UPSC Prelims Previous Year Questions 2023: History | History for UPSC CSE PDF Download

Ans: (a)
Dhanyakataka is a small town in Andhra Pradesh in southeastern India near present day Amaravati where Shakyamuni Buddha taught the Heart Essence form of the Kalachakra Dharma to the Shambala kings.
Amaravati Dharanikota became the capital of the Kota chiefs, for the 3rd time in history (12th century). According to an inscription found in a temple at Velpuru in Guntur, Amaravati was described as follows:

• “There is a city, named Sri Dhanyakataka, which is superior to the City of the Gods, and where the temple of Sambhu, named Amaresvara, is worshipped by the Lord of the Gods (Indra), where the God Buddha, worshipped by the creator, is quite close by and where there is a very lofty chaitya, well decorated with various sculptures.”, which also reveals that the stupa was in a good state of its existence.

Hence, option (a) is correct.

Ans: (b)

• The word Stupa is mentioned in the Rigveda, Atharvaveda, Vajasaneyi Samhita, Taittriya Samhita, in the Panchavimsata Brahmana. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
• Rigveda refers to a Stupa raised by the King Varuna above the forest in a place having no foundation .The word ‘estuka’ is also used in the same sense in Rigveda, probably by then anything raised on the ground like a heap/pile might have been known as Stupa.
• The practice of preserving the remains of an important personality below accumulated earth was long in existence. Buddhist art adopted this practice and the structure built over such a site was known as Stupa Hence, Statement 2 is correct.
• The Buddhist texts like the Avadana Satakam, Mahavadana and Stupavadanam mentions about the commemorative aspects of the Stupa even the Jaina literature like Raya Pasenaiya Sutta refers to it. Probably in the later period, due to the deep desire of the common mass to worship the lord for the sake of salvation, Stupa acquired its votive character as well. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Hence, option B is correct.

Ans: (b)
Korkai:

• Korkai was the port city of early Pandyas situated on the banks of the Thamirabarani near Bay of Bengal.
• Trade with Ganges Valley as well as ancient Roman civilizations flourished in the port city. “Periplus of the Erythrean Sea”, the maritime guide book written in the first century AD mentions Korkai along with other port towns of Tamil Nadu.

Poompuhar:

• Poompuhar is a town in the Mayiladuthurai district in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
• It was once a flourishing ancient port city known as Kaveri Poompattinam, which for a while served as the capital of the Early Chola kings in Tamilakam.
• Puhar is located near the mouth of the Kaveri river, on the sea coast.

Muziris/Muchiri Port

• Kodungallur is a town and a municipality in the Thrissur district (Kerala) and was known in ancient times as Mahodayapuram, Shinkli, Muchiri, Muziris and Muyirikkodu.
• The traders mention Kodungallur port in a lot of names. Muchiri, Makotai, Mahodayapuram, Mahodayapattanam, Muyirikkode etc are some, but the most popular name is the one called by Roman and Greek Traders, Muziris.

Hence, option (b) is correct.

Ans: (d)

• Vatakkiruttal was a Tamil ritual of fasting till death. It was especially widespread during the Sangam age. The Tamil kings, in order to save their honour, and prestige, were prepared to meet their death facing North ('Vatakkiruttal') and never would they turn their back in battle.
• This was either done alone, or as a group with the supporters of the captured king.

Hence, option (d) is correct.

Ans: (d)
Hoysalas:

• The Hoysala Empire was one of the powerful forces that ruled parts of southern India
• between the 10th and 14th centuries.
• The capital of the Hoysalas was initially located at Belur but was later moved to Halebidu.
• The reign of the Hoysala Empire led to the development of South Indian art, architecture, and religion, and its legacy lies mainly in the Hoysala architecture.

Gahadavala:

• Gahadavala dynasty, one of the many ruling families of north India on the eve of the Muslim conquests in the 12th–13th century.
• Its history, ranging between the second half of the 11th century and the mid-13th century, illustrates all the features of early medieval north Indian polity—dynastic hostilities and alliances, feudal state structure, absolute dependence on Brahmanical social ideology, and vulnerability in the face of external aggressions.

