Which one of the following statements about Ashoka's inscriptions is correct ?
- A.The Major Rock Edict found in Kerala is in Sanskrit.
- B.Minor Rock Edicts in Bihar are found only in Pataliputra.
- C.The Dhauli Major Rock Edict makes a mention of the Kalinga War.
- D.Kalsi in Uttarakhand is a site of Major Rock Edicts.
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is D. Kalsi, near Dehradun in Uttarakhand, has a full set of Ashoka's fourteen Major Rock Edicts carved on a single boulder.
Ashoka's edicts are mostly in Prakrit written in the Brahmi script, with Kharosthi in the north-west and Greek and Aramaic in Afghanistan. The account of the Kalinga War and Ashoka's remorse is in Major Rock Edict XIII. At Dhauli and Jaugada in Odisha, the old Kalinga region, Edicts XI to XIII were left out and two Separate Kalinga Edicts addressed to officials were carved instead, so the war is not mentioned there. The Kalsi rock, with an elephant carved on it, is among the best-preserved Major Rock Edict sites.
A is wrong because no Major Rock Edict has been found in Kerala, and Ashoka's edicts were not written in Sanskrit. B is wrong because Bihar's known Minor Rock Edict is at Sasaram, not Pataliputra. C is wrong because Edict XIII, which describes the Kalinga War, is missing at Dhauli.
Exam tip: Kalinga War is in Major Rock Edict XIII, absent at Dhauli and Jaugada; Kalsi is in Uttarakhand.
Practice Questions
View allRani Abbakka Chowta of Ullal, on the coast of present Karnataka, is remembered for her long resistance to which European power?
- A.The Dutch
- B.The French
- C.The Portuguese
- D.The Danes
Show answer
Rani Abbakka Chowta ruled Ullal near Mangaluru in the sixteenth century, when the Portuguese were trying to control the pepper and spice trade of the Malabar and Tulunadu coast, and she fought them for decades, which is why she is often called the first woman freedom fighter of the Indian…
Read the full explanation →Tarabai, who led the Maratha resistance to Aurangzeb after 1700 in the name of her son Shivaji II, was the widow of which ruler?
- A.Sambhaji
- B.Rajaram
- C.Shahu
- D.Shivaji
Show answer
Tarabai was the wife of Rajaram, the younger son of Shivaji, and the daughter of the Maratha commander Hambirrao Mohite.
Read the full explanation →Rani Chennamma, who took up arms against the East India Company in 1824 over the refusal to accept her adopted heir, ruled which state?
- A.Kittur
- B.Keladi
- C.Ullal
- D.Ramgarh
Show answer
Kittur Chennamma ruled the small state of Kittur in present Karnataka; when her son died, the Company refused to recognise her adopted son Shivalingappa as heir, and she resisted in arms in 1824, defeating the first British force before being overcome, so she is counted among the earliest rulers to…
Read the full explanation →Begum Hazrat Mahal led the revolt of 1857 at Lucknow and proclaimed which of her relations the ruler of Awadh?
- A.Her son Birjis Qadr
- B.Her husband Wajid Ali Shah
- C.Her brother Ahmadullah Shah
- D.Her adopted son Damodar Rao
Show answer
Begum Hazrat Mahal was a wife of Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of Awadh, who had been deposed and sent to Calcutta in 1856.
Read the full explanation →Under which policy of Lord Dalhousie was Jhansi annexed in 1854, after the refusal to recognise the adopted son of Gangadhar Rao?
- A.Subsidiary Alliance
- B.Doctrine of Lapse
- C.Permanent Settlement
- D.Ring Fence policy
Show answer
Under this policy of Lord Dalhousie, a dependent princely state whose ruler died without a natural heir lapsed to the Company, and adoption was not accepted; Satara, Jaitpur, Sambalpur, Nagpur and Jhansi were taken over in this way, and Jhansi was annexed in 1854 after the death of Gangadhar Rao.
Read the full explanation →