Medieval India — Delhi Sultanate & Mughal Period

Why This Chapter Matters

RRB NTPC General Awareness papers pull 4 to 6 questions straight out of Ancient India every single attempt, and the pattern repeats across CBT 1 and CBT 2 with almost boring consistency. Sites, seals, kings, councils, dates — this is the most "listable" part of history, which also makes it the most exam-friendly. Once you know that Mohenjo-daro means "mound of the dead" and sits in Sindh, that fact is yours forever; nobody can trick you on it again.

Here is the shape of what's coming: the Indus Valley Civilization gives you site names and their signature finds, the Vedic Age gives you texts and social change, Jainism and Buddhism give you founders and councils, the Mauryas give you Ashoka's edicts and administration, and the Guptas close the chapter as India's "golden age" of science and art. The single biggest mistake aspirants make here is mixing up Jainism and Buddhism founders and their birthplaces, or confusing Chandragupta Maurya with Chandragupta I and Chandragupta II of the Gupta dynasty — three different men, three different centuries, one recurring exam trap. Read this chapter once, carefully, and that confusion ends today.

The Indus Valley Civilization

Discovery and Timeline

The Indus Valley Civilization, also called the Harappan Civilization after its first excavated site, is India's oldest urban culture. Its mature phase runs roughly from 2500 BCE to 1900 BCE, though some sites show earlier settlement. Harappa was excavated first, in 1921, by Daya Ram Sahni on the banks of the Ravi in present-day Pakistan. Mohenjo-daro followed in 1922, discovered by R.D. Banerji on the banks of the Indus in Sindh.

Exam trap: Harappa was found first (1921) but Mohenjo-daro is usually described as the larger, better