South India & The Cholas (800-1200 A.D)- 1 - Free MCQ Practice Test

He introduced the tradition of beginning the cholaepigraphs with historical introductions. He streamlined the administrative system with the division of the country into various districts and by standardizing revenue collection through systematic land surveys.Being an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva, he built the magnificent Peruvudaiyar Temple (also known as the Brihadeeswarar Temple) in Thanjavur and through it enabled wealth distribution amongst his subjects. His successes enabled his son Rajendra Chola I to extend the empire even further.
 

D s the correct option.Rajendra Chola I was one of the most successful monarchs of the South Indian Chola Empire. To commemorate his victory over Mahipala, he built a new capital called Gangaikonda Cholapuram. Rajendra assumed many titles such as Mudigonda Cholan, Irattapadikonda Cholan, Gangaikondachola, Panditachola, etc.

The correct option is D.
All the other statements are correct regarding  the administration of the Cholas.
 

The Chola Government during the imperial period in 850 – 1200 CE was marked for its uniqueness and innovativeness.

• It was divided into provinces and governors were princes of royal blood.
• The provinces, designated as themandalam was divided into divisions known asvalanadu.
• Groups of villages were known askurrams while the districts were known asnadus.
• Popular assemblies of masses were known as Sabha.

The correct answer is Option A - They were initially feudatories of the Vijayanagara empire.

This statement is incorrect. The Kakatiya dynasty rose to prominence in the 12th-14th centuries and initially served as feudatories of the Western Chalukyas (Kalyani Chalukyas) with their power centre at Warangal.

Under rulers such as Prola II and later Ganapatideva, the Kakatiyas asserted independence and became a major regional power; prominent later rulers included Rudrama Devi. The Vijayanagara polity emerged after the early Kakatiya ascendancy (Vijayanagara was founded in the early 14th century), so the Kakatiyas were not originally feudatories of Vijayanagara.

Statement B is correct: the Kakatiya military and administrative framework incorporated the Nayankara (also written Nayamkara) practice, whereby nayakas were granted land or revenue rights in return for maintaining troops and local administration.

Statement C is correct: Motupalli was an important eastern coastal port associated with Kakatiya maritime trade and commercial contacts.

Statement D is correct: the Kakatiyas are noted for significant irrigation works, including a network or chain of tanks and lakes; the construction of reservoirs such as Pakhal Lake exemplifies their public irrigation works that supported agriculture around Warangal.

Therefore, among the given statements, only the first statement (Option A) is factually incorrect.

The correct answer is Option B - 3 only

Statement 1 is incorrect. Gangaikondacholapuram was founded by Rajendra I (honoured as Gangaikonda Chola) after his northern campaign and served as a new Chola capital under him.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The Brihadeeswara (Rajarajeswara) temple at Thanjavur was commissioned and built by Rajaraja I and was completed in 1010 AD.

Statement 3 is correct. The Uttiramerur inscriptions (dated to the 10th-11th centuries) describe details of village administration under the Cholas, including the kudavolai system of selecting local officials, eligibility and disqualification rules, and the functioning of local assemblies.

Hence, only Statement 3 is correct.

Uttarmerur inscription is a tenth-century inscription on a temple wall of the brahman village of Uttaramerur that gives the details of village administration or Sabha under Cholas.

Correct Option - B

The correct answer is Option B - 2 only

Statement 1 is incorrect because the Nayanars were Shaiva devotional saints who worshipped Shiva, not leaders devoted to Vishnu.

Statement 2 is correct: the Periyapuranam (also spelled Periya Puranam) is a Tamil poetic hagiography composed in the 12th century by the scholar-saint Sekkizhar, and it narrates the lives of the 63 Nayanars; it is included in the Shaiva canon as part of the Tirumurai.

For clarity, the devotional hymns of principal Nayanar saints (notably Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar) are preserved as the Tevaram, which forms the early books of the Tirumurai, while the Periyapuranam is primarily a hagiographical compilation of the saints' lives.

