Q10. Ashoka’s attitude towards warfare changed dramatically after which battle?
[SSC Selection Post, 2019]
A. Kalinga
B. Khanwa
C. Buxar
D. Tarain
Answer: A. Kalinga
Explanation: The severe casualties of the Kalinga conquest generated Ashoka’s remorse, explicitly recorded in his inscriptions, and encouraged his pursuit of moral conquest.
Q9. What was the capital of the Mauryan Empire?
[RRB Group D, 2018]
A. Magadha
B. Pataliputra
C. Nalanda
D. Takshashila
Answer: B. Pataliputra
Explanation: Strategically located in the Gangetic plain, Pataliputra became the administrative heart of the Mauryan Empire and one of ancient India’s largest urban centres.
Q8. Ashoka was the son of which Mauryan ruler?
[RRB Group D, 2018]
A. Chandragupta Maurya
B. Bindusara
C. Brihadratha
D. Dasharatha
Answer: B. Bindusara
Explanation: Bindusara succeeded Chandragupta and was followed by his son Ashoka, establishing the familiar three-generation sequence of the principal early Mauryan emperors.
Q7. Which Greek ambassador visited India during the reign of Chandragupta Maurya?
[WBCS Prelims, 2018]
A. Megasthenes
B. Pliny
C. Ptolemy
D. Herodotus
Answer: A. Megasthenes
Explanation: Megasthenes resided at or visited Chandragupta’s court and wrote Indica, whose surviving fragments provide valuable descriptions of Mauryan India.
Q6. The sevenfold division of Mauryan society is particularly mentioned in:
[BPSC 63rd CCE, 2018]
A. Arthashastra
B. Ashokan edicts
C. Puranas
D. Indica of Megasthenes
Answer: D. Indica of Megasthenes
Explanation: Megasthenes’ account classifies society into seven occupational groups, a description distinct from the fourfold varna model found in many Indian textual traditions.
Q5. Who is traditionally regarded as the author of the Arthashastra?
[Mizoram PSC CCE, 2018]
A. Kautilya
B. Kalidasa
C. Banabhatta
D. Vishakhadatta
Answer: A. Kautilya
Explanation: Kautilya—also identified with Chanakya and Vishnugupta—is traditionally credited with the Arthashastra, a major treatise on government, economics, diplomacy and political strategy.
Q4. Who was the last ruler of the Mauryan dynasty?
[SSC Stenographer, 2017]
A. Dasharatha
B. Samprati
C. Brihadratha
D. Kunala
Answer: C. Brihadratha
Explanation: Brihadratha’s death at the hands of Pushyamitra Shunga ended roughly a century and a half of Mauryan dynastic rule over Magadha.
Q3. Pataliputra, the Mauryan capital, is located in present-day:
[SSC CHSL, 2017]
A. Bihar
B. Uttar Pradesh
C. Madhya Pradesh
D. Odisha
Answer: A. Bihar
Explanation: Ancient Pataliputra corresponds to modern Patna in Bihar and occupied a strategic position along important riverine and overland routes of the Gangetic plain.
Q2. Bindusara was the son and successor of:
[SSC CHSL, 2017]
A. Ashoka
B. Chandragupta Maurya
C. Bimbisara
D. Brihadratha
Answer: B. Chandragupta Maurya
Explanation: Bindusara inherited the Mauryan Empire from its founder Chandragupta and maintained its territorial strength before the accession of his son Ashoka.
Q1. Chanakya, the political adviser associated with Chandragupta Maurya, was also known as:
[SSC CHSL, 2017]
A. Kautilya
B. Kalhana
C. Banabhatta
D. Panini
Answer: A. Kautilya
Explanation: Chanakya is traditionally identified with Kautilya and Vishnugupta. He is credited with assisting Chandragupta’s rise and with authorship of the Arthashastra.
