kingdoms: previous-year questions
46 real UPSC Prelims questions (2011–2026) with the official answer and a clear explanation. 21 of them came in the last five papers.
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Consider the following assertion :
In the Pleistocene period either the Yamuna once flowed into the Indus, or the Sutlej flowed into the Yamuna and one major tributary of either had shifted from the Ganga to the Indus or vice versa.
Which of the following is/are the basis of the above assertion ?
- 1. The Nadi-Sukta of the Rigveda
- 2. The explorations of the Sutlej and the Yamuna by Robert Bruce Foote
- 3. The presence of the same species of dolphins in both the Indus and the Ganga river systems
Select the answer using the code given below :
Answer (d) & explanation
Only the dolphin evidence is a basis (d). Item 3 is right: the Indus and Ganga river dolphins are so close that they were long treated as one species, which only makes sense if the two river systems were once joined. Item 1 is wrong: the Pleistocene ended about 12,000 years ago, long before the Rigveda, so the Nadi-Sukta cannot be evidence for it. Item 2 is wrong: Robert Bruce Foote worked on the stone ages of South India, not these rivers.
Notice the Ganges river dolphin is India's national aquatic animal, and is nearly blind, using echolocation. Project Dolphin (2020) protects it. The Indus dolphin lives mainly in Pakistan, with a small group in the Beas in Punjab.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which of the following pairs of ancient and modern names of rivers is/are correctly matched ?
- 1. Vitasta : Chenab
- 2. Asikni : Jhelum
- 3. Parushni : Ravi
- 4. Yavyavati : Beas
Select the answer using the code given below :
Answer (c) & explanation
Only pair 3 is correctly matched (c). In the Rigveda, Parushni = Ravi, so pair 3 is right. Pairs 1 and 2 are swapped: Vitasta = Jhelum, and Asikni = Chenab. Pair 4 is wrong: Yavyavati is usually taken as the Zhob, a western river; the Beas is the Vipas. So options (a), (b) and (d) fail.
Notice the full list: Shutudri = Sutlej, Sindhu = Indus, Kubha = Kabul, Gomati = Gomal, and Sarasvati, often linked to the Ghaggar-Hakra. The Battle of Ten Kings (Dasarajna), won by Sudas of the Bharatas, was fought on the Parushni. These rivers form the "Sapta Sindhu" region.
Pairs 1 and 2 swap the right names, which catches a hurried reader.
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Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which of the following pairs of the king and his dynasty in early historical Tamilakam is/are not correctly matched ?
- 1. Senguttuvan : Chera
- 2. Udiyanjeral : Chola
- 3. Nedunjeliyan : Pandya
Select the answer using the code given below :
Answer (b) & explanation
Only pair 2 is not correctly matched (b). The Sangam poems name three crowned houses: Chera, Chola and Pandya. Pair 1 is correct: Senguttuvan, hero of the Kannagi cult, was a Chera. Pair 3 is correct: Nedunjeliyan, the victor of Talaiyalanganam, was a Pandya. Pair 2 is wrong: Udiyanjeral was a Chera, not a Chola; "-jeral" is a Chera ending. So the answer is pair 2 only.
Notice the trap: the question asks which is not correctly matched. Senguttuvan's story is told in Silappadikaram. Karikala is the most famous early Chola, linked to the Kallanai dam. The Pathitrupathu sings of Chera kings, and Madurai was the Pandya seat.
This one asks for "not correctly matched". Mark the wrong pair, not the right ones.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
In which one among the following texts does the term kshetra-patni (‘mistress of the field’) originate ?
Answer (b) & explanation
The term kshetra-patni comes from the Atharvaveda (b). The Atharvaveda, a book of charms and rites, has many farming prayers. It addresses the earth and the field as female and protective, and names the kshetra-patni, wife or mistress of the field. Option (a) is wrong: the Rigveda has Kshetrapati, the male lord of the field. Option (c) is wrong: the Ashtadhyayi is Panini's grammar. Option (d) is wrong: the Arthashastra is Kautilya's work on statecraft.
