Chapter 8. Ashoka The Emperor Who Gave Up War: Very Short Q&A
Chapter 8. Ashoka The Emperor Who Gave Up War: Very Short Q&A
Chapter 8. Ashoka The Emperor Who Gave Up War: Very Short Q&A
Ans: Ashoka
Ans: Pali
Ans: He followed this policy to uplift the moral of his subjects though he did not declare
Buddhism as the religion of the state.
Q5: Dhamma is the Prakrit word for the Sanskrit term Dharma. True/False
Ans: True
Ans: Buddha
Ans: After the Battle of Kalinga, he slowly became the follower of the Buddhist religion and
adopted the path of non violence.
Q8: From where does the term 'Dhamma' was taken from?
Ans: The rock edicts were written in Brahmi script, in Prakrit which were the language of
the common people.
Ans: The wall was constructed to protect the Chinese culture from the invaders.
Q12: Great Wall of China had a system that at every distance of about 100-200m there
must be a ___________.
Ans: A watch tower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from
a regular tower, it looks like a free standing structure
Ans: The Maurya's were a dynasty with three important rulers - Chandragupta Maurya, his
son Bindusara, and his son Ashoka.
Ans: Chanakya
Q19: Two years after the Kalinga war, Ashoka inscribed his message on the sarnath pillar.
True/False
Ans: True
Q20: Name a prosperous kingdom lying between the rivers Godavari and Mahanadi.
Ans: Kalinga
Ans: Empires
Q24: Name the book from which the administration of the Mauryan Empire was known?
Ans: Arthashastra
Ans: Arthashastra is a book in which the ideas of Chanakaya, regarding the administration
of this period have been written.
Q26: The person who descipherd the Brahmi script was an employee of the
_____________________.
Ans: Patna
Q28: Name the ruler who tried to convey his message to the people through inscriptions.
Ans: Ashoka
Ans: Kalinga
Q30: Why did Ashoka decided to give up wars?
Ans: He was horrified by the violence and bloodshed caused due to wars.
Ans: Taxila
Q32: Administration of the important Mauryan Provinces was placed under the control of
_____________.
Q33: List one of the major problems that troubled Ashoka in later years of his rule?
Q34: Ashoka appointed special officials who were known as the ______________.
Q35: Dhamma Mahamatta went from place to place in order to spread the concept of
Dhamma. True/False
Ans: True
Q36: Name the script with no descendants and which became extinct by 400 CE.
Ans: Kharoshti
Q37: Name one of the capitals of the Mauryan Dynasty, including Ujjain and Patliputra.
Ans: Taxila
Q39: There are around 41 cities where the inscriptions and edicts were found. True/False
Ans: False
Q40: During the Mauryan period, the royal princes were appointed
as_________________.
Ans: Governors
Ans: Greece
Q42: Name the region that was popular for the production of blanket during Maurya
period.
Ans: North-west
Ans: Pataliputra
Q44: The lions that we see on our currency notes and coins are taken from the Ashoka
pillar located at _____________.
Ans: Sarnath
Q45: The empire inherited by Ashoka was founded by his grandfather. True/False
Ans: True
Q46: Name An enemy of Dhana Nanda, who helped Chandragupta to seize the throne of
Magadha.
Ans: Kautilya
Q47: Which area was under the direct control of the emperor?
Ans: The area around Pataliputra was under the direct control of the emperor.
Q48: Name some of the countries where Ashoka sent his officials to spread Dhamma.
Ans: Ashoka sent his officials to spread dhamma to Syria, Egypt, Greece, and Sri Lanka.
Ans: The Battle of Kalinga was the turning point in Ashoka's life.
Q50: What were the crops that the Indus people cultivated ?
Ans: Pulses, wheat, barley, peas, rice, sesame, linseed and mustard .
Short Q&A:
Ans: Chandragupta Maurya was the founder of the Mauryan empire. He defeated
Dhananda the last Nanda ruler. His court was adorned by wise men like Kautilya and
ambassadors like Megasthenes. Many of Chanakya's ideas were written down in a book
called theArthashastra. Megasthenes was sent to the court of Chandragupta by the Greek
ruler of West Asia named Seleucus Nicator. He has given a lot of information regarding the
King and the capital city of Pataliputra.
Ans: Tribute was collected not on regular basis and people gave it more or less willingly,
taxes were collected on regular basis and it was compulsory for the people to pay them.
1. He was the first ruler who tried to spread his message to the people through
inscriptions.
2. He is the only king in the history of the world who gave up conquest after winning a
war.
