Class 12 History Chapter 2 – MCQs

Class 12 History Chapter 2 – MCQs

1. Who deciphered the Brahmi script in 1838?
   a) Max Muller
   b) James Prinsep ✅
   c) Cunningham
   d) Kautilya

2. What does the term 'Janapada' mean?
   a) Capital
   b) Land of a tribe ✅
   c) Kingdom
   d) Palace

3. Which king is referred to as 'Piyadassi' in inscriptions?
   a) Harshavardhana
   b) Samudragupta
   c) Asoka ✅
   d) Chandragupta Maurya

4. What is 'Epigraphy'?
   a) Study of coins
   b) Study of bones
   c) Study of inscriptions ✅
   d) Study of temples

5. Which of the following Mahajanapadas was not among the 16?
   a) Kuru
   b) Vaishali
   c) Magadha
   d) Delhi ✅

6. Who was the Greek ambassador at the Mauryan court?
   a) Fa-Hien
   b) Xuan Zang
   c) Megasthenes ✅
   d) Pliny

7. Which king shifted the capital from Rajagaha to Pataliputra?
   a) Bimbisara
   b) Ashoka
   c) Chandragupta Maurya ✅
   d) Mahapadma Nanda

8. What form of government did the 'gana-sanghas' have?
   a) Monarchy
   b) Republic
   c) Oligarchy ✅
   d) Democracy

9. What was Asoka’s Dhamma mainly about?
   a) Worship of gods
   b) Military expansion
   c) Moral values and tolerance ✅
   d) Economic reforms

10. Which title did Kushana rulers use to claim divine status?
    a) Samrat
    b) Devaputra ✅
    c) Chakravarti
    d) Maharajadhiraja

11. Which ruler issued the largest number of gold coins in ancient India?
    a) Mauryas
    b) Guptas ✅
    c) Satavahanas
    d) Kushanas

12. What does the term 'Gahapati' refer to?
    a) Slave
    b) Farmer
    c) Head of a household ✅
    d) King

13. Who composed the Prayaga Prashasti?
    a) Banabhatta
    b) Harishena ✅
    c) Kalidasa
    d) Megasthenes

14. What was the capital of Magadha under Bimbisara?
    a) Ujjayini
    b) Rajagaha ✅
    c) Vaishali
    d) Mathura

15. Which dynasty's inscriptions were also in Aramaic and Greek?
    a) Mauryas
    b) Kushanas ✅
    c) Guptas
    d) Cholas

16. What was Kodumanal in Tamil Nadu famous for?
    a) Temple architecture
    b) Bead-making industry ✅
    c) Iron smelting
    d) Salt production

17. What are Shrenis?
    a) Land grants
    b) Artisan families
    c) Guilds of merchants/craftsmen ✅
    d) Vedic schools

18. Which legal text discusses boundaries and land disputes?
    a) Arthashastra
    b) Manusmriti ✅
    c) Mahabharata
    d) Dharmashastra

19. What is the meaning of ‘agrahara’?
    a) Land tax
    b) Temple donation
    c) Land grant to Brahmanas ✅
    d) Treasury

20. Which Prakrit text contains stories of common people and kingship?
    a) Ramayana
    b) Mahabharata
    c) Jataka ✅
    d) Silappadikaram