Prelims · Ancient India · 13 questions

Post-Mauryan kingdoms & the Guptas

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Prelims 2026 · Q7

Hard Provisional 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 & explanation

Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3

The decimal place-value notation was invented and first used in India. In inscriptions it appears first in a late sixth-century charter from Gujarat (AD 594-596 by different reckonings), is found in many dated Indian charters of the eighth and ninth centuries, and had reached South-east Asia by the late seventh century. All three statements are correct.

✓ 1. A copper-plate charter from Gujarat dated in the Chhedi (Kalachuri) year 346, that is AD 594-596, is the oldest dated Indian document to write a number in place-value form; the Mankani plates are the grant usually cited for it. Some historians doubt the date, but MacTutor judges it likely genuine.
✓ 2. Dated charters using place-value numbers run through the eighth and ninth centuries (AD 737, 753, 793, 815, 837), and the Gwalior inscription of AD 876, which also writes a zero, is the first undisputed one.
✓ 3. A Khmer inscription from Cambodia of about AD 680 (Sambor, the number 605 in the Saka era) already writes its number in place-value form with a zero, so place-value numerals were in use in South-east Asian inscriptions in the seventh century.

Remember · Place-value epigraphy: Gujarat charter, AD 594-596 (Chhedi year 346) earliest; charters through the 8th-9th centuries, Gwalior AD 876 undisputed; South-east Asia by about AD 680 (Sambor, Cambodia).

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Ch 6 (practise this chapter)

Sources

NCERT Class 11 · Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Chapter 6 “it is now generally admitted that the decimal place value system of numeral notation was invented and first used by the Indians.”
MacTutor History of Mathematics (University of St Andrews), Indian numerals ↗ · reference work “The first inscription which is dated and is not disputed is the inscription at Gwalior dated 933 in the Vikrama calendar which translates to a date in our calendar of 876 AD. … The oldest dated Indian document which contains a number written in the place-value form used today is a legal document dated 346 in the Chhedi calendar which translates to a date in our calendar of 594 AD.”
MacTutor History of Mathematics (University of St Andrews), Indian Mathematics: Redressing the balance, Decimal numeration and the place-value system ↗ · reference work “The first recorded 'non-mathematical' use of zero dates even later, around 680 AD, the number 605 was found on a Khmer inscription in Cambodia.”

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2026 · Q14

Hard Provisional key

Which of the following statements on the Amaravati Stupa and its relief sculpture is/are correct?

1.It was located in the lower Krishna valley.
2.In India, it was next only to the Sanchi Stupa in size.
3.The Amaravati school of sculpture made a lasting impact on the later South Indian sculpture, and its products were carried to Sri Lanka and South-east Asia.

Select the answer using the code given below:

Answer & explanation

Answer: (b) 1 and 3 only

Amaravati, on the Krishna in coastal Andhra (the old Vengi region), had a great stupa (mahachaitya) whose lively relief slabs created a style that shaped later sculpture in the Deccan and the south and travelled overseas with Buddhism. It was not a smaller 'runner-up' to Sanchi, so statement 2 fails.

✓ 1. Amaravati lies on the Krishna in Andhra Pradesh, among the Vengi stupa sites such as Jaggayyapeta, Bhattiprolu and Nagarjunakonda; the Amaravati school of sculpture flourished in the lower valley of the Krishna and Godavari.
✗ 2. NCERT calls the Amaravati stupa one of the largest and most magnificent Buddhist stupas ever built (Britannica gives a diameter of about 50 m), so it was not a smaller 'runner-up' to Sanchi.
✓ 3. NCERT notes works that show the influence of the Amaravati style, and Britannica records that the style spread to Sri Lanka (Anuradhapura) and to much of South-east Asia.

Remember · Amaravati stupa: Krishna valley, Andhra (Satavahana–Ikshvaku era); dynamic relief narratives; style spread to the Deccan, Sri Lanka and South-east Asia.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I, Ch 4 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Ch 4 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part I, Ch 4 (practise this chapter)

Sources

NCERT Class 11 · An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I, Chapter 4 “Vengi in Andhra Pradesh has many stupa sites like Jagayyapetta, Amaravati, Bhattiprolu, Nagarjunkonda, Goli, etc. Amaravati has a mahachaitya”
NCERT Class 11 · Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Chapter 4 “They show the influence of the Amaravati style of sculptures of the third century C.E.”
NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part I, Chapter 4 “the structure at Amaravati was one of the largest and most magnificent Buddhist stupas ever built.”
Art of the Satavahanas, e-PG Pathshala module script (CEC, UGC, nic.in), Fine Arts ↗ “Amaravati School of art, a thoroughly native school of sculpture, flourished in the lower valley of Krishna and Godavari”
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Amaravati sculpture ↗ · reference work “The style also spread to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), as seen at Anurādhapura, and to much of Southeast Asia .”

Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2025 · Q15

Easy

Fa-hien (Faxian), the Chinese pilgrim, travelled to India during the reign of

Answer & explanation

Answer: (b) Chandragupta II

Faxian's travels ran from about 399 to 414 CE, and he was in India in the early fifth century. Chandragupta II ruled the Gupta empire from about 375 to 415 CE, so the visit falls squarely in his reign.

✓ (b) Chandragupta II (c. 375–415 CE) was on the throne for the whole of Faxian's journey, recorded in his Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms (399–414 CE).
✗ (a) Samudragupta ruled about 335–375 CE, a generation before Faxian set out from China.
✗ (c) Kumaragupta I succeeded Chandragupta II only around 415 CE, after Faxian had already gone home.

Remember · Faxian (399–414 CE) came under Chandragupta II (c. 375–415 CE); Xuanzang came two centuries later under Harshavardhana (606–647 CE).

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 7 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Ch 7 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part I, Ch 2 (practise this chapter)

Sources

NCERT Class 7 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Chapter 7 “Chinese traveller Faxian (pronounced as Fa-Shi-Anne) visited India in the early 5th century CE.”
NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part I, Chapter 2 “c. 320 CE Beginning of Gupta rule c. 335-375 CE Samudragupta c. 375-415 CE Chandragupta II; Vakatakas in the Deccan”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2025, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2024 · Q55

Hard

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 & explanation

Answer: (b) 2 and 3

Rows 2 and 3 are correctly matched. Inamgaon (Maharashtra) is a Chalcolithic site and Mangadu (Kerala) is a megalithic site. Chandraketugarh is a port town but in West Bengal, not Odisha, and Salihundam is a Buddhist complex of stupas and viharas, not rock-cut cave shrines.

✗ 1. Chandraketugarh was a trading port town, but it lies in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, not in Odisha.
✓ 2. Inamgaon, in Pune district, Maharashtra, is a well-excavated Chalcolithic (copper-stone age) village site.
✓ 3. Mangadu (Mangad) in Kollam, Kerala, is one of the megalithic urn-burial sites excavated by the Kerala Department of Archaeology.
✗ 4. Salihundam in Andhra Pradesh is a Buddhist settlement with votive stupas, a mahastupa, chaityas and viharas built on a hill, not rock-cut cave shrines.

Remember · Chandraketugarh: West Bengal port town. Inamgaon: Maharashtra Chalcolithic. Mangadu: Kerala megalithic. Salihundam: Andhra Buddhist stupa-vihara complex.

Sources

IGNOU eGyanKosh: Unit 23, Port Town: Chandraketugarh ↗ · reference work “It is situated thirty five kilometres away from the city of Kolkata, in the North 24 Parganas.”
IGNOU eGyanKosh: Unit 3, Chalcolithic Cultures ↗ · reference work “Multi-disciplinary studies at sites like Inamgaon in Maharashtra threw substantial light on past subsistence, religious practices and social organisation.”
Department of Archaeology, Government of Kerala: Madankavu Mangad ↗ “The Madankavu urn-burial site at Mangad, Kollam, is one of the major megalithic sites excavated by the Department of Archaeology.”
Andhra Pradesh Tourism: Salihundam ↗ “This site is now protected by the ASI, contains several votive stupas, a mahastupa, chaityas and viharas.”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2024, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2023 · Q46

Hard

With reference to ancient Indian History, consider the following pairs:

	Literary work	Author
1.	Devichandragupta	Bilhana
2.	Hammira-Mahakavya	Nayachandra Suri
3.	Milinda-panha	Nagarjuna
4.	Nitivakyamrita	Somadeva Suri

How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (b) Only two

Only pairs 2 and 4 are correct: the Hammira-Mahakavya is by Nayachandra Suri and the Nitivakyamrita is by Somadeva (Suri). Devichandragupta is the play of Vishakhadatta, not Bilhana, and the Milinda-panha is a Buddhist dialogue tied to the monk Nagasena, not Nagarjuna.

