Indian History Quiz: Ancient Indian Dynasties and Their Founders

The correct answer is A, Dantidurga. Dantidurga founded the Rashtrakuta dynasty in the middle of the eighth century, threw off the overlordship of the Chalukyas of Badami by defeating Kirtivarman II, and took imperial titles; his successors ruled from Manyakheta, the modern Malkhed. Option B is wrong because Harihara I founded the Vijayanagara empire with his brother Bukka in 1336, six centuries later and in a different part of the Deccan. Option C is wrong because Uttama was a Chola ruler who came between Parantaka II and Rajaraja I, and belonged to the Tamil country, not Karnataka. Option D is wrong because Bindusara was the second Mauryan emperor, the son of Chandragupta Maurya and the father of Ashoka, and has nothing to do with the Rashtrakutas. Remember the chain: the Chalukyas of Badami were overthrown by the Rashtrakutas, who were later displaced by the Chalukyas of Kalyani. Krishna I of the Rashtrakutas is remembered for the Kailasa temple at Ellora, and Amoghavarsha I for the Kannada work Kavirajamarga.

The correct answer is D, Thanjavur. Vijayalaya, who founded the line of the imperial Cholas in the middle of the ninth century, captured the Kaveri delta from the Muttaraiyar chiefs and built Thanjavur, which became the Chola capital and later the site of Rajaraja I's Brihadeeswara temple. Option A is wrong because Tiruchirappalli, with its rock fort, is associated with the Pallavas and later the Nayakas of Madurai rather than with Vijayalaya. Option B is wrong because Tiruppur is a modern textile town of western Tamil Nadu with no place in Chola history. Option C is wrong because Madurai was the capital of the Pandyas, the rivals the Cholas fought repeatedly in the far south. Remember the Chola capitals in order: Thanjavur under Vijayalaya and Rajaraja I, and Gangaikonda Cholapuram built by Rajendra I.

The correct answer is D, Pallava. Mahendravarman I ruled the Pallava kingdom from Kanchipuram in the early seventh century, fought Pulakeshin II of Badami, began the rock-cut mandapas of the Tamil country and bore the titles Vichitrachitta and Mattavilasa, the second being the name of the Sanskrit farce attributed to him. Option A is wrong because the Pandyas ruled from Madurai and are remembered for rulers such as Nedunjeliyan and, much later, Maravarman Sundara Pandya. Option B is wrong because the Chola line of this period begins with Vijayalaya in the ninth century, two centuries after Mahendravarman. Option C is wrong because the Chalukyas of Badami were the Pallavas' chief enemies; it was Pulakeshin II who defeated Mahendravarman I and Narasimhavarman I who later sacked Badami in revenge. Keep the Pallava rulers in order: Simhavishnu, Mahendravarman I, Narasimhavarman I and Narasimhavarman II Rajasimha.

The correct answer is C, Pallava. Kanchipuram in northern Tamil Nadu was the Pallava capital from about the fourth century until the dynasty fell to the Cholas in the ninth, and it was there that Hiuen Tsang was received by Narasimhavarman I and that the Kailasanatha temple was raised by Narasimhavarman II Rajasimha. Option A is wrong because the Pandya capital was Madurai, with Korkai as its port. Option B is wrong because the Cheras of the Sangam age ruled the Kerala coast with Vanji as their capital and Muziris and Tondi as their ports. Option D is wrong because the imperial Cholas ruled from Thanjavur and later from Gangaikonda Cholapuram; they took Kanchipuram from the Pallavas only at the end of this period. Fix the pairs: Kanchi for the Pallavas, Madurai for the Pandyas, Thanjavur for the Cholas.

The correct answer is C, Ajatashatru. The Buddhist text Mahaparinibbana Sutta and the Jaina tradition credit Ajatashatru of the Haryanka dynasty with two engines used in his long war against the Lichchhavis of Vaishali: the Mahashilakantaka, which hurled great stones, and the Rathamusala, a chariot fitted with a mace that swept down ranks of soldiers. Option A is wrong because Mahapadma Nanda founded the Nanda dynasty a century later and is remembered for his vast army and his humble origin. Option B is wrong because Shishunaga founded the Shishunaga dynasty after the Haryankas and is remembered for destroying the power of Avanti. Option D is wrong because Chanda Pradyota was the ruler of Avanti, a rival of Magadha, not its king. Remember the Haryanka order: Bimbisara, Ajatashatru and then Udayin, who founded Pataliputra.

The correct answer is B, Mahapadma Nanda. Mahapadma Nanda founded the Nanda dynasty in about the middle of the fourth century BCE after displacing the Shishunagas, and the Puranas call him Ekarat, the sole sovereign, and Sarva-kshatrantaka, the destroyer of all Kshatriyas, because he is described as a ruler of low birth who uprooted the older ruling families. Option A is wrong because Dhana Nanda was the last of the line, the ruler whom Chandragupta Maurya overthrew with Chanakya's help. Option C is wrong because Shishunaga founded the earlier Shishunaga dynasty, which the Nandas replaced. Option D is wrong because Kalashoka, or Kakavarna, was a Shishunaga ruler in whose reign the second Buddhist council was held at Vaishali. The order to remember is Haryanka, Shishunaga, Nanda and then Maurya. The later Guptas of Magadha are a separate, weaker line and should not be confused with this imperial house.

