Ancient History - MOST IMPORTANT UPSC CSE Previous Year Questions

The term nishka, which meant an ornament in the Vedic period, was used in later times to denote a/an:

The Buddhist sect Mahayana formally came into existence during the reign of:

In Jainism 'perfect knowledge' is referred to as:

The last in the succession of Jaina Tirthankaras was:

Ashokan inscriptions were first deciphered by:

Chanakya, was also known as:

The earliest rock-cut caves in western India are those at:

Among the four works mentioned below which one is encyclopedic in nature?

Who among the following is NOT associated with medicine in India?

Consider the following passage: "In the course of a career on the road spanning almost thirty years, he crossed the breadth of the Eastern hemisphere, visited territories equivalent to about 44 modern countries, and put behind him a total distance of approximately 73,000 miles." The world's greatest traveller of pre-modern times to whom the above passage refers is:

A lot of details, regarding the village administration under the Cholas is provided by the Inscriptions at

Which one of the following is considered to be the world's greatest iconographical creations made by the sthapatis of south India, particularly during the Chola period?

Which one of the following pairs of kings of ancient and medieval periods of Indian history and the works authored by them is correctly matched?

The earliest evidence of silver in India is found in the

Which one of the following usages was a post Vedic development?

Which one of the following is the most fundamental difference between Mahayana Buddhism and Hinayana Buddhism?

"Live well, as long as you live. Live well even by borrowings, for, once cremated, there is no 'return." This rejection of afterlife is an aphorism of the

Vidhushaka, a common character in Sanskrit drama, is invariably a

In the Gandhara sculptures the preaching mudra associated with the Buddha's First Sermon at Sarnath is

Toramana belonged to the ethnic horde of the