VERY IMPORTANT MCQ
- What is the meaning of ‘kinship’?
a) Political relations
b) Trade relations
c) Blood relations and marriage ties
d) Property relations
➤ Answer: c) Blood relations and marriage ties - According to Dharmashastras, which type of family was ideal?
a) Nuclear family
b) Joint family
c) Monastic family
d) Single-parent family
➤ Answer: b) Joint family - Gotra was associated with which community?
a) Shudras
b) Vaishyas
c) Kshatriyas
d) Brahmanas
➤ Answer: d) Brahmanas - What did Manusmriti prescribe about the marriage of same gotra?
a) Encouraged
b) Neutral
c) Prohibited
d) Compulsory
➤ Answer: c) Prohibited - The term ‘gotra’ is associated with which of the following?
a) Land measurement
b) Property division
c) Lineage
d) Slavery
➤ Answer: c) Lineage - According to Dharmashastras, a woman could remarry only if:
a) Her husband consented
b) She was widowed
c) She was childless
d) It was not allowed
➤ Answer: d) It was not allowed - Polygyny means:
a) One man, one woman
b) One woman, multiple men
c) One man, multiple wives
d) No marriage
➤ Answer: c) One man, multiple wives - Which of the following was not a duty of a householder according to Dharmashastras?
a) Performing sacrifices
b) Having children
c) Renouncing the world
d) Upholding family tradition
➤ Answer: c) Renouncing the world - The term ‘Kanyadana’ refers to:
a) Donation to temples
b) Dowry
c) Gift of a daughter
d) Land gift
➤ Answer: c) Gift of a daughter - What did Brahmanical texts suggest about patriliny?
a) It was unimportant
b) It should be avoided
c) It was the norm
d) Matriliny was dominant
➤ Answer: c) It was the norm
- The term ‘varna’ refers to:
a) Village head
b) Occupation
c) Social order
d) Gender roles
➤ Answer: c) Social order - Which varna was considered the highest?
a) Kshatriyas
b) Vaishyas
c) Brahmanas
d) Shudras
➤ Answer: c) Brahmanas - Who were called ‘Dvija’ or twice-born?
a) Women and children
b) Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Brahmanas
c) Shudras
d) Slaves
➤ Answer: b) Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Brahmanas - Shudras were expected to serve the:
a) Women
b) Priests
c) Twice-born varnas
d) Kings only
➤ Answer: c) Twice-born varnas - Which group was outside the varna system?
a) Vaishyas
b) Brahmanas
c) Untouchables/Outcastes
d) Kshatriyas
➤ Answer: c) Untouchables/Outcastes - ‘Jati’ system is more closely linked to:
a) Agriculture
b) Varna
c) Kinship
d) Local occupations
➤ Answer: d) Local occupations - Which of these was not a varna in the Brahmanical texts?
a) Brahmana
b) Shudra
c) Vaishya
d) Adivasi
➤ Answer: d) Adivasi - Who composed the Dharmasutras?
a) Kings
b) Warriors
c) Brahmanas
d) Merchants
➤ Answer: c) Brahmanas - What was the primary duty of a Kshatriya?
a) To perform rituals
b) To teach Vedas
c) To protect and govern
d) To trade
➤ Answer: c) To protect and govern - Who was considered ritually impure in the varna system?
a) Brahmanas
b) Vaishyas
c) Shudras
d) Kshatriyas
➤ Answer: c) Shudras
- Which Buddhist text challenges the idea of caste?
a) Vinaya Pitaka
b) Dhammapada
c) Sutta Pitaka
d) Jataka tales
➤ Answer: a) Vinaya Pitaka - Who questioned the idea of ‘untouchability’?
a) Manusmriti
b) Mahavira
c) Buddha
d) Ashoka
➤ Answer: c) Buddha - What term refers to those considered ‘untouchables’?
a) Chandala
b) Shudra
c) Vaishya
d) Kshatriya
➤ Answer: a) Chandala - What do the Chandalas represent in social structure?
a) Priestly class
b) Warrior class
c) Outside the caste system
d) Teachers
➤ Answer: c) Outside the caste system - Who among the following allowed women into Sangha?
a) Mahavira
b) Ashoka
c) Buddha
d) Manu
➤ Answer: c) Buddha - Slaves were often:
a) Appointed as kings
b) Not allowed in society
c) Acquired during wars
d) Born in temples
➤ Answer: c) Acquired during wars - What was not a source of slavery in ancient India?
