End of the Ancient World: Social, Religious, and Political Change in Post-Gupta India•hard•11 questions•~12 min
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Question 01
medium
According to RS Sharma, the central factor that transformed ancient Indian society into medieval society was:
(a) The decline of Buddhism and rise of Brahmanical religion
(b) The practice of land grants
(c) The invasion of the Huns
(d) The collapse of the Gupta Empire
Question 02
hard
Consider the following statements regarding the decline of trade and towns in post-Gupta India:
1. Trade with the western Roman Empire ended in the sixth century AD.
2. The silk trade with Iran and Byzantium stopped in the middle of the sixth century AD.
3. Arabs acted as middlemen and practically monopolised India's export trade in the pre-Muslim period.
4. The disappearance of gold coins after the sixth century is evidence of trade decline.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Question 03
medium
The term 'varna-sankara' used in Puranic texts of the third-fourth centuries AD referred to:
Question 04
hard
Which of the following is the most accurate description of the changes in the method of paying government officials from the Maurya period to the Harsha-vardhana period?
Question 05
hard
With reference to the new agrarian economy that emerged in post-Gupta India, consider the following:
1. Landed beneficiaries cultivated the granted lands using their own labour.
2. Chinese pilgrim I-tsing observed that most Indian monasteries got their lands cultivated by servants.
3. Sharecroppers were attached to the land but did not legally own it.
4. From the sixth century, peasants in backward areas were asked not to leave their villages.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Question 06
hard
RS Sharma draws an analogy between the Bhakti cult and the feudal social structure. Which of the following best captures this analogy?
Question 07
hard
According to RS Sharma, Tantricism arose primarily as a result of:
Question 08
medium
Consider the following statements about the development of regional languages and scripts in India:
1. Sanskrit continued to be used by the ruling class from about the second century AD.
2. Regional languages such as Bengali, Assamese, and Hindi show their faint beginnings in Buddhist writings from eastern India from the seventh century AD.
3. From the Maurya to the Gupta period, the script used was largely uniform across the country.
4. From the seventh century AD, every region of India came to have its own distinct script.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Question 09
medium
The group of silk weavers who migrated from the western coast to Mandasor in Malwa in the late fifth century AD is significant in RS Sharma's analysis because it illustrates:
Question 10
hard
Which of the following best explains why the number of castes increased significantly from the seventh century AD onwards, according to RS Sharma?
Question 11
hard
Arrange the following developments in the correct chronological sequence:
1. Trade with the western Roman Empire ends
2. Land grants become frequent; brahmanas granted tax-free villages
3. Silk trade with Iran and Byzantium stops
4. Public officials under Harsha-vardhana paid in land grants
5. Tantricism texts systematised and recorded
Choose the correct sequence:
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