Test: Ancient, Medieval and Art & Culture- 1 - UPSC MCQ

Main Features of Bhakti movement

• Discarded rituals and sacrifices

• Gave importance to teacher or guru

• Moral education was the essential component of the teaching of Bhakti saint.

• It was based on individual God, thus it discarded the priestly class as intermediary between the human beings and god.

• An egalitarian movement which denounced casteism.

• Emphasized on purity of heart and mind, humanism and devotionMonotheistic in nature

• God is either have form (Saguna) or be formless (Nirguna)

• Best form of worship is singings Bhajans and realization of God

• The Bhakti saint preached in local languages.

• Characterised by bright colours and bold outlines, Kalighat painting evolved as a unique genre of Indian painting in 19th-century Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), in West Bengal.
• From the depiction of gods and other mythological characters, these paintings developed over time to reflect a variety of themes.

The Sultanate period in India reigned from the 1206 A.D to 1526 A.D. During this, five dynasties ruled in Delhi over a period of three hundred years. Fawazil is a term used to refer to the excess amount that iqtadars sent to the centre after meeting the expenses of self and the army. This was done to maintain the balance between the income and the expenditures.

Additional Information:

• Extra payment made to the nobles: Fawazil was not the extra amount that was paid to the nobles. Therefore, this is not the correct option.
• Revenue assigned in lieu of salary: Fawazil was not referred to the revenue in lieu of salary. Therefore, this is not the correct option.
• Excess amount paid to the exchequer by the iqtadars: Fawazil was referred to the Excess amount paid to the exchequer by the iqtadars. Therefore, this is the correct option.
• Illegal exactions extracted from the peasants: This is not what the term “fawazil” referred to. Therefore, this is not the correct option.

• Iqtadari System was a combined mechanism of expropriating tax and distribution of these revenues to the ruling class. It was a kind of territorial assignment which was guided by three factors-   Collection of revenue, Maintenance of army
• Maintenance of the traditional system in order to prevent any untoward reaction.
• The term Iqtadari system was coined by Nizamul Mulk to maintain smooth administration of the Abbassid Empire. The sultans of Delhi Sultanate like Balban,Iltutmish,Allauddin Khilji etc effectively used the Iqtadari system for their centralization of power. The Iqtadari system did not confer any ownership in land and it was subject to transfer.
• The iqtadar had two functions – to collect the revenues and distribution among the soldiers.it was a unique blend of expansion and consolidation.

• Ahadis were troopers in Mughal Empire.
• They were directly appointed by Mughal emperor.
• They did not attach themselves to any Mirza or Chief.

• In First Battle of Panipat(1526) Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi.
• In Second Battle of Panipat(1556) Akbar defeated Hemu.
• In Third Battle of Panipat(1761), Ahmed Shah Abdali defeated the Marathas.

• Battle of Chamkaur(1705) was fought between Gobind Singh and Mughal forces.
• Battle of Haldighati(1576) was fought between Akbar and Maharana Pratap.

• Timur invaded northern India, during the reign of Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah Tughluq (who was the last ruler of the Tughlaq Dynasty) in 1398.
• Timur crossed River Indus on 30 September 1398. He massacred all the people of Tulamba (the first town which he encountered in his invasion). He advanced further and captured Multan in October. Throughout his invasion Timur was not opposed by any Indian nobility.
• However, the Rajputs stepped up to fight Timur, but Timur pressed very hard and slaughtered every last one of the Rajputs at Bhatner. Before attacking Delhi, Timur was also attacked by the Jats who looted Timur's caravans and hid in the forests. Timur also killed many of them and even took some of them captive.
• Timur finally reached Delhi in December and fought against the army of Nasiruddin Mahmud Tughlaq on 17th December 1398. Timur used his camels to fight the elephant army of Tughluq. He knew that the elephants could be easily frightened and he used this knowledge to make the elephants turn around and stampede their own soldiers. It was a relatively easy victory for Timur. Nasiruddin Mahmud Tughluq fled with the remaining people and Timur sacked Delhi and left it in ruins.

• There was no overall king of India at the time, but the main power in the region of northern India was the Mamluk Sultanate of Delhi.
• The Sultan at the time was Shams-ud-din Iltutmish.Mongols under Genghis Khan invaded India in 1221 but conquering India was not their aim: instead they were attempting to defeat Jalal ad-Din, who later moved to Persia.
• Iltutmish refused to assist Jalal ad-Din, thereby avoiding having to take sides against the Mongols.Six years later, Genghis Khan was dead. Subsequent Mongol invasions largely failed to make much inroads into India.

With reference to the Vijayanagar age marriage is known as Kalyanam and the hall which it takes place is called as Mandapam

The Bāburnāma is the memoirs of Ẓahīr-ud-Dīn Muhammad Bābur (1483–1530), founder of the Mughal Empire and a great-great-great-grandson of Timur. He wrote the Baburnama and It is written in the Chagatai language, known to Babur as "Turki" (meaning Turkic), the spoken language of the Andijan-Timurids. During Emperor Akbar's reign, the work was completely translated to Persian, the usual literary language of the Mughal court, by a Mughal courtier, Abdul Rahīm, in AH 998 (1589–90). Translations into many other languages followed, mostly from the 19th century onwards.

