Indian History General Knowledge Quiz

1:  Father’s  name  Siddhartha,  Mother’s  name:Trishala.  Born  at  Kundagrama  near  Vaishali in  Bihar  in  the  second  half  of  7th  century BC. Passed  away at  the  age  of  72  at  Pavapuri  near Rajgir.  His  teachings are  contained  in  14  books  Name  the  great 

Ans:  Vardhaman  Mahavira-24th  Jain  trithankara   

2:  According  to  Jain  and  Vedic  texts  there  were  16  of  them  in  6th  century BC  and  mostly clustered  around  the  north  of  the  Vindhyas. The  powerful  of  them  were  Kosala,  Magadha (Bimbsara,  Ajatshatru,  Mahapadmananda),  Vatsa  and  Avanti  (Chandrapradyota).  Some  of them  were  republics  like  Lichhavis and  Shakyas,  Which  term  are  we  looking  for? 

3:  This  kingdom  had  Ankusha  and  the  bow  and  arrow  as  the  emblem.  Two  of  the  most famous  kings were  Nedumjeral  Adan  and  Senguttuvan  (immortalised  in  Silappadikaram). Musiri,  their  chief port  was  a  centre  of  Indo-Roman  trade.  Vanji  was  the  capital,  Name  the dynasty 

4:  Dantidurga.  Krishna  I,  Dhruva,  Govinda  III.  Amoghavarsha,  Krishna  III. The  Kailasha Temple  at  Ellora.  Mankhed  near  Sholapur  was  their  capital.   Name the lineage. 

5:  He  set  up  Empress  Mill  in  Nagpur  in  1874.  Before  that  in  1868,  he  turned  a  bankrupt oil  mill  into  a  profitable  cotton  mill  called  Alexandria.  Alumnus  of  Elphinstone  College,  he passed away in 1904. Name the legend 

6: V.O. Chidambaram Pillai began the first what Indian company? 

7: In which city Gautama Buddha died at the age of 80? 

8:  Which  king  assumed  the  title  of  Victor  of  the  Ganges  and  set  up  a  capital  bearing  a striking  similarity to  his  title.  Clues:  His  reign  was  form  1018-1048  CE.  His  military  expansions include conquest of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, some of the islands of Maldives. 

9:  Which  legend  wrote  a  poem  which  read  forward  told  the  story of  Ramayana  and  read backward told the story of Mahabharata? 

10: What does the word Mohenjodaro mean? 

11:  India  is  the  only  country in  the  world  that  produces  all  four  types  of  silk. They  are  eri, muga, mulberry and what? 

12:  Ratnasagar  was  the  name  of  one  of  the  three  buildings of  the  library which  was  being used  by over  10,000  students  and  20,000  teachers  at  a  point  of  time,.  Name  the  residential complex and who founded it? 

13: How is the old port area called Tamralipta now known in the state of West Bengal? 

14:  Rig  Veda  amongst  it’s 1028  hymnas  mentions  the  cultivation of  yava,  What  do  we popularly call it in English? 

15:  Some  of  the  sites  of  this  age  are  Mehrgarh  (Pakistan),  Burzahom  and  Gufkral  (Jammu and  Kashmir), Chirand  (Bihar)    and  Maski  and  Piklihal  (Karanataka).  This  age  spanned  from 8000-4000 BC. Can you name the age? 

16: The first municipal corporation was set up in 1688, in which Indian city? 

17:  NCF was set up  in  1996  with  a  24-member  governing  council. It  was  formed  to facilitate non-government participation in preserving cultural heritage. Expand NCF 

18:  This  kingdom  broke  away from  Mauryan  control  and  emerged  as  a  strong  political nerve  centre  under  1st  century BC  under  King  Kharavela.  The  Hatigumpha  inscription near Bhubaneshwar talks about welfare measures of Kharavela. Name the kingdom 

19:  Three  major  rulers:  Gautamaputra  Satakarni  (AD  106-130),  Vasisthiputra  Pulumayi (AD  130-154)  and  Yajnasri  Satakarni  (AD  165-194). They  ruled  Deccan  nearly  300  years, Traditionally,  they  were  the  worshippers  of  the  Sun. Name  this  important  dynastic  trail  of the Deccan 

20:  Firoz  Shah  Tughlaq  brought  two  of  them  from  Topra  in  Haryana  and  Meerut  and installed them at Firoz Shah Kotla and North Delhi ridge. What did he instal?