a) War capture
b) Debt
c) Voluntary labor
d) Election
➤ Answer: d) Election - The Buddhist text that mentions Mahapajapati Gotami is:
a) Dhammapada
b) Vinaya Pitaka
c) Sutta Nipata
d) Anguttara Nikaya
➤ Answer: b) Vinaya Pitaka - What was the attitude of Buddhist Sangha towards caste?
a) Caste was strictly followed
b) Women and Shudras were denied
c) Everyone was welcome
d) Only Vaishyas were accepted
➤ Answer: c) Everyone was welcome - Jatakas are:
a) Buddhist law books
b) Jain stories
c) Stories of Buddha’s previous births
d) Hindu rituals
➤ Answer: c) Stories of Buddha’s previous births
- The Mahabharata was originally known as:
a) Bharat Katha
b) Jaya
c) Ramayana
d) Dharma
➤ Answer: b) Jaya - Who was the author of Mahabharata according to tradition?
a) Valmiki
b) Panini
c) Vyasa
d) Vishnu
➤ Answer: c) Vyasa - Which language was the Mahabharata composed in?
a) Pali
b) Sanskrit
c) Prakrit
d) Tamil
➤ Answer: b) Sanskrit - How many verses are there in the present Mahabharata?
a) 10,000
b) 50,000
c) 1,00,000
d) 1,50,000
➤ Answer: c) 1,00,000 - The critical edition of Mahabharata was prepared at:
a) Kolkata
b) Pune
c) Varanasi
d) Chennai
➤ Answer: b) Pune - The central theme of the Mahabharata is:
a) Love
b) War between cousins
c) Women empowerment
d) Religious preaching
➤ Answer: b) War between cousins - Which epic contains dialogues on dharma and dilemmas?
a) Rigveda
b) Ramayana
c) Mahabharata
d) Manusmriti
➤ Answer: c) Mahabharata - Draupadi’s insult in the Kaurava court led to:
a) Exile of Pandavas
b) Ashwamedha Yagna
c) Great War of Kurukshetra
d) Varnashrama collapse
➤ Answer: c) Great War of Kurukshetra - Who wrote the critical edition of Mahabharata in 20th century?
a) D.D. Kosambi
b) R.S. Sharma
c) V.S. Sukthankar
d) Romila Thapar
➤ Answer: c) V.S. Sukthankar - Which of the following is not a character in Mahabharata?
a) Karna
b) Bhishma
c) Ravana
d) Arjuna
➤ Answer: c) Ravana
- Which of the following is a literary source for the study of kinship?
a) Arthashastra
b) Mahabharata
c) Harshacharita
d) Meghaduta
➤ Answer: b) Mahabharata - The Mahabharata reflects:
a) Political alliances
b) Caste mobility
c) Social values and dilemmas
d) None of these
➤ Answer: c) Social values and dilemmas - The composition of Mahabharata took place over:
a) 10 years
b) 500 years
c) 1000 years
d) 50 years
➤ Answer: c) 1000 years - Oral traditions helped in preserving:
a) Coins
b) Weapons
c) Epics like Mahabharata
d) Statues
➤ Answer: c) Epics like Mahabharata - Historians use Mahabharata to study:
a) Only warfare
b) Gender and caste relations
c) Economic history only
d) Agriculture
➤ Answer: b) Gender and caste relations - Which historian worked on kinship in early India?
a) Irfan Habib
b) Romila Thapar
c) Uma Chakravarti
d) R.S. Sharma
➤ Answer: c) Uma Chakravarti - Mahabharata includes:
a) Only religious content
b) Political and social content
c) Geography only
d) Mathematical theories
➤ Answer: b) Political and social content - ‘Kanyadana’ and ‘gotra’ are mentioned in which text?
a) Arthashastra
b) Ramayana
c) Dharmashastra
d) Sangam literature
➤ Answer: c) Dharmashastra - The Mahabharata is also known as a:
a) Legal code
b) Secular document
c) Itihasa (history)
d) Buddhist text
➤ Answer: c) Itihasa (history) - Which of these is not a theme in Mahabharata?
a) Gender conflict
b) Dharma
c) Class struggle
d) Animal worship
➤ Answer: d) Animal worship
These questions cover whole lesson and are Very useful for both teachers as well as
students . Thanks sir..