Yadavas and Kakatiyas

• The history of South India from the 13th to the 15th centuries presents two distinct phases: The beginning of the 13th century is marked by the disintegration of the Chola and the Chalukya empires. On their ruins emerged four independent kingdoms in this region. 
• There were the Pandyas and the Hoysalas in the south (on the debris of the Chola power), the Kakatiyas and the Yadavas in the north of this region (in the Deccan as a result of the decline of the Chalukya power). These kingdoms lasted for more than a century.

Hence, option (d) is correct.

Ans: (c)

Hence, option (c) is correct.

Ans: (b)

• As Jains see it, all beings are animated by jiva, the soul. A modern-day Jain teacher, Gurudev Chitrabhanu, writes, “The universe is not for humanity alone; it is a field of evolution for all living beings. Life is sacred, irrespective of not only caste, color, creed, or nationality, but also species at all levels right down to the tiny ant or the humble worm.”
• There are souls in nonmobile bodies, such as earth, water, fire, air, and plants—all of which have but one sense, the sense of touch. And there are souls in mobile bodies: the worm with two senses (touch and taste), the ant with three (touch, taste, and smell), the bee with four (touch, taste, smell, and sight), and the animal and human with five (touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing).

Hence, option (b) is correct.

Ans: (a)
Deva Raya constructed a dam on Tungabhadra and irrigated cities and villages with canals from this dam.
Hence, option (a) is correct.

Ans: (b)
The Heliodorus pillar is a stone column that was erected around 113 BCE in central India in Besnagar (near Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh). The pillar was called the Garuda- standard by Heliodorus, referring to the deity Garuda. Hence, 1 is incorrect.

Ans: (c)

• Early in the 16th century, the Sultan of Gujarat, Bahadur Shah, came under immense pressure when his kingdom was invaded by the second Mughal Emperor Humayun. At that juncture, he decided to remain on conciliatory terms with the Portuguese, who had arrived in India at the end of the 15th century, and were at the time an energetic and ambitious maritime power.
• In 1534, the Shah signed the Treaty of Bassein with the Portuguese, ceding Diu to the latter, as well as other territories of his empire such as Vasai and the islands that today form Mumbai. The Portuguese obtained Daman from the Shah in 1559.

Hence, option (c) is correct.

Ans: (d)
Charter Act of 1833

• This Act was the final step towards centralisation in British India.
• It made the Governor-General of Bengal as the Governor General of India and vested in him all civil and military powers. Thus, the act created, for the first time, Government of India having authority over the entire territorial area possessed by the British in India. Lord William Bentick was the first Governor-General of India.

Hence, option (d) is correct.

Ans: (a)

• Alexander Rea, a British archaeologist who worked in India, was known for unearthing a treasure of over 9,000 objects in Adichanallur in 1903-04.
• A. H. Longhurst was an archaeologist associated with the excavation in Chandraketugarh, Bengal.
• Robert Sewell: Robert Sewell (1845 – 1925) was a collector and magistrate in Madras Presidency in colonial India. Like many civil servants turned Indologists of those times, he was a scholar in history. Also in charge for the then archeology department.
• James Burgess: James Burgess was the founder of The Indian Antiquary in 1872 and an important archaeologist of India in the 19th century.
• Walter Elliot: He was a Scottish civil servant in India (based in Madras), archaeologist, numismatist and collector. He excavated at Amaravati in 1845. Some of his excavated pieces remain to this day in the collections of the Govt. Museum at Madras (Chennai).

Ans: (a)

• National Handloom Day is observed every year on 7th August with the objective of honouring the handloom weavers and creating awareness about the importance of handloom industry in the social development of the nation and to promote handloom industry. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• August 7 was designated to celebrate National Handloom Day to memorialize the 'Swadeshi' Movement. Therefore, there is a strong connection between National Handloom Day and the Swadeshi Movement. Hence, statement 2 is correct.