Thus, Statement 1 is false and Statement 2 is true; accordingly, Option B is the correct choice.

The correct answer is Option D - Narasimhavarman I

Narasimhavarman I (reign c. 630-668 CE) was the son of Mahendravarman I and is commonly known by the epithet Mamalla.

He defeated the Chalukya king Pulakeshin II and captured the Chalukya capital Vatapi (modern Badami); for this achievement he assumed the title Vatapikonda (meaning "conqueror of Vatapi").

He was a great patron of art and architecture, and the rock-cut cave temples and monolithic rathas at Mahabalipuram are credited to his patronage, reflecting Pallava cultural patronage during his reign.

The correct answer is Option D - Rajaraja

Rajaraja I reigned from 985-1014 CE and consolidated Chola power through successful military and naval campaigns.

During his reign he led campaigns in Sri Lanka that resulted in the capture of the northern part of the island; the Cholas overcame the Anuradhapura-based polity and established a Chola administrative province in the north with effective control centered around Polonnaruwa.

Rajaraja I also directed overseas naval expeditions that brought the Maldives under Chola influence towards the end of his reign.

He commissioned the construction of the Brihadeeswarar Temple, Thanjavur, completed in 1010 CE, which stands as a major monument of his rule and patronage.

The Sabha's executive committee was known as variyam, making option C the correct answer.

4. Knowledge of at least one of the Vedas. This is not an essential qualification for election as President of India. According to the Constitution of India, the qualifications for election as President of India are that the candidate must be a citizen of India, not less than 35 years of age, and qualified for election as a member of the Lok Sabha. There is no requirement that the candidate must have knowledge of any of the Vedas.

All the below mentioned Options led to the disqualifications for membership of thevariyam.

• Failure to submit the accounts during the membership of any of the committees.
• Membership of any of the committees during the past three years.
• Ex-communications on account of association with low people

Southern Indian trade guilds were formed by merchants in order to organize and expand their trading activities. Trade guilds became channels through which Indian culture was exported to other lands.

Valanjiyar, Nanadesis, Manigramam were the gigantic merchants guilds of the Chola country.

During Chola rule Paddy was the basis of exchange for common place articles in rural areas.

B is the correct option.Vellanvagai was land for non-Brahmans , peasant proprietors and others while as the Shalabhoga-was the land grants for the maintenance and management of schools. In Ancient India the king was the owner of all land.

Chola rulers carried out an elaborate survey of land to fix the Government’s share of the land revenue.

Around 25 inscriptions, spanning reigns of around four Pallava kings, have been found at Uthiramerur. The temple inscriptions of Uthiramerur are notable for their historical descriptions of the rural self-governance.

• It had 30 wards and each elected one person, provided he had certain qualifications.
• There was a regular procedure for conducting elections and the final result was announced by all the priests.
• Ballot was not known to them.

So, The incorrect Option is Option D.

Kaikkolar Term stands for the regular royal troops of the Cholas. Kaikkolar were Chieftains and Commander-in-chiefs. 

The correct answer is Option D - 1, 2 and 3

Pulakeshin II ruled the Badami Chalukya kingdom in the early 7th century, conventionally dated c. 610-642 CE.

His court poet Ravikirti composed the famous Aihole inscription, a panegyric that provides important contemporary information about his reign and achievements; this confirms his patronage of Ravikirti.

Pulakeshin II defeated the northern ruler Harshavardhana near the Narmada, an event celebrated in inscriptions and accepted by historians as a major check on Harsha's southern expansion.

In the Deccan he established Chalukya dominance by subjugating regional powers: he brought the Kadambas under control (capturing or asserting authority over Banavasi) and compelled the Western Gangas of the Mysore region to acknowledge Chalukya suzerainty.