Notice the Atharvaveda's wider content: spells against disease, for love and harmony, and the famous Prithvi Sukta (hymn to the Earth), with the line "Earth is my mother, I am her son". It also has early medical ideas linked to Ayurveda.
The Rigveda has the male Kshetrapati, which is why (a) looks right.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements :
- I. Pali texts contain the first definite references to coins, e.g., kahapana, nikkha, kamsa, and kakanika.
- II. The literary evidence from Pali texts is corroborated by archaeological evidence of punch-marked coins from many sites, most of them made of silver.
The above statements have been associated with which of the following ?
- 1. Emergence of urban life
- 2. Transition to money economy
Select the answer using the code given below :
Answer (c) & explanation
Both are linked to urban life and a money economy (c). Statement I: the Pali texts name coins such as kahapana, nikkha, kamsa and kakanika. Statement II: silver punch-marked coins turn up at many sites. Item 1 is right: coins and the cities of the second urbanisation (6th century BCE onward) grew up together. Item 2 is right: both point to trade paid for in money, not barter. So options (a), (b) and (d) fail.
Notice the context: the rise of the mahajanapadas, cities like Rajagriha, Shravasti and Kaushambi, and the Northern Black Polished Ware pottery. Punch-marked coins had symbols stamped on them, with no king's name or writing. Later the Indo-Greeks issued coins with rulers' portraits.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements relating to the use of the place-value system in India :
- 1. The earliest epigraphic use of the place-value system in India is found in the Mankani plates from Gujarat (AD 595 — 596).
- 2. In the ninth century, place-values become general in inscriptions all over India.
- 3. The place-values have been found in Sanskrit inscriptions in South-east Asia as early as the seventh century.
Which of the statements given above are correct ?
Answer (d) & explanation
All three statements are correct (d). Statement 1 is right: the Mankani (Sankheda) plates from Gujarat, of AD 595–596, are the earliest dated Indian record that writes numbers by place value. Statement 2 is right: by the 9th century, the method is common in inscriptions all over India. Statement 3 is right: Khmer and Sumatran Sanskrit inscriptions of the 7th century, from AD 683 onward, already use place-value numbers and a zero. So options (a), (b) and (c) fail.
Notice the Gwalior inscription (876 AD), famous for its clear zero, and the Bakhshali manuscript, which uses a dot for zero. Aryabhata and Brahmagupta advanced the system, which Arabs passed to Europe as "Hindu-Arabic" numerals.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements about the archaeological findings in Harappan towns :
- I. There is wide occurrence of spindle-whorls in the houses but absence of spinning wheels.
- II. Weights and measurement scales, complete with graduations have been discovered.
- III. There are houses built in large part with baked bricks, around relatively spacious courtyards, with their own wells, bathing platforms, and large rooms.
Which of the following inferences can be drawn from the above statements ?
- 1. Statement I suggests that spinning was a laborious activity done at home.
- 2. Statement II suggests the extent of the scientific knowledge that the Harappans possessed.
- 3. Statement III suggests the emergence of a common property system.
Select the answer using the code given below :
Answer (a) & explanation
Inferences 1 and 2 can be drawn (a). Inference 1 is right: hand spindle-whorls in houses but no spinning wheels mean slow, laborious spinning done at home. Inference 2 is right: graded scales and standard weights show the Harappans' measurement skill and scientific knowledge. Inference 3 is wrong: large private houses with their own wells and courtyards point to private wealth and inequality, the opposite of common property. So options (b), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice the standard weights: mostly cubical chert, following a binary then decimal system (1, 2, 4, 8 … 16, then 32, 64). A graded scale was found at Lothal and a shell scale at Mohenjo-daro. Cotton cloth was a Harappan first.
Read III again: "their own wells" is the clue. Private ownership, not shared property.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements about the Rigvedic period :
- I. Irrigation from wells allowed agriculture to expand away from flood plains and strips on river margins into the present Punjab and Haryana plains having underground water levels reasonably close to the surface.
- II. Draught-animal power was employed to draw up water out of the wells.
Which of the following information support/supports the above statements ?
- 1. There is evidence in the Rigveda of the use of ashma chakra (stone pulley wheel) and ahava (strapped wooden pails) to draw up water.