✗ 1. Devichandragupta (Devi-Chandraguptam) is the play of Vishakhadatta, who is better known for the Mudrarakshasa (NCERT names him as that play's author); it is not by Bilhana.
✓ 2. The Hammira-Mahakavya, a poem on King Hammira, is by Nayachandra Suri.
✗ 3. The Milinda-panha records questions of King Milinda (Menander) answered by the monk Nagasena. NCERT calls it a Buddhist text traditionally attributed to Nagasena, and it is not by Nagarjuna.
✓ 4. The Nitivakyamrita is by Somadeva Suri, who also wrote the Yashastilaka.

Remember · Devichandragupta: Vishakhadatta. Hammira-Mahakavya: Nayachandra Suri. Milinda-panha: Nagasena's dialogue with Menander. Nitivakyamrita: Somadeva Suri.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 9 Understanding Society: India and Beyond, Ch 5 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Ch 3 (practise this chapter)

Sources

NCERT Class 9 · Understanding Society: India and Beyond, Chapter 5 “The Milindapanho, a Buddhist text traditionally attributed to Nagasena, describes eight stages of agricultural operations”
NCERT Class 11 · Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Chapter 3 “Vishakhadatta's Mudraraksasam was written two hundred years later in the A.D. ninth century.”
Milinda-panha, Encyclopaedia Britannica ↗ · reference work “Composed in northern India in perhaps the 1st or 2nd century ce (and possibly originally in Sanskrit) by an unknown author”
Tamil Nadu Open University, M.A. History: History of Ancient India (university study material), Gupta Empire ↗ · reference work “Influenced by Visakhadatta’s Devi-Chandraguptam, it has been suggested that Samudragupta was succeeded by his brother, Ramagupta. … Among the other works, Kumarapalacharita (12 A.D.) by Jayasimha, Hammirakavya of Nayachandra”
IGNOU eGyankosh: History of India from c. 300 CE to 1206, Unit 10 (Rashtrakutas), via Internet Archive copy ↗ · reference work “Later, Somadeva composed the Yashastilaka and Nitivakyamrita.”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2021 · Q34

Medium

From the decline of Guptas until the rise of Harshavardhana in the early seventh century, which of the following kingdoms were holding power in Northern India?

1.The Guptas of Magadha
2.The Paramaras of Malwa
3.The Pushyabhutis of Thanesar
4.The Maukharis of Kanauj
5.The Yadavas of Devagiri
6.The Maitrakas of Valabhi

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

Answer & explanation

Answer: (b) 1, 3, 4 and 6

When the imperial Guptas faded in the 6th century, northern India split among successor kingdoms: the later Guptas in Magadha, the Maukharis at Kanauj, the Pushyabhutis at Thanesar and the Maitrakas at Valabhi in Gujarat. The Paramaras of Malwa (10th century) and the Yadavas of Devagiri (12th–13th centuries) came much later, and Devagiri is in the Deccan.

✓ 1. A later line of Guptas ruled in Magadha after the imperial Guptas declined; Devagupta, a Later Gupta ruler, joined Shashanka of Bengal in attacking the Maukhari Grahavarman.
✗ 2. The Paramaras emerged as an independent power in Malwa only in the second half of the 10th century.
✓ 3. Harshavardhana's own family, the Pushyabhutis (Vardhanas), ruled from Sthaneshvara (Thanesar, Haryana) before he moved to Kannauj in 606.
✓ 4. The Maukharis, once subordinate rulers of the Guptas, ruled independently from Kanauj in the 6th century (c. 510–606 CE).
✗ 5. The Yadavas ruled Maharashtra from Devagiri (Daulatabad) in the 13th century, far later and outside northern India.
✓ 6. The Maitrakas were tributary chiefs of the Guptas who set up an independent kingdom in western India (Saurashtra), with Valabhi as their capital, from about 475 to 776 CE.

