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Indian HistoryHardAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2022, GS Paper I

According to Kautilya's Arthashastra, which of the following are correct ? 1. A person could be a slave as a result of a judicial punishment. 2. If a female slave bore her master a son, she was legally free. 3. If a son born to a female slave was fathered by her master, the son was entitled to the legal status of the master's son. Which of the statements given above are correct ?

  1. A.1 and 2 only
  2. B.2 and 3 only
  3. C.1 and 3 only
  4. D.1, 2 and 3

Correct answer

D. 1, 2 and 3

Explanation

The correct answer is D, 1, 2 and 3. The Arthashastra records all three rules about slavery.

Kautilya's Arthashastra, the treatise on statecraft linked to the Mauryan court of Chandragupta Maurya, has a section on dasas, or slaves. It lists the ways a person could become a slave: by birth in a master's house, by purchase, by capture in war, by pledging oneself for a debt, and as a result of a judicial punishment, the danda-pranita dasa. The text also gives slaves some protection. It lays down that if a female slave bears her master a son, both she and the child are to be freed, and the son is to receive the legal status of the master's own son. Such rules show that the Arthashastra treated slavery as a regulated legal condition.

A is wrong because it leaves out statement 3. B is wrong because it leaves out statement 1. C is wrong because it leaves out statement 2.

Exam tip: Arthashastra slaves: judicial punishment could enslave; a master's son freed mother and child.

Practice Questions

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Q1.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2019, GKEasy

Who were the Nayanars?

  1. A.Those who were immersed in devotion to Vishnu
  2. B.Those who were devotees of Buddha
  3. C.Leaders who were devotees of Shiva
  4. D.Leaders who were devotees of Basveshwara
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Leaders who were devotees of Shiva

The Nayanars were Tamil saint-poets of the early Bhakti movement who worshipped Shiva. Between about the 6th and 9th centuries CE, the Nayanars travelled from temple to temple in the Tamil country singing hymns in praise of Shiva.

Q2.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2021, GKHard

Which of the following statements about the Sanyasi and Faqir disturbances/rebellions are correct? 1. Governor-General Warren Hastings faced the persistent Sanyasi and Faqir disturbances in Bengal and Bihar. 2. There were a number of Shaivite Naga Sanyasis who formed into armed bands. 3. Majnu Shah, who led bands into Bengal from 1771, was their prominent leader. Select the correct answer using the code given below:

  1. A.1 and 2 only
  2. B.1, 2 and 3
  3. C.2 and 3 only
  4. D.1 and 3 only
Show answer
Correct answer: B. 1, 2 and 3

All three statements correctly describe the Sanyasi and Faqir risings in late 18th-century Bengal and Bihar. After the Battle of Plassey and the grant of Diwani in 1765, heavy revenue demands and the terrible Bengal famine of 1770 hurt peasants and wandering ascetics alike.

Q3.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2025, GKHard

Which one of the following statements about the grammarian Katyayana is correct ?

  1. A.He was a contemporary of Panini.
  2. B.He was a contemporary of Patanjali.
  3. C.He belonged to a period between Panini and Patanjali.
  4. D.He belonged to a period later than both Panini and Patanjali.
Show answer
Correct answer: C. He belonged to a period between Panini and Patanjali.

Katyayana commented on Panini's grammar, and Patanjali in turn commented on both Panini and Katyayana. Panini wrote the Ashtadhyayi, the foundational Sanskrit grammar of about 4,000 sutras, around the 5th or 4th century BCE.

Q4.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2021, GKHard

Chronologically arrange the following treaties/conventions signed between the Marathas and the British (starting with the earliest): 1. Treaty of Salbai 2. Treaty of Purandar 3. Convention of Wadgaon 4. Treaty of Surat Select the correct answer using the code given below :

  1. A.4-2-3-1
  2. B.4-3-2-1
  3. C.1-3-2-4
  4. D.1-2-3-4
Show answer
Correct answer: A. 4-2-3-1

All four belong to the First Anglo-Maratha War: Surat (1775), Purandar (1776), Wadgaon (1779) and Salbai (1782). In 1775 the Bombay government signed the Treaty of Surat with Raghunathrao, promising to put him in power as Peshwa in return for Salsette and Bassein.

Q5.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2023, GKHard

Arrange the following events associated with Shivaji in chronological order : 1. Attack on Afzal Khan 2. Capture of Torna 3. Attack on Shaista Khan 4. Annexation of Javli Select the correct answer using the code given below:

  1. A.2, 4, 1, 3
  2. B.4, 2, 1, 3
  3. C.1, 2, 3, 4
  4. D.3, 1, 2, 4
Show answer
Correct answer: A. 2, 4, 1, 3

Shivaji took Torna first, then Javli, then killed Afzal Khan, and later raided Shaista Khan's camp. In 1646, still a teenager, Shivaji captured the fort of Torna from the Bijapur Sultanate, his first major conquest.