- 2. Mention has been made in the Rigveda of the use of implements like parashu/ kulisha (axe) and datra /sreni (sickle).
- 3. There is a history of the use of ox, even before the Rigveda, for ploughing the land and pulling the carts.
Select the answer using the code given below :
Answer (c) & explanation
Information 1 and 3 support the statements (c). Item 1 is right: the ashma chakra (stone pulley wheel) and ahava (strapped wooden pails) of the Rigveda show water being lifted from wells, which supports Statement I. Item 3 is right: the ox was already used for ploughing and pulling carts before the Rigveda, so animal power was available to lift water, which supports Statement II. Item 2 is wrong: axes and sickles are farm tools, but they say nothing about wells or irrigation.
Notice the method: in such questions, ask whether each fact directly supports the claim, not just whether it is true. The Rigvedic economy was mainly pastoral, with cattle as wealth (gavishti, the search for cows, meant war). Iron and big farming came later.
Statement 2 is true, but it does not support either statement. "Supports" questions test relevance, not truth.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Ashokan inscriptions suggest that the ‘Pradeshika’, ‘Rajuka’ and ‘Yukta’ were important officers at the
Answer (b) & explanation
These were district-level officers (b). Rock Edict III asks the yuktas, rajukas and pradeshikas to tour every five years to preach dhamma. Historians read them as district-level officers: the pradeshika a district head, the rajuka a revenue and judicial officer in charge of rural areas, and the yukta a clerk or accounts officer. Options (a), (c) and (d) are wrong: they were not village heads, provincial governors or central ministers.
Notice the other Mauryan officers: Dhamma Mahamattas, created by Ashoka to spread dhamma; kumaras (princes) as provincial governors; and the gramika for villages. The Arthashastra of Kautilya describes a large paid bureaucracy, with officers called adhyakshas heading departments.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Who among the following rulers in ancient India had assumed the titles ‘Mattavilasa’, ‘Vichitrachitta’ and ‘Gunabhara’?
Answer (a) & explanation
Mahendravarman I took these titles (a). The Pallava king Mahendravarman I (c. 600–630) wrote the Sanskrit farce Mattavilasa Prahasana, which mocks monks of various sects. Vichitrachitta ("curious-minded") reflects his new rock-cut temples, such as the one at Mandagapattu, made without brick, timber or metal. Gunabhara was another title. Option (b) is wrong: Simhavishnu was his father. Option (c) is wrong: Narasimhavarman I was called Mamalla. Option (d) is wrong: Simhavarman was an earlier king.
Notice the rivalry: Mahendravarman fought the Chalukya king Pulakeshin II, and his son Narasimhavarman I took Vatapi in 642. Mamallapuram is named after him.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Fa-hien (Faxian), the Chinese pilgrim, travelled to India during the reign of
Answer (b) & explanation
Fa-hien came during the reign of Chandragupta II (b). Faxian was in India from about 399 to 412, in the reign of Chandragupta II, called Vikramaditya. He came to collect Vinaya texts on monastic rules. He wrote of a mild government, few harsh punishments, and the Chandalas living outside towns, though he never names the king. Option (a) is wrong: Samudragupta ruled before him. Options (c) and (d) are wrong: Kumaragupta I and Skandagupta came after.
Notice the other Chinese visitors: Xuanzang under Harsha (7th century) and I-tsing later, both of whom studied at Nalanda. Chandragupta II's court is linked with the "nine gems", including Kalidasa.
The Gupta pilgrim is Faxian; Xuanzang came under Harsha. Do not swap them.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Who among the following led a successful military campaign against the kingdom of Srivijaya, the powerful maritime State, which ruled the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java and the neighbouring islands?
Answer (c) & explanation
Rajendra I led the campaign against Srivijaya (c). The Chola king Rajendra I sent a naval expedition around 1025 that sacked Kadaram (Kedah) and other ports of the Srivijaya kingdom. The aim was to protect the sea trade to China. He took the title Kadaram-kondan ("conqueror of Kadaram"), after earlier taking Gangaikondachola for his march to the Ganga. Option (a) is wrong: Amoghavarsha was a Rashtrakuta. Option (b) is wrong: Prataparudra was a Kakatiya. Option (d) is wrong: Vishnuvardhana was a Hoysala. None of these three led overseas raids.