The correct answer is A, Sri Gupta. Sri Gupta, who bore the modest title Maharaja, is named in the inscriptions as the founder of the Gupta family, and he was followed by his son Ghatotkacha. Option B is wrong because Chandragupta I, the third ruler, was the first important king of the house: he took the grand title Maharajadhiraja, married the Lichchhavi princess Kumaradevi and is connected with the beginning of the Gupta era in 319 to 320 CE, which is why he is often mistaken for the founder. Option C is wrong because Samudragupta was his son, the conqueror whose campaigns Harisena recorded in the Prayaga Prashasti on the Allahabad pillar and whom modern writers call the Napoleon of India. Option D is wrong because Ghatotkacha was the second ruler, between Sri Gupta and Chandragupta I.

The correct answer is C, Brihadratha. Pushyamitra Shunga, the commander of the Mauryan army, killed the last Mauryan ruler Brihadratha in about 185 BCE and founded the Shunga dynasty, which ruled from Pataliputra and Vidisha and under which the Sanchi and Bharhut stupas were enlarged. Options A, B and D are wrong because Dasharatha, Samprati and Devavarman were all earlier rulers of the declining Mauryan line that followed Ashoka; the Puranas place Brihadratha at the end of the list. The dynasty that followed the Shungas was the Kanva dynasty, founded by Vasudeva, who killed the last Shunga, Devabhuti. Examiners often pair these two palace revolutions, so keep the sequence clear: Maurya, then Shunga under Pushyamitra, then Kanva under Vasudeva, then the Satavahanas in the Deccan. The Shunga period is also asked for Patanjali and for the Heliodorus pillar at Besnagar near Vidisha.

The correct answer is B, Gopala. Gopala was elected ruler by the chiefs of Bengal in about 750 CE, ending a long period of disorder known in the sources as matsyanyaya, and founded the Pala dynasty, which became one of the three contenders in the tripartite struggle for Kannauj. Option A is wrong because Dharmapala was his son, the ruler who extended Pala power to Kannauj and founded the Vikramshila monastery, and who is also credited with reviving Nalanda. Option C is wrong because Devapala, the son of Dharmapala, marks the height of Pala power but is the third ruler, not the founder. Option D is wrong because Mahipala I belongs to a later revival of the dynasty in the eleventh century. The Palas were Buddhist, which is why their monasteries and the Pala school of bronzes are asked about together with the names.

The correct answer is A, Pratishthana. The Satavahanas, who rose in the Deccan after the Mauryas, were founded by Simuka and ruled from Pratishthana, the modern Paithan on the Godavari in Maharashtra; their greatest king, Gautamiputra Satakarni, is praised in the Nashik inscription of his mother Gautami Balashri. Option B is wrong because Vatapi, the modern Badami, was the capital of the Chalukyas, founded by Pulakeshin I several centuries later. Option C is wrong because Amaravati on the Krishna was a great Buddhist stupa site that flourished under Satavahana patronage but was not their capital. Option D is wrong because Vengi was the capital of the Eastern Chalukyas and earlier of the Ikshvakus and Salankayanas. The Satavahanas are also remembered for issuing lead coins and for the Prakrit inscriptions of Nashik and Nanaghat.

The correct answer is B, Pulakeshin I. Pulakeshin I founded the Chalukya dynasty of Badami in the middle of the sixth century, made Vatapi, the modern Badami in Karnataka, his capital, and performed the Ashvamedha sacrifice. Option A is wrong because Pulakeshin II was the greatest ruler of the house, the king who checked Harshavardhana on the Narmada, defeated Mahendravarman I of Kanchi and received the embassy of the Persian king, as the Aihole inscription of Ravikirti records; he is the fourth ruler, not the founder. Option C is wrong because the Vikramadityas of the later Chalukya line ruled from Kalyani, a revival of the family after the Rashtrakutas. Option D is wrong because Kirtivarman II was the last ruler of the Badami line, defeated by Dantidurga of the Rashtrakutas. The Chalukya branches worth separating are Badami, Kalyani and Vengi, the last being the Eastern Chalukyas.

The correct answer is C, Nagabhata I. Nagabhata I founded the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty in the eighth century in the region of Malwa and Rajasthan and is remembered for checking the Arab advance from Sindh, a success the inscriptions describe in heroic terms. Option A is wrong because Mihira Bhoja was the greatest ruler of the house in the ninth century, a devotee of Vishnu who issued the Adivaraha coins and whose court the Arab traveller Sulaiman described; he is not the founder. Option B is wrong because Vatsaraja fought the first round of the tripartite struggle with the Palas and the Rashtrakutas but came several reigns after Nagabhata I. Option D is wrong because Rajyapala belongs to the end of the line, when Kannauj fell to Mahmud of Ghazni. The three contenders to remember are the Palas, the Pratiharas and the Rashtrakutas.