Remember · Post-Gupta, pre-Harsha powers: later Guptas (Magadha), Maukharis (Kannauj), Pushyabhutis (Thanesar), Maitrakas (Valabhi). Paramaras (10th c.) and Yadavas (13th c.) are later.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 9 Understanding Society: India and Beyond, Ch 5 (practise this chapter) · Class 7 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 3 (practise this chapter) · Class 7 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 4 (practise this chapter) · Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Ch 3 (practise this chapter)

Sources

NCERT Class 9 · Understanding Society: India and Beyond, Chapter 5 “475–776 CE: Maitrakas 510–606 CE Maukharis 543 CE: Foundation of Chalukyan dynasty by Pulakeshin I”
NCERT Class 7 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Chapter 3 “He belonged to the Pushyabhuti (or Vardhana) dynasty, whose earlier capital was Sthaneshvara (present-day Thanesar in Haryana).”
IGNOU eGyanKosh (Govt of India central university), History of India from c. 300 CE to 1206, Unit 3: The Pushyabhutis and the Rise of Harsha ↗ · reference work “Guptas of Magadha, Gaudas of West Bengal (Murshidabad Dist.), Maitrakas of Valabhi (Saurashtra peninsula), Pushyabhutis of Thaneswar, etc. Many of them were originally subordinates of the Guptas. But, with the decline of the political authority of the Guptas, they assumed independence.”
NIOS (Ministry of Education), Senior Secondary History, Lesson 7: The Guptas and their Successors (Maitrakas) ↗ · reference work “The Maitrakas were tributary chiefs of the Guptas, who established an independent kingdom in western India. … Shashanka, the ruler of Bengal (Gaur), and Devgupta, the Later Gupta ruler jointly attacked Grihavarman and killed him.”
NCERT Class 7 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Chapter 4 “The Paramaras were originally vassals of the Pratiharas and the Rashtrakutas; in the second half of the 10th century, they emerged as an independent power in Malwa”
NCERT Class 8 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Chapter 3 “During the 13th century, most of Maharashtra was ruled by the Yadava dynasty with Devagiri (present-day Daulatabad) as its capital.”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2021 · Q40

Hard

With reference to the history of ancient India, which of the following statements is/are correct?

1.Mitakshara was the civil law for upper castes and Dayabhaga was the civil law for lower castes.
2.In the Mitakshara system, the sons can claim right to the property during the lifetime of the father, whereas in the Dayabhaga system, it is only after the death of the father that the sons can claim right to the property.
3.The Mitakshara system deals with the matters related to the property held by male members only of a family, whereas the Dayabhaga system deals with the matters related to the property held by both male and female members of a family.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

Answer & explanation

Answer: (b) 2 only

Only statement 2 is correct. Under Mitakshara a son gets a share in joint family property by birth, so he can claim it in his father's lifetime; under Dayabhaga he gets no right by birth and inherits only after his father's death. The two schools differ by region and by this rule, not by caste or by the sex of the property-holders.

✗ 1. The schools are regional, not caste-based: Dayabhaga applies in Assam, Bengal and Tripura, and Mitakshara in the rest of India.
✓ 2. In Mitakshara, sons, grandsons and great-grandsons acquire an interest in the joint property by birth. In Dayabhaga, there is no right by birth; the son inherits only on his father's death.
✗ 3. Both schools govern the property of a Hindu family. What separates them is when a son's right begins and where each applies, not a split between male-only and male-and-female property.

Remember · Mitakshara: son's right by birth (most of India). Dayabhaga: no birthright, son inherits after father's death (Bengal, Assam, Tripura).

Sources

Sikkim Judicial Academy (Justice Arindam Mukherjee, Calcutta High Court) — Session 2: Hindu succession ↗ “The existing of Dayabhaga coparcenary comes only after the death of the father, by that the son will inherit the property of him and constitute a coparcenary. … in this school there is no right by birth given to son. Son can inherit the property on his father’s death.”
Partition Suits (judicial training material, s3waas.gov.in) ↗ “Only in Assam, Bengal and Tripura Dayabhaga Law is applicable and remaining states of India Mithakshara Law is applicable. … It includes only those persons who acquire by birth an interest in the joint or coparcenery property.”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2020 · Q29

Hard

With reference to the history of India, the terms "kulyavapa" and "dronavapa" denote

Answer & explanation

Answer: (a) measurement of land

Kulyavapa and dronavapa were units for measuring the area of land, used in Gupta-age copper-plate land grants from Bengal. The Paharpur copper plate of Gupta year 159 (479 CE) fixes their relation: 4 adhavapas made 1 dronavapa and 8 dronavapas made 1 kulyavapa.

✓ (a) Inscriptions of the Gupta age give the popular area units in Bengal as kulyavapa, dronavapa and adhavapa, and the same names survived in eastern Bengal as local land measures.
✗ (b) These are not coins. Grants record prices in coins (dinaras) per unit of land (the Faridpur plates give the price of one kulyavapa as 4 dinaras), while kulyavapa itself is the unit of land area.
✗ (c) The terms measure the size of the land granted or sold; they are not a classification of urban land.
✗ (d) They have no ritual meaning; they occur in land-grant records as area measures.

Remember · Kulyavapa, dronavapa and adhavapa were Gupta-age land-area units in Bengal copper-plate grants: 8 dronavapas = 1 kulyavapa; 4 adhavapas = 1 dronavapa.

Sources

D. C. Sircar, Studies in the Political and Administrative Systems in Ancient and Medieval India (Motilal Banarsidass, 1974), Ch. X 'Some Measures of Land' ↗ · reference work “4 Adhavapas made 1 Dronavapa, and 8 Dronavapas made 1 Kulyavapa. 1 Since the introduction, in the medieval period, of the unit of measurement called Bigha (usually 80 square cubits) … But the Kulavay (ancient Kulyavapa), Don (ancient Dronavapa) and Adha (ancient Adhavapa) are still locally known in the eastern … According to the Faridpur plates, the price of one Kul- yavapa of land was 4 dinaras (gold coins) which, accoiding to the Baigram copper-plate inscription,”
Saradha Srinivasan, Mensuration in Ancient India (Ajanta Publications, 1979), on area measures ↗ · reference work “The earliest record to mention kulyavapa, as a unit of measurement is in the Dhanaidaha copper plate inscription”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2020, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2020 · Q36

Medium

With reference to the scholars/litterateurs of ancient India, consider the following statements:

1.Panini is associated with Pushyamitra Shunga.
2.Amarasimha is associated with Harshavardhana.
3.Kalidasa is associated with Chandra Gupta – II.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (c) 3 only

UPSC's key counts only statement 3 as correct. NCERT places Kalidasa in the Gupta age, Panini lived several centuries before the Shungas, and Harsha's seventh-century court is known for Banabhatta.

✗ 1. Panini, author of the Sanskrit grammar Ashtadhyayi, is dated to about 500 BCE. Pushyamitra Shunga founded the Shunga dynasty around 185 BCE, more than three centuries later.
✗ 2. Harshavardhana ruled Kanauj from about 606 to 647 CE, and NCERT names Banabhatta as his court poet. UPSC's official key treats this statement as incorrect; we could not confirm the detail from an official source, so we do not explain it here.
✓ 3. NCERT places Kalidasa's works in the Gupta age and describes Chandragupta II as surrounding himself with learned men, poets and artists. UPSC's key counts this statement correct.

Remember · Panini c. 500 BCE (grammar); Kalidasa in the Gupta age; Harsha's court poet was Banabhatta.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part I, Ch 3 (practise this chapter) · Class 9 Understanding Society: India and Beyond, Ch 5 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part I, Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part I, Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 7 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Ch 7 (practise this chapter) · Class 7 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Ch 7 (practise this chapter)

Sources

NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part I, Chapter 3 “c. 500 BCE Ashtadhyayi of Panini, a work on Sanskrit grammar”
NCERT Class 9 · Understanding Society: India and Beyond, Chapter 5 “185 BCE: Foundation of Shunga empire by Pushyamitra Shunga”
NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part I, Chapter 2 “c. 606-647 CE Harshavardhana king of Kanauj; Chinese pilgrim Xuan Zang comes in search of Buddhist texts”
NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part I, Chapter 2 “The Harshacharita is a biography of Harshavardhana, the ruler of Kanauj (see Map 3), composed in Sanskrit by his court poet, Banabhatta (c. seventh century CE).”
NCERT Class 7 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Chapter 7 “Chandragupta II kept himself surrounded by many learned men, poets and artists, and his patronage of such diverse talent enriched his court greatly.”
NCERT Class 7 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Chapter 7 “He is renowned for his contributions to Sanskrit literature and exquisitely refined poetry.”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2020, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2020 · Q82

Hard

With reference to the period of Gupta dynasty in ancient India, the towns Ghantasala, Kadura and Chaul were well known as

Answer & explanation

Answer: (a) ports handling foreign trade

UPSC's key is (a), ports handling foreign trade. Gupta-period India traded by sea with the Mediterranean world, Southeast Asia and China, and Chaul (Cheul) appears in the Maharashtra Gazetteer as an ancient trading emporium.

✓ (a) Gupta-period India traded by sea with the Mediterranean world, Southeast Asia and China. Chaul (Cheul) appears in the Maharashtra Gazetteer as an ancient trading emporium, with a fifth-century Kanheri inscription naming it. UPSC's official key gives this option; we could not confirm the role of Ghantasala and Kadura from an official source, so we do not explain it here.
✗ (b) The Gupta capital was Pataliputra (present-day Patna), an inland city, not any of these towns.
✗ (c) The Gupta age's famous stone art is at Sarnath, Udayagiri and the Deogarh temple, not at these three towns.
✗ (d) The sacred places of the Buddha's life are Lumbini, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and Kusinagara; these three towns are not pilgrimage centres.

Remember · Gupta-age India traded by sea; Chaul (Cheul) was an ancient trading emporium on the Konkan coast.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 7 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Ch 7 (practise this chapter) · Class 7 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Ch 7 (practise this chapter) · Class 7 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Ch 7 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I, Ch 6 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part I, Ch 4 (practise this chapter)

Sources

NCERT Class 7 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Chapter 7 “exporting textiles, spices, ivory and gemstones. The Indian Ocean trade network connected Indian ports to distant markets.”
NCERT Class 7 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Chapter 7 “The Gupta Empire was the most powerful and flourished from the 3rd to the 6th century CE, with its capital at Pataliputra (present-day Patna).”
NCERT Class 7 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Chapter 7 “Sarnath (near Varanasi in present-day Uttar Pradesh), known for its exquisite sculptures of the Buddha”
NCERT Class 11 · An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I, Chapter 6 “Deogarh (in Lalitpur District, Uttar Pradesh) was built in the early sixth century CE.”
NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part I, Chapter 4 “where he attained enlightenment (Bodh Gaya), where he gave his first sermon (Sarnath) and where he attained nibbana (Kusinagara). Gradually, each of these places came to be regarded as sacred.”
Maharashtra State Gazetteers, Kolaba District: Cheul (Internet Archive copy) ↗ “In the fifth century it again occurs as Cemula in one of the Kanheri cave inscriptions”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2020, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2020 · Q97

Medium

With reference to the history of India, consider the following pairs:

	Famous Place	Present State
1.	Bhilsa	Madhya Pradesh
2.	Dwarasamudra	Maharashtra
3.	Girinagar	Gujarat
4.	Sthanesvara	Uttar Pradesh

Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (a) 1 and 3 only

Only Bhilsa (Madhya Pradesh) and Girinagar (Gujarat) are matched correctly. Dwarasamudra is today's Halebidu in Karnataka, and Sthanesvara is today's Thanesar in Haryana.

✓ 1. Bhilsa, the old name of the town beside the river Betwa, is Vidisha, in Madhya Pradesh.
✗ 2. Dvarasamudra, a Hoysala capital, is today's Halebidu, in the present State of Karnataka, not Maharashtra.
✓ 3. Girinagar is another name for Girnar, the sacred hills at Junagadh in Gujarat.
✗ 4. Sthaneshvara, the early capital of the Pushyabhuti (Vardhana) dynasty of Harshavardhana, is present-day Thanesar in Haryana, not Uttar Pradesh.

Remember · Bhilsa = Vidisha (MP); Dwarasamudra = Halebidu (Karnataka); Girinagar = Girnar/Junagadh (Gujarat); Sthanesvara = Thanesar (Haryana).

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 7 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 4 (practise this chapter) · Class 7 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 3 (practise this chapter)

Sources

District Vidisha, Government of Madhya Pradesh (vidisha.nic.in): About District ↗ “This new town was known as Bhailaswamin or Bhillaswamin, the name of the place was later corrupted to ‘Bhilsa’ or Bhelsa.”
NCERT Class 7 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Chapter 4 “Velapura (today's Belur) and Dvarasamudra (today's Halebidu) became the Hoysalas' capitals.”
UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas ↗ “the three most representative Hoysala-style temple complexes constructed between the 12th and 13th centuries in the present State of Karnataka, namely the Channakeshava Temple in Belur, the Hoysalesvara Temple in Halebidu”
District Junagadh, Government of Gujarat (junagadh.nic.in): Girnar ↗ “Girnar, also known as Girinagar or Revatak Parvata, is a group of mountains in the Junagadh District of Gujarat, India, situated near Junagadh.”
NCERT Class 7 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Chapter 3 “He belonged to the Pushyabhuti (or Vardhana) dynasty, whose earlier capital was Sthaneshvara (present-day Thanesar in Haryana).”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2020, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2019 · Q10

Hard

With reference to forced labour (Vishti) in India during the Gupta period, which one of the following statements is correct?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (a) It was considered a source of income for the State, a sort of tax paid by the people.

