The Gupta Era: An Age of Tireless Creativity — Quiz

Q1. Why did the rise of the Gupta dynasty in the 3rd century CE become possible in north India?

• A. The Mauryas had just defeated the Hūṇas in a great battle.
• B. Faxian invited the Guptas from China to rule India.
• C. The Pallavas had voluntarily handed over their throne to the Guptas.
• D. The earlier Kuṣhāṇa Empire had started to weaken, leaving space for new powers.

Q2. According to the chapter, the Guptas are widely believed to have first emerged as regional rulers in a region near present-day

• A. Uttar Pradesh
• B. Tamil Nadu
• C. Gujarat
• D. Assam

Q3. The inscription on the Iron Pillar of Delhi speaks of a king named 'Chandra'. Historians identify this king with

• A. Chandragupta Maurya of the Maurya dynasty
• B. Chandragupta I of the Gupta dynasty
• C. Chandragupta II (Vikramāditya) of the Gupta dynasty
• D. Samudragupta of the Gupta dynasty

Q4. Why does the mount (vāhana) Garuḍa appear often on Gupta inscriptions and coins?

• A. Because Garuḍa was the royal seal of the Maurya dynasty.
• B. Because Faxian gifted a Garuḍa flag to the Guptas.
• C. Because Garuḍa was the symbol of the Hūṇa invaders.
• D. Because Gupta rulers like Chandragupta II were devotees of Viṣhṇu, whose mount is Garuḍa.

Q5. Priya looks at Fig. 7.6 — a Gupta coin showing a seated king playing the vīṇā. This coin BEST suggests that Samudragupta was

• A. Only a warrior, and never interested in arts
• B. A foreign king visiting India
• C. A Buddhist monk who had renounced the throne
• D. A patron and practitioner of music and the arts, not just a conqueror

Q6. After reading Faxian's account, the chapter reminds students that historians should

• A. Trust a single foreign traveller's account as the final truth
• B. Use only inscriptions and ignore literary sources
• C. Reject all foreign travellers' accounts as unreliable
• D. Assess multiple sources, perspectives and interpretations before drawing conclusions

Q7. Why does the chapter call Faxian's travelogue an 'incomplete' picture of Gupta society, even though it praises prosperity?

• A. Because Faxian could not read any Indian language
• B. Because the entire travelogue was lost in a shipwreck
• C. Because Faxian travelled only in south India
• D. Because he also described the harsh treatment of the chaṇḍālas, who were treated as outcastes — showing inequalities his praise sections do not capture

Q8. The Viṣhṇu Purāṇa names Anugaṅga, Prayāga, Sāketa and Magadha as core regions of Gupta rule. Which of the following BEST describes this region?

• A. The Deccan plateau
• B. The Tamil coast
• C. The middle Ganga river basin (Gangetic plains)
• D. The Brahmaputra valley

Q9. According to the tour guide in the chapter, where was the Iron Pillar of Delhi most likely erected first, before being moved to Delhi a few centuries later?

• A. In front of the Udayagiri caves in Madhya Pradesh
• B. Inside Pāṭaliputra fort in Bihar
• C. On Socotra Island in the Arabian Sea
• D. Near the Ajanta caves in Maharashtra

Q10. How did the Gupta administration ensure that local areas were governed without controlling everything from the centre?

• A. They abolished provincial administration entirely.
• B. They sent Chinese officials like Faxian to every district.
• C. They left every region completely independent with no tax collection.
• D. They divided the empire into provinces and granted land to local rulers, priests and chieftains, recording it on copper plates.

Q11. Aarti reads that Prabhāvatī Gupta, daughter of Chandragupta II, was married to a Vākāṭaka prince. Which Gupta strategy does this BEST illustrate?

• A. Military conquest by force
• B. Religious conversion of neighbours
• C. Matrimonial alliance to strengthen ties with a neighbouring kingdom
• D. Tax collection through copper plates

Q12. After her husband's early death, Prabhāvatī Gupta governed the Vākāṭaka kingdom on behalf of her young sons. What is such a temporary ruler called in the chapter?

• A. Chakravartin
• B. Outcaste
• C. Mahārājādhirāja
• D. Regent ruler

Q13. Āryabhaṭa proposed that the alternation of day and night happens because

• A. Eclipses block sunlight for half the day.
• B. The Sun moves around the stationary Earth.
• C. The Earth spins on its own axis.
• D. The Moon covers the Sun every twelve hours.

Q14. Which statement BEST explains the role of the Gupta period in Āyurveda?

• A. Āyurveda was invented for the first time during the Gupta period.
• B. Āyurveda existed earlier, but was forgotten during the Gupta period.
• C. Āyurveda was first written in China and brought to India by Faxian.
• D. Āyurveda is much older, but texts like Charaka Saṃhitā and Suśhruta Saṃhitā were compiled and given their final shape during the Gupta period.

Q15. If Priya is asked why some historians call the Gupta period the 'classical age' of India, which conclusion BEST follows from the chapter?

• A. Because the Guptas built the largest army in world history
• B. Because all earlier knowledge was destroyed and rewritten from scratch
• C. Because foreign travellers ruled India during this period
• D. Because a long period of peace and stability led to notable achievements in art, literature, science and metallurgy