Pulakeshin II also fought prolonged wars with the Pallavas; ultimately the Pallava counter-offensive under Narasimhavarman I checked Chalukya power and led to Pulakeshin's downfall, but this does not affect the correctness of statements 1, 2 and 3.

Thus, statements 1, 2 and 3 are all factually correct, making Option D the correct choice.

The Ghatika were the most important educational institutions in South india during ancient times and the most important Ghatika of the Pallavas was located in Kanchipuram.

Ghatika was a settlement of Brahmin Scholars.

The correct answer is Option D - Rajendra Chola I

Rajendra Chola I succeeded his father Rajaraja Chola I and ruled in the early 11th century, with his reign conventionally dated to 1014-1044 CE.

Early in his reign he led a major northern expedition that extended Chola influence into Kalinga and the regions up to the banks of the Ganges in Bengal; the campaign is commonly dated to the years around 1019-1022 CE.

To commemorate this achievement he assumed the title Gangaikonda Chola, literally meaning "the Chola who brought the Ganges."

As a further memorial of the victory he established a new capital near the mouth of the Kaveri called Gangaikondacholapuram, which served as a political and cultural centre under his rule.

To maintain a perpetual lamp burning in the nearest temple  was the most common type of fines inflicted by the law of courts under Cholas.

During the Chola period, Markanam and Kanya Kumari were prominent centres for salt manufacturing. Additionally, Ayturai is also noted in historical records for its salt production.

However, Tiruppasur was not known for salt manufacture, making it the correct answer.

The correct answer is Option C - Only two pairs

Pair 1 is incorrect. It is true that Chola epigraphy runs into more than 10,000 inscriptions and that the Uttaramerur inscription (from the Chola period, associated with Parantaka Chola) records the procedure of electing members to local assemblies; however, the specific grouping of titles in the pair as central court functionaries is wrong - names such as Udaiyan, Velan and Muvendavelan refer to local landed groups or regional/local elites rather than designated officers of the central Chola court.

Pair 2 is correct. The terms Kudimai, Muttaiyal and Vetti are used in epigraphic sources to denote forms of labour obligation or corvée (unpaid labour/services) demanded from villagers or dependents.

Pair 3 is correct. The term Gavundi (gavundar/gavundi) denotes a village-level official or headman who acted as an intermediary in local administration and revenue matters, as attested in Chola inscriptions.

Hence, after independent verification of each statement, two pairs are correctly matched.

Kambar or Kavichakravarthy Kamban (1180–1250 CE) (Therazhundur, Thanjavur district, India) was a medieval Tamil poet and the author of the Ramavataram. He composed Sodagoparandadi & Erelupadu as well.

The correct answer is Option B - Only two

Statement 1 is correct. Archaeological and epigraphic evidence shows Uttaramerur existed in the Pallava period and contains inscriptions and temple work attributable to the Pallava phase; the Pallava ruler Nandivarman II (c. 731-796 CE) is associated with early inscriptions and construction in the region.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Local self-governing institutions in the region pre-dated the Chola consolidation; the Chola rulers such as Parantaka I (c. 907-955 CE) recorded and refined procedures for village assemblies but did not originate the system at Uttaramerur for the first time.

Statement 3 is incorrect. The Uttaramerur inscription does provide detailed rules for selection and functioning of local bodies, including a ballot-like procedure (kudavolai), the existence of 30 ward-representatives and explicit eligibility and disqualification conditions; however, participation and membership were restricted by property, age, conduct and caste-based qualifications (membership was largely drawn from Brahmins and propertied villagers), so it does not show universal participation by all communities.

Two statements are therefore incorrect; this corresponds to Only two.

Growth of feudalism in Chola Dynasty tendered to restrict the autonomy of the Chola villages.

Working men had a say in the village assembly and they were employed for reclaiming waste land, clearing of forests and building of temples.

This statement regarding cultivators in the Chola period is the most revealing.

During the time of Rajaraja the share in the produce of the land was One- Third of total Produce.