The Heliodorus pillar, the earliest inscriptional evidence of the Bhagavata faith, stands near which town of Madhya Pradesh?
- A.Vidisha
- B.Sagar
- C.Gwalior
- D.Mandsaur
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A, Vidisha. The pillar stands at Besnagar beside Vidisha. It was set up in the second century before Christ by Heliodorus, a Greek ambassador sent by Antialcidas, the Indo-Greek king of Taxila, to the court of king Bhagabhadra. Heliodorus describes himself in the inscription as a bhagavata, a worshipper of Vasudeva, and the pillar carried a figure of Garuda, so it is read as the earliest inscriptional proof that a foreigner had taken to the Bhagavata faith.
Option B, Sagar, is the district of Eran, which has a monolithic boar and the earliest known sati inscription in India. Option C, Gwalior, has Pawaya nearby, the Naga capital Padmavati, and the Gwalior fort with its own early inscriptions. Option D, Mandsaur, has inscriptions of the Aulikara rulers and the famous record of the silk weavers' guild. All four are inscription sites, which is what makes the question hard; only Vidisha carries the Garuda pillar.
Read the full article: Ancient Madhya Pradesh: Bhimbetka, Sanchi and Ujjain
Practice Questions
View allThe rock shelters of Bhimbetka are located in which district of Madhya Pradesh?
- A.Sehore
- B.Raisen
- C.Dhar
- D.Rewa
Show answer
The Bhimbetka rock shelters lie in Raisen district, in the foothills of the Vindhyan range south of Bhopal, within the forest now protected as Ratapani.
Read the full explanation →Who brought the Bhimbetka rock shelters to the notice of scholars in 1957?
- A.H. D. Sankalia
- B.V. S. Wakankar
- C.R. D. Banerji
- D.Daya Ram Sahni
Show answer
Vishnu Shridhar Wakankar, an archaeologist from Ujjain, noticed the rocky outcrops from a train in 1957 and went on to explore and record the shelters and their paintings.
Read the full explanation →The Great Stupa at Sanchi was originally built during the reign of which ruler?
- A.Chandragupta Maurya
- B.Ashoka
- C.Pushyamitra Shunga
- D.Kanishka
Show answer
The Great Stupa, Stupa 1 at Sanchi, was raised in brick in the third century before Christ in the reign of Ashoka, who also set up a pillar at the site bearing the schism edict and crowned by a lion capital.
Read the full explanation →The four carved gateways or toranas of the Great Stupa at Sanchi were added under which dynasty?
- A.Mauryas
- B.Shungas
- C.Satavahanas
- D.Guptas
Show answer
The four toranas that stand at the cardinal points of the Great Stupa were carved in the first century before Christ in the Satavahana period, and an inscription on one of them records the gift of ivory carvers of Vidisha.
Read the full explanation →Relics of Sariputta and Mahamoggallana, two chief disciples of the Buddha, were recovered from which structure at Sanchi?
- A.Stupa 1
- B.Stupa 2
- C.Stupa 3
- D.Temple 17
Show answer
The relic caskets of Sariputta and Mahamoggallana, the two chief disciples of the Buddha, were found in Stupa 3 at Sanchi, which stands a short distance north-east of the Great Stupa and has a single gateway.
Read the full explanation →