In the election held in 1937, in which two provinces was the Indian National Congress not able to emerge as the single largest party?

The correct answer is B, Rigveda. The Purusha Sukta is the ninetieth hymn of the tenth mandala of the Rigveda. It describes the sacrifice of a cosmic being, Purusha, out of whose body the world is made, and it is the earliest text to name the four varnas: the Brahmana from his mouth, the Rajanya or Kshatriya from his arms, the Vaishya from his thighs and the Shudra from his feet. Paper setters use it for both facts at once, the order of the varnas and the tenth mandala, which is counted with the first among the latest parts of the Rigveda. A is wrong because the Atharvaveda holds charms, spells and cures for everyday ills. C is wrong because the Samaveda sets Rigvedic verses to melody and is treated as the root of Indian music. D is wrong because the Yajurveda gives the formulas a priest recites while carrying out a sacrifice. Exam tip: the Purusha Sukta is Rigveda 10.90 and carries the first mention of the four varnas.

The correct answer is A, Gupta. The iron pillar that now stands in the Qutb complex at Mehrauli in Delhi carries a Sanskrit inscription in Brahmi script praising a king called Chandra, taken to be Chandragupta II of the Gupta dynasty, and it was raised in the fourth or early fifth century as a standard of Vishnu. The pillar is about seven metres tall, weighs more than six tonnes and has hardly rusted in sixteen centuries, because its wrought iron carries a high share of phosphorus that forms a protective film; it is the standing proof of how far Gupta metallurgy had come. It was brought to its present site later and left in place when the Qutb buildings rose around it. B is wrong because the Pallavas are remembered for the rock-cut temples of Mahabalipuram. C is wrong because the Mauryas raised the polished stone pillars of Ashoka. D is wrong because the Pushyabhuti dynasty of Harshavardhana ruled from Thanesar much later. Exam tip: iron pillar, Chandragupta II, Mehrauli and Gupta metallurgy belong together.

The correct answer is A, Treaty of Mangalore. The Second Anglo-Mysore War ran from 1780 to 1784. Haidar Ali fought the English East India Company with the Marathas and the Nizam on his side, and after his death in December 1782 his son Tipu Sultan carried the war on and signed the Treaty of Mangalore in March 1784. By its terms the two sides gave back the territory and the prisoners each had taken, so the war ended in a draw and left Mysore undiminished; it was the last treaty the Company signed with an Indian power on equal terms. B is wrong because no Treaty of Arcot closed this war. C is wrong because Wandiwash was the battle of 1760 in which the English beat the French in the Third Carnatic War, not a treaty. D is wrong because the Treaty of Madras of 1769 ended the First Anglo-Mysore War. Exam tip: the four wars end at Madras 1769, Mangalore 1784, Seringapatam 1792 and Tipu's death in 1799.

The correct answer is C, 17. Mahmud of Ghazni, who ruled the Ghaznavid kingdom from 998 to 1030, is recorded as having led seventeen raids into India between about 1000 and 1027. His aim was plunder and not permanent rule, so he carried away treasure and left no settled administration east of the Punjab. The best known of the raids destroyed the Somnath temple in Gujarat in 1025; earlier he had defeated Jayapala of the Hindu Shahi dynasty in 1001 and sacked the rich temple towns of Mathura, Thanesar and Kanauj. The scholar Al-Beruni, who wrote the Kitab-ul-Hind, and the poet Firdausi belonged to his court. A is wrong because five is far short of the recorded total. B is wrong because fifteen is the figure most often confused with the right one. D is wrong because seven is not the accepted count either. Exam tip: Mahmud of Ghazni made 17 raids and struck Somnath in 1025, while Muhammad Ghori's win at Tarain in 1192 began Turkish rule.

The correct answer is A, Vijayalaya. Around 850 AD Vijayalaya, until then a feudatory of the Pallavas, seized Thanjavur from the Muttaraiyar chiefs and made it his capital, and that conquest marks the beginning of the imperial Chola line. He built a temple of the goddess Nishumbhasudini there. His successors Aditya I and Parantaka I pushed the kingdom outward, and under Rajaraja I and Rajendra I it grew into the strongest power in south India, with a navy that reached Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. B is wrong because Krishna I was a Rashtrakuta ruler, remembered for the rock-cut Kailasa temple at Ellora. C is wrong because Parantaka I was a later Chola king, a successor and not the founder. D is wrong because Rajaraja I, who ruled from 985 to 1014 and built the Brihadeshwara temple at Thanjavur, came much later. Exam tip: Vijayalaya founded the line, Rajaraja I built Brihadeshwara and Rajendra I led the campaign to the Ganga.