Notice his capital, Gangaikondacholapuram. His father Rajaraja I built the Brihadeshwara temple at Thanjavur and conquered northern Sri Lanka.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to ancient India (600-322 BC), consider the following pairs :
| Territorial region | River flowing in the region
| I. Asmaka | Godavari
| II. Kamboja | Vipas
| III. Avanti | Mahanadi
| IV. Kosala | Sarayu
How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
Answer (b) & explanation
Only two pairs are correctly matched (b). Pair I is right: Asmaka was the only southern mahajanapada, on the Godavari. Pair IV is right: Kosala lay on the Sarayu, with Ayodhya on its bank. Pair II is wrong: Kamboja was in the far north-west, around the Kabul valley, not on the Vipas (Beas). Pair III is wrong: Avanti, with capitals Ujjain and Mahishmati, was on the Shipra and Narmada, not the Mahanadi.
Notice the list of sixteen mahajanapadas in the Anguttara Nikaya. Magadha rose to be the strongest, with Rajagriha and later Pataliputra as its capitals. Kosala's later capital was Shravasti, where the Buddha spent many rainy seasons.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The famous female figurine known as ‘Dancing Girl’, found at Mohenjo-daro, is made of
Answer (c) & explanation
The Dancing Girl is made of bronze (c). The Dancing Girl is a small, about 10.5 cm, bronze figure made by the lost-wax (cire perdue) method. Ernest Mackay found it at Mohenjo-daro in 1926. She wears many bangles on her left arm and stands with one hand on her hip. Option (a) is wrong: carnelian was used for beads. Option (b) is wrong: clay was used for terracotta figures and seals. Option (d) is wrong: the figure is not gold.
Notice the other famous finds: the Priest-King bust in steatite, the Pashupati seal, and the Great Bath, all from Mohenjo-daro. The figure is now in the National Museum, New Delhi. Lost-wax casting is still used by Dhokra artisans.
The "Priest-King" from the same site is steatite. Do not swap their materials.
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Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following information :
| Archaeological Site | State | Description
| 1. Chandraketugarh | Odisha | Trading Port town
| 2. Inamgaon | Maharashtra | Chalcolithic site
| 3. Mangadu | Kerala | Megalithic site
| 4. Salihundam | Andhra Pradesh | Rock-cut cave shrines
In which of the above rows is the given information correctly matched ?
Answer (b) & explanation
Rows 2 and 3 are correctly matched (b). Row 2 is right: Inamgaon, in Pune district of Maharashtra, is a large Chalcolithic village of the Jorwe culture. Row 3 is right: Mangadu, in Kollam district of Kerala, has megalithic urn burials. Row 1 is wrong: Chandraketugarh is in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, not Odisha, though it was indeed a port town known for fine terracottas. Row 4 is wrong: Salihundam, in Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh, is known for brick stupas and monasteries, not rock-cut caves.
Notice the trick: UPSC often gets one column right and one wrong in a row. Check each detail. For rock-cut Buddhist caves, think of Ajanta, Karla and Bhaja in Maharashtra, or Guntupalli in Andhra.
The descriptions in rows 1 and 4 fit. Check the state and the type of monument separately.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which one of the following explains the practice of ‘Vattakirutal’ as mentioned in Sangam poems?
Answer (d) & explanation
Vadakkiruttal was a defeated king's ritual fast to death (d). Vadakkiruttal, "sitting facing north", was a ritual fast unto death by a king or warrior who had been defeated or shamed. The best-known case is the Chola king Kopperuncholan, who chose it after a quarrel with his sons; his friend, the poet Pisirandaiyar, joined him. Puram poems record it as an honourable death. Option (a) is wrong: there is no such term for women bodyguards. Option (b) describes the poets' Sangam assemblies. Option (c) describes girls guarding millet fields, a theme of the kurinji poems.