The upbringing of Akbar influences he had, interests he cultivated, pragmatic policies he followed, all tended to him adopting a liberal religious policies. Some of the measures he took were: Allowed freedom of worship to people of all religions and ended forcible conversions.
In 1563 Akbar was hunting near Mathura. He noticed that a tax was being realized from the people who had gathered there on pilgrimage. Akbar had no idea of the tax that was realized from pilgrims from all places of Hindu pilgrimage. On inquiry Akbar was told that it had been the custom of every Muslims ruler to realize pilgrim tax from the Hindus at every place of Hindu pilgrimage. The tax was not a fixed one. It was determined arbitrarily according to rank and wealth of the pilgrim. Akbar found that the pilgrim tax was morally wrong both because it was imposed on people who came “in search of the light of God” and because it was not uniform but arbitrary, variable according to the whim of the collector of the tax. He abolished the pilgrim tax all throughout his empire.
In Kashmir, Sikandar Butshikan levied both jizya and zakat on Hindus. Ahmad Shah (1411-1442), a ruler of Gujarat, introduced the Jizyah in 1414 and collected it with such strictness that many people converted to Islam to evade it. Jizya was later abolished by the third Mughal emperor Akbar, in 1579.
 

Guru Arjan was arrested under the orders of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir and asked to convert to Islam. He refused, was tortured and executed in 1606 CE. Historical records and the Sikh tradition are unclear whether Guru Arjan was executed by drowning or died during torture.

Shah was a patron of the arts, culture and luxury, and so he was also known as Rangila. And his Diwali celebrations at the Red Fort – financed by duwazdihi (donations) – were among the most exquisite since Aurangzeb, who had banned such festivities in court. 

• Aurangzeb banned music.
• The Pilgrimage tax and the Jizya tax which were abolished by Akbar were reimposed by Aurangzeb.
• He abolished the ‘kalimas’ (inscribing quranic verses on coins).
• Aurangzeb had put a ban on festivities like Diwali in court. so, option D is right.

The tomb of Humayun was built by the orders of Humayun's first wife and chief consort, Empress Bega Begum (also known as Haji Begum). The construction began in 1565, nine years after his death, and completed in 1572 AD at a cost of 1.5 million ruppees at the time.

Ibn-Batuta was a Muslim Berber Moroccan scholar, and explorer who widely travelled the medieval world. Over a period of thirty years, Ibn Battuta visited most of the Islamic world and many non-Muslim lands, including Central Asia, Southeast Asia, India and China. Near the end of his life, he dictated an account of his journeys, titled A Gift to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and the Marvels of Traveling. He travelled more than any other explorer in distance, totaling around 117,000 km, surpassing Zheng He with about 50,000 km and Marco Polo with 12,000 km.

Feroz Shah Tuglak established diwan-i-khairat (department for poor and needy people) to take care of orphans and widows. He also patronised scholars like Barani and Afif.

In medieval Tamil country, nagaram was the towns where merchants continued their business. Ur was a village assembly of almost the same time period in which landowners were non-Brahmins.

Nalanda University was established by Shakraditya of Gupta dynasty in modern Bihar during early 5th century and flourished for 600 years till 12th century. Nalanda was the world's first university to have residential quarters for both students and teachers. It also had large public lecture halls.

Vikram Era started in 58 BC whereas Saka Era started in 78 AD.

Ashoka is generally referred to as Priyadasi and Devanampriya in his inscriptions.

• Followers of Jainism believe that non-injury is the highest religion. Jains aim to live in such a way that their jiva or soul doesn't get any more karma, and so that the karma already has either helped or eliminated decay.
• By following a disciplined life path they achieve this concept. The path of Dharma (truth, teaching) that Mahavira advocated was one of strict renunciation, asceticism, and moral cultivation. He instructed his followers to cultivate the right knowledge, right belief, and right conduct. Emerging from the above three jewels and relating to right conduct, there are five abstinences, which are the vows of:
• Ahimsa (non-violence)
• Satya (truthfulness)
• Asteya (not stealing)
• Aparigraha (non-acquisition)
• Brahmacarya (chaste living)
• There are two forms of the above five vows:
• Mahavrata: the five great vows followed by Jain nuns and monks.
• Anuvrata: the lesser vows followed by Jain laypeople. These are less strict versions of maharajas.
• The first five vows or the anuvratas or the partial vows (anu-“tiny”) are more moderate versions of the maharajas: abstinence from gross falsehood, gross violence, and gross stealing; contentment with one’s own wife; and limitation of their possessions.
• The remaining four Shiksha-vratas and the three gunavratas are intended to encourage observance of the anuvratas.

Buddhism advocated middle path that is avoidance of extremities of penance and enjoyment. On the other hand Jainism advocated extreme penance and asceticism.

• Ashokan stone pillars are stand-alone structures.
• They are not part of any architectural structures. They were built to spread the message of Ashoka to the people.

• In ancient Indian text, Varahamihira is known as Mathematician, Astrologer and an Astronomer.
• Varahamihira had a great popularity than Aryabhata and Brahmagupta.
• He got all the abilities of astrology from his father adityadasa.
• When the young Varahmihira met Aryabhatta he was so inspired to study Astrology and Astronomy as one study subjects for a lifetime.