The Rise of the Marathas — Quiz

Q1. During the 13th century, most of Maharashtra was ruled by which dynasty, with which city as its capital?

• A. The Khilji dynasty, with Delhi as capital
• B. The Vijayanagara dynasty, with Hampi as capital
• C. The Bahmani dynasty, with Gulbarga as capital
• D. The Yadava dynasty, with Devagiri (present-day Daulatabad) as capital

Q2. Why is the translation of texts like the Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita into Marathi by saints like Dnyaneshwar and Tukaram considered important for the rise of Maratha power?

• A. It allowed only Brahmins to study these texts
• B. It forced the Yadava dynasty to abandon Sanskrit
• C. It created a new religion separate from Hinduism
• D. It made the philosophical knowledge accessible to common people, building a strong cultural foundation

Q3. Priya reads that Shivaji grew up in Shahji's jagir at Pune. Which definition of 'jagir' BEST explains this term?

• A. A military rank given to nobles in the Mughal army
• B. A council of village elders that settled local disputes
• C. A type of fort built to defend a coastal region
• D. A piece of land given by a king to someone as a reward for service, from which the holder could collect taxes

Q4. Why did Chhatrapati Shivaji adopt guerrilla warfare instead of facing the Bijapur and Mughal armies in open battle?

• A. He had a larger army than his enemies and wanted a quick decisive battle
• B. His soldiers were trained only in naval warfare, not in land combat
• C. Guerrilla warfare was banned by his enemies, giving him a moral advantage
• D. Small groups using speed, surprise and knowledge of the terrain could defeat much bigger armies

Q5. The chapter compares Chhatrapati Shivaji's night raid on Shaista Khan's camp, in which the Khan lost a few fingers, to a modern

• A. Siege warfare
• B. Aerial bombardment
• C. Surgical strike
• D. Naval blockade

Q6. Aurangzeb sent Jai Singh against Chhatrapati Shivaji after which event, and what was the outcome of their conflict?

• A. After the killing of Afzal Khan; Shivaji defeated Jai Singh at Pratapgad
• B. After the coronation at Raigad; Shivaji handed over the entire Pune region
• C. After the founding of the Maratha navy; Shivaji surrendered all his coastal forts
• D. After the sacking of Surat; Shivaji had to concede defeat at Purandar Fort and enter into a treaty

Q7. After his coronation at Raigad in 1674, Chhatrapati Shivaji started his own era. This new era was called

• A. Shaka era
• B. Vikrama Samvat
• C. Rajyabhisheka shaka
• D. Hijri era

Q8. Why did Chhatrapati Shivaji's dakshina-digvijaya (conquest of the South) in 1677 prove strategically important for the Marathas?

• A. It gave them direct access to European naval technology
• B. It removed all Mughal forces from the Deccan plateau
• C. It gave the Marathas great strategic depth against the later Mughal invasion
• D. It united the Marathas with the Bijapur Sultanate as one kingdom

Q9. After Sambhaji was captured and executed by Aurangzeb, the Mughal-Maratha conflict spread to south India because

• A. Aurangzeb invited the Marathas to settle in Tamil Nadu peacefully
• B. The Marathas surrendered Raigad and withdrew permanently from the Deccan
• C. Tarabai began an immediate invasion of Karnataka
• D. Rajaram became the Chhatrapati and fled to Gingee in present-day Tamil Nadu

Q10. Under whose leadership did the Marathas recapture Delhi in 1771, after which it remained under their control for three decades?

• A. Peshwa Madhavrao I
• B. Nana Phadnavis
• C. Mahadji Shinde (Mahadji Scindia)
• D. Bajirao I

Q11. Ravi reads that after Chhatrapati Shivaji, the centralised Maratha state slowly took a more decentralised form. Which conclusion BEST follows from this structural change?

• A. The Chhatrapati became the sole decision-maker for the whole empire
• B. Maratha territory shrank back to only the Pune region
• C. All ministers of the ashta pradhana mandala were abolished
• D. Regional chiefs and the Peshwa gained more power, sometimes acting with indiscipline against Shivaji's values

Q12. How did Chhatrapati Shivaji's civilian administration differ from the practice generally followed under the Sultans and the Mughals?

• A. He abolished hereditary posts and land assignments, paid salaries from the state treasury, and transferred officials periodically
• B. He gave even larger land assignments than the Sultans, making officials hereditary nobles
• C. He kept the same hereditary system but added an extra layer of Persian officials
• D. He abolished all civilian posts and ruled directly through army commanders alone

Q13. In the Maratha cavalry, what distinguished a bargir from a shiledar?

• A. Bargirs fought only at sea, shiledars only on land
• B. Bargirs used only swords, shiledars used only rockets
• C. Bargirs belonged to the infantry, shiledars to the navy
• D. Bargirs' horses and equipment were paid for by the state, while shiledars' horses and equipment were paid for by the soldiers themselves

Q14. If Priya reads that the Marathas, under Kanhoji Angre, started demanding cartaz from European ships, what does this BEST show about Maratha naval policy?

• A. The Marathas challenged the European practice of selling naval trade passes and asserted their own naval authority
• B. The Marathas accepted European naval supremacy and paid passes themselves
• C. The Marathas surrendered the Konkan coast to the Portuguese in return for cartaz
• D. The Marathas gave up rocketry and adopted only European weapons

Q15. Why is Chhatrapati Shivaji's seal, with its Sanskrit inscription, considered a notable departure from the prevalent practice of his time?

• A. Seals at the time were generally in Persian, so a Sanskrit seal asserted the Swarajya vision and cultural identity
• B. Seals at the time were illegal, and his was the first allowed seal
• C. Sanskrit was a new language invented for the Marathas
• D. His seal was the first to use the Modi script for state correspondence