Notice the parallel with the Jain practice of sallekhana, a ritual fast to death, which Chandragupta Maurya is said to have taken at Shravanabelagola.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to ancient South India, Korkai, Poompuhar and Muchiri were well known as
Answer (b) & explanation
Korkai, Poompuhar and Muchiri were ports (b). These were the three main Sangam-age ports. Korkai was the Pandya port, famous for pearls. Poompuhar, or Kaveripattinam, at the mouth of the Kaveri, was the Chola port, described in the Silappatikaram. Muchiri, or Muziris, on the Periyar, was the Chera port that traded pepper with Rome. Option (a) is wrong: the capitals were Madurai (Pandya), Uraiyur (Chola) and Vanji (Chera). Options (c) and (d) do not fit.
Notice the Muziris Papyrus, a Roman loan contract for a cargo from Muziris. Excavations at Pattanam in Kerala are linked to Muziris, and Arikamedu near Puducherry was another Indo-Roman trading site.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following pairs :
| Site of Ashoka’s major rock edicts | Location in the State of
| 1. Dhauli | Odisha
| 2. Erragudi | Andhra Pradesh
| 3. Jaugada | Madhya Pradesh
| 4. Kalsi | Karnataka
How many pairs given above are correctly matched ?
Answer (b) & explanation
Two pairs are correctly matched (b). Pair 1 is right: Dhauli, near Bhubaneswar, is in Odisha. Pair 2 is right: Erragudi (Yerragudi) is in Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh. Pair 3 is wrong: Jaugada, in Ganjam district, is also in Odisha, not Madhya Pradesh. At both Dhauli and Jaugada, the separate Kalinga edicts replace Rock Edicts XI–XIII, which speak of the Kalinga war. Pair 4 is wrong: Kalsi is in Dehradun district, Uttarakhand, not Karnataka.
Notice the other major rock edict sites: Girnar (Gujarat), Shahbazgarhi and Mansehra (Pakistan), Sopara (Maharashtra), Kandahar (Afghanistan) and Sannati (Karnataka). The Shahbazgarhi and Mansehra edicts are in Kharoshthi script; most others are in Brahmi.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
According to Kautilya’s Arthashastra, which of the following are correct ?
- 1. A person could be a slave as a result of a judicial punishment.
- 2. If a female slave bore her master a son, she was legally free.
- 3. If a son born to a female slave was fathered by her master, the son was entitled to the legal status of the master’s son.
Which of the statements given above are correct ?
Answer (b) & explanation
Statements 2 and 3 are correct (b). The Arthashastra has a detailed section on dasas (slaves). Statement 2 is right: a female slave who bore her master a son became legally free. Statement 3 is right: such a son was given the legal status of the master's son. Statement 1 is not accepted by the key: the text speaks of people bound because of a fine or debt who work it off and can be redeemed; it protects even them, and says an Arya cannot be made a slave forever.
Notice how unusual this is for an ancient text. Kautilya fined masters who sold an Arya child, abused a slave or kept a slave woman in sexual servitude. The text also says the mleccha may sell children, but never an Arya.
Many guides print (d) here. The official key is (b).
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following pairs :
| King | Dynasty
| 1. Nannuka | Chandela
| 2. Jayashakti | Paramara
| 3. Nagabhata II | Gurjara-Pratihara
| 4. Bhoja | Rashtrakuta
How many pairs given above are correctly matched ?
Answer (b) & explanation
Two pairs are correctly matched (b). Pair 1 is right: Nannuka founded the Chandela dynasty of Bundelkhand in the 9th century. Pair 3 is right: Nagabhata II was the Gurjara-Pratihara king who captured Kanauj in about 816. Pair 2 is wrong: Jayashakti (Jeja) was a Chandela, not a Paramara; the region Jejakabhukti is named after him. Pair 4 is wrong: Bhoja points to Mihira Bhoja of the Pratiharas or Raja Bhoja of the Paramaras of Malwa, never a Rashtrakuta.
Notice the tripartite struggle for Kanauj among the Pratiharas, Palas and Rashtrakutas in the 8th–10th centuries. The Chandelas are best known for building Khajuraho.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.