3. He followed a religious policy of his own and formulated the famous policy of
Dhamma.
Ans: Taxes were collected from farmers, herders, crafts persons and traders, who lived in
villages and towns in the area. They were collected by officials appointed by the emperor.
Ans: There were several cities in the empire such as the capital city Pataliputra, Taxila, and
Ujjain.
Q7: What was the relation of the people who lived in the forest areas with the empire?
Ans: People who lived in the forest areas were more or less independent, but they were
expected to provide elephants, timber, honey and way to Mauryan officials.
Ans: According to Megasthenes, Pataliputra was a beautiful city surrounded by a huge wall.
It had 570 towers and 64 gates. The houses had two or three storeys and were made of
wood and mud brick. The palace of the king was made of wood with stone carvings. It was
surrounded with gardens and enclosures for keeping birds.
Ans: Ashoka conveyed his message through inscriptions and his officials.
Ans: According to the account of Megasthenes, the emperor appeared in public with grand
royal processions. He was carried in a golden palanquin. Elephants guarding were
decorated with gold and silver. The king was surrounded by armed women, as he was
afraid someone might kill him. He never slept in the same bedroom for two nights. He had
special servants who would taste his food before the king ate it.
Q11: The lion capital is made of which material? What is the common feature between our
national flag and the Lion capital?
Ans: The Lion capital is carved in stone. The Wheel "Ashoka Chakra" is found in both our
National Flag and the Lion capital.
Q12: Where this lion capital was originally placed and how many lions are there in this Lion
capital?
Ans: It was originally placed atop the Ashokan pillar at Sarnath, now in the state of Uttar
Pradesh. There are four lions in this Lion capital.
Ans: Ashoka's dhamma was not related to the worship of any god or performance of
sacrifice. He considered that it was his responsibility, just like a father has towards his
children, to instruct the people of the empire so as to reduce conflicts among them. He was
inspired by the teachings of the Buddha.
Ans: Ashoka fought a war to conquer Kalinga. It was his last war. He decided to give up
fighting wars after the victory over Kalinga, because he was horrified by the violence and
bloodshed in that. He is the only king in the history of the world who gave up conquest
after winning a war.
Ans: The Mauryan empire was one of the largest empires to rule the Indian subcontinent.
In the Mauryan empire, there were several cities such as the capital Pataliputra, Taxila and
Ujjain. Taxila was a gateway to the northwest, including Central Asia, while Ujjain lay on
the route from north to south India. Merchants, officials and crafts persons probably lived
in these cities.
Ans: Ashoka was the most famous Mauryan ruler. He was the first ruler who tried to take
his message to the people through inscriptions. Most of his inscriptions were in Prakrit and
were written in Brahmi script.
Ans: The most famous war fought by Ashoka was the War of Kalinga. The blood and
violence compelled him to abandon the fights on a large scale. The War of Kalinga diverted
him to the teachings of Buddha. He is the only king in the history who gave up conquest
after winning the war.
Ans: Tributes were gifts that were given to the rulers by people with free will, taxes on the
other hand were levied by the state administration and had to be paid. The taxes were the
main source of revenue for the state.
Q19: How do we know that Ashoka did not force his people to become Buddhist?
Ans: Ashoka's edicts propagate Dhamma vis-vis Buddhism. Dhamma lays down principals
of disciplined living and how to be a good human being.
Ans: Dhamma Mahamattas, as the term implies spread the word of Dhamma amongst the
people. They saw the carving of the edicts and even read them out to people who were
unable to read it.
Q22: The empire was a vast territory. How did the Emperor run the empire?
Ans: Administration was decentralized. Provinces had governors and only the area in the
immediate proximity of the capital was under the direct supervision of the emperor. Spies
too were deployed to monitor the functioning of officials.
Q23: Ashoka propogated the principle of non-violence yet maintained a large standing
army? Why?
Ans: The army was a deterrent for anyone who thought of attacking the far flung frontiers
of Ashoka's empire.
Q24: Why are the Sarnath Lions and the Ashoka Chakra important for us?
Ans: The Sarnath lions are our National emblem and the Ashoka chakra occupies the palce
of pride on our National Flag.
Long Q&A:
Ans: The Mauryan empire was so large that different parts were ruled differently. The
empire was divided into provinces with the imperial capital at Pataliputra. The area around
Pataliputra was under the direct control of the emperor. Other areas or provinces were
ruled from the provincial capitals such as Taxila and Ujjain.
For efficient administrative control over provinces following steps were taken -