Vishti was unpaid labour that subjects owed to the state. Gupta-age accounts list it among the king's rights and contributions, so it worked as a tax paid in labour, and land grants could pass such dues on to the grantee. Being unpaid, it carried no weekly wages, and the sources describe it as a burden on villagers in general rather than confining it to particular regions.

✓ (a) Compulsory unpaid labour was a claim of the state on its subjects: the king had a right to vishti along with bali and other contributions, in effect a tax paid in labour. Grants of the period show the king's dues being handed over to the donee along with the land.
✗ (b) Sources on the Gupta age describe vishti as imposed on villagers generally and do not limit it to particular regions, so a claim that it was 'totally absent' in Madhya Pradesh and Kathiawar has no support.
✗ (c) Vishti was unpaid labour by definition, so the forced labourer had no entitlement to weekly wages.

Remember · Vishti = forced, unpaid labour owed to the state in the Gupta age, counted among royal dues (a tax in labour); grants could transfer it to donees.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part I, Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part I, Ch 2 (practise this chapter)

Sources

IGNOU eGyanKosh (Govt of India central university), History of India c. 300-1206, Unit 2: Economy, Society, Culture (Gupta revenue) ↗ · reference work “The King had a right to forced labour (Vishthi), Bali and many other types of contributions. … the practice of imposing vishti (unpaid labour) was also in vogue”
NIOS (Ministry of Education), Senior Secondary History, Lesson 7: The Guptas and their Successors ↗ · reference work “The villagers were also subjected to forced labour (vishti).”
NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part I, Chapter 2 “An agrahara was land granted to a Brahmana, who was usually exempted from paying land revenue and other dues to the king, and was often given the right to collect these dues from the local people.”
NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part I, Chapter 2 “exempt from (the obligation to provide) grass, (animal) hides as seats, and charcoal (to touring royal officers)”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2019, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2016 · Q10

Easy

Which one of the following books of ancient India has the love story of the son of the founder of Sunga dynasty?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (b) Malavikagnimitra

The Sunga (Shunga) dynasty was founded by Pushyamitra about 185 BCE, and his son and successor was Agnimitra. Kalidasa's Sanskrit play Malavikagnimitra ('Malavika and Agnimitra') is built around Agnimitra and his love for Malavika.

✓ (b) Kalidasa's Malavikagnimitra describes Agnimitra, the son of Pushyamitra (a viceroy at Vidisha in the play), and its plot is his love for Malavika.
✗ (a) Swapnavasavadatta, attributed to Bhasa, is about King Udayana of Vatsa and his queen Vasavadatta, not a Shunga prince.
✗ (c) Meghadoota is also by Kalidasa, but it is a lyric poem in which an exiled yaksha sends a message to his wife through a cloud.

Remember · Pushyamitra Shunga (c. 185 BCE) → son Agnimitra, hero of Kalidasa's Malavikagnimitra. Ratnavali is Harsha's play; Swapnavasavadatta is Bhasa's.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 7 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Ch 6 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Ch 3 (practise this chapter)

Sources

NCERT Class 7 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Chapter 6 “Pushyamitra Shunga founded the Shunga dynasty, which ruled over parts of north and central India.”
NCERT Class 11 · Knowledge Traditions and Practices of India, Part I, Chapter 3 “Kalidasa, the most recognised poet-playwright who lived sometime in the fifth century in the glorious Gupta period of Indian history penned such classics as Malavikagnimitram, and Abhijnana-Sakuntalam”
IGNOU eGyanKosh (Govt of India central university), History of India 200 BCE to 300 CE, Unit 1: The Sungas and Kushanas ↗ · reference work “His son and successor was Agnimitra and he was succeeded by his son Vasumitra. … Kalidasa’s Malavikagnimitra describes Agnimitra, son of Pushyamitra, as belonging to the Baimbika kula”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

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