UPSC Civil Services (IAS) Prelims asked 33 Ancient History questions between 2016–2025. Reading them together shows which topics keep returning and how examiners frame them.
Answer: (a) Mahendravarman I
The Pallava king Mahendravarman I (c. 600–630 CE) took the titles Mattavilasa, Vichitrachitta and Gunabhara. He wrote the Sanskrit farce Mattavilasa Prahasana and pioneered rock-cut temples.
Answer: (b) Chandragupta II
Fa-hien (Faxian) visited India c. 399–412 CE, during the reign of Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya). He described the prosperity and peace of the Gupta realm.
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) Only two
Pair I is correct: Asmaka lay on the Godavari.
Pair II is incorrect: Kamboja was in the far north-west (around present-day Afghanistan), not on the Vipas (Beas).
Pair III is incorrect: Avanti was in the Malwa region, on the Narmada and Shipra, not the Mahanadi.
Pair IV is correct: Kosala lay on the Sarayu.
Answer: (b) district-level administration
Ashoka's inscriptions mention the Pradeshika, Rajuka and Yukta as officers who toured and administered at the district level, overseeing revenue, justice and dhamma.
With reference to ancient India, Gautama Buddha was generally known by which of the following epithets?
1. Nayaputta
2. Shakyamuni
3. Tathagata
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only
Shakyamuni ('sage of the Shakyas') and Tathagata ('one who has thus gone') are epithets of the Buddha. Nayaputta (Nataputta) refers to Vardhamana Mahavira of the Jnatrika clan.
Consider the following information:
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) 2 and 3
Row 1 is incorrect: Chandraketugarh, an ancient trading centre, is in West Bengal, not Odisha.
Row 2 is correct: Inamgaon is a Chalcolithic site in Maharashtra.
Row 3 is correct: Mangadu in Kerala is a megalithic site.
Row 4 is incorrect: Salihundam in Andhra Pradesh is known for Buddhist stupas and monasteries, not rock-cut cave shrines.
Consider the following statements:
1. There are no parables in Upanishads.
2. Upanishads were composed earlier than the Puranas.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: (b) 2 only
Statement 1 is incorrect: the Upanishads contain many parables and dialogues, such as Nachiketa and Yama (Katha), Satyakama Jabala and Svetaketu (Chandogya).
Statement 2 is correct: the major Upanishads (c. 800–300 BCE) predate the Puranas, which were compiled mainly in the Gupta and post-Gupta periods.
Answer: (a) Andhra
Dhanyakataka, identified with Dharanikota near Amaravati on the Krishna, was in Andhra. It was a major Buddhist centre associated with the Mahasanghikas and later served as a Satavahana capital.
Answer: (b) ports
All three were Sangam-age ports: Korkai of the Pandyas, Poompuhar (Kaveripattinam) of the Cholas, and Muchiri (Muziris) of the Cheras. They traded with Rome and Southeast Asia.
Answer: (d) A king defeated in battle committing ritual suicide by starving himself to death
Vadakkiruttal (literally 'sitting facing north') was a Sangam practice in which a king defeated in battle, or a hero, fasted unto death as an honourable end.
Answer: (b) Jainism
Jainism holds that jivas (souls) exist not only in animals and plants but also in earth, water, fire and air. This is the basis of its strict practice of ahimsa.
Answer: (a) archaeological excavations
Alexander Rea, A. H. Longhurst, Robert Sewell, James Burgess and Walter Elliot were associated with archaeological surveys and excavations in colonial India, especially in South India.
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: (d) 1, 2 and 3
The Arthashastra lists judicial punishment among the ways a person could become a dasa.
It also lays down that a female slave who bears her master's son becomes free, and that the son gets the legal status of the master's son.
All three statements are correct.
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) Only two pairs
Pair 1 is correct: Dhauli is near Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
Pair 2 is correct: Erragudi is in Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh.
Pair 3 is wrong: Jaugada is in Ganjam district, Odisha.
Pair 4 is wrong: Kalsi is in Dehradun district, Uttarakhand.
Two pairs are correct.
Answer: (b) The social classification of Varna was known to Sangam poets.
Sangam poets knew the Varna classification, and Brahmanas appear in the poems, though Tamil society was organised differently (by tinai landscapes and occupational groups).
The poems are rich in references to material culture and warrior ethics (puram poetry), and they treat magical and supernatural forces as real, not irrational.
Answer: (a) Dholavira
Dholavira (Kachchh, Gujarat; a World Heritage Site since 2021) had an elaborate system of dams, channels and stone-cut reservoirs to collect and store water.
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: (b) 1, 3, 4 and 6
Between the Gupta decline and Harsha's rise, northern India was held by the later Guptas of Magadha, the Pushyabhutis of Thanesar, the Maukharis of Kanauj and the Maitrakas of Valabhi.
The Paramaras (10th century) and the Yadavas of Devagiri (12th century) came much later.
Consider the following pairs:
(Historical place) - (Well-known for)
1. Burzahom - Rock-cut shrines
2. Chandraketugarh - Terracotta art
3. Ganeshwar - Copper artefacts
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
Answer: (d) 2 and 3
Pair 1 is wrong: Burzahom (Kashmir) is a Neolithic site known for pit dwellings, not rock-cut shrines.
Pair 2 is correct: Chandraketugarh (West Bengal) is famous for terracotta art.
Pair 3 is correct: Ganeshwar (Rajasthan) is known for copper artefacts of the Ganeshwar-Jodhpura culture.
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: (b) 2 only
Statement 1 is incorrect: Mitakshara and Dayabhaga are regional schools of Hindu law (Dayabhaga in Bengal and Assam), not caste-based.
Statement 2 is correct: under Mitakshara sons acquire a right by birth, while under Dayabhaga they inherit only after the father's death.
Statement 3 is incorrect: the difference is not about male versus female property.
With reference to the religious history of India, consider the following statements:
1. Sthaviravadins belong to Mahayana Buddhism.
2. Lokottaravadin sect was an offshoot of Mahasanghika sect of Buddhism.
3. The deification of Buddha by Mahasanghikas fostered the Mahayana Buddhism.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only
Statement 1 is incorrect: the Sthaviravadins (Theravada) are the conservative, Hinayana tradition, not Mahayana.
Statement 2 is correct: the Lokottaravadins were a branch of the Mahasanghika school.
Statement 3 is correct: the Mahasanghikas' view of the Buddha as transcendent (lokottara) paved the way for Mahayana.
Answer: (c) A bill of exchange
A hundi was a bill of exchange: a written order used by merchants to transfer money or settle trade payments between places without carrying cash.
Answer: (a) measurement of land
Kulyavapa and dronavapa were land measures in Gupta-period land-grant inscriptions from Bengal, based on the quantity of seed needed to sow the area.
Answer: (a) Ashoka
The quotation is from Ashoka's Major Rock Edict XII, which urges respect for all sects and restraint in speech about one's own and others' faiths.
Answer: (a) ports handling foreign trade
Ghantasala (Andhra Pradesh), Kadura and Chaul (Konkan coast) were ports in the Gupta period handling trade with Southeast Asia and the Roman/Arab world.
Answer: (c) Sohgaura
Sohgaura (Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh) is known for a Mauryan-era copper plate inscription, not a Harappan site.
Chanhudaro and Kot Diji (Sindh) and Desalpur (Kutch, Gujarat) are Harappan sites.
Answer: (a) Kanganahalli
At Kanganahalli (near Sannati, Karnataka) a Buddhist stupa relief shows Ashoka with his queens, labelled 'Ranyo Ashoka', the only known portrait of Ashoka with his name.
Consider the following:
1. Deification of the Buddha
2. Treading the path of Bodhisattvas
3. Image worship and rituals
Which of the above is/are the feature/features of Mahayana Buddhism?
Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3
All three are features of Mahayana Buddhism: the Buddha is treated as divine, followers aim to follow the Bodhisattva path to help all beings, and image worship and rituals became common.
Answer: (a) It was considered a source of income for the State, a sort of tax paid by the people.
In the Gupta period vishti (forced, unpaid labour) was a kind of tax paid in labour to the State, so it was considered a source of State income.
It was not absent in central India or Kathiawar, labourers were not paid weekly wages, and there was no rule about sending the eldest son.
With reference to the difference between the culture of Rigvedic Aryans and Indus Valley people, which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. Rigvedic Aryans used the coat of mail and helmet in warfare whereas the people of Indus Valley Civilization did not leave any evidence of using them.
2. Rigvedic Aryans knew gold, silver and copper whereas Indus Valley people knew only copper and iron.
3. Rigvedic Aryans had domesticated the horse whereas there is no evidence of Indus Valley people having been aware of this animal.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only
Statement 1 is correct: Rigvedic Aryans used coats of mail (varman) and helmets, for which Harappan sites give no evidence.
Statement 2 is incorrect: Harappans knew gold, silver, copper and bronze but not iron.
Statement 3 is correct: the horse was central to Rigvedic life, while firm evidence of the horse at Harappan sites is lacking.
With reference to the religious history of India, consider the following statements:
1. Sautrantika and Sammitiya were the sects of Jainism.
2. Sarvastivadin held that the constituents of phenomena were not wholly momentary, but existed forever in a latent form.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: (b) 2 only
Statement 1 is incorrect: Sautrantika and Sammitiya were Buddhist schools, not Jain sects.
Statement 2 is correct: the Sarvastivadins held that the elements (dharmas) of phenomena exist in past, present and future in a latent form.
Answer: (b) James Prinsep
James Prinsep deciphered the Brahmi script in 1837 and with it read Ashoka's edicts.
With reference to the religious history of India, consider the following statements:
1. The concept of Bodhisattva is central to Hinayana sect of Buddhism.
2. Bodhisattva is a compassionate one on his way to enlightenment.
3. Bodhisattva delays achieving his own salvation to help all sentient beings on their path to it.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only
Statement 1 is incorrect: the Bodhisattva ideal is central to Mahayana, not Hinayana.
Statements 2 and 3 are correct: a Bodhisattva is a compassionate being on the way to enlightenment who postpones his own nirvana to help all beings.
Answer: (d) Maagadha
The Magadhas (like the Sutas) were bards who memorised and recited chronicles, dynastic genealogies and heroic tales.
Timed mock tests with negative marking, in English and हिन्दी, with an explanation for every answer and subject-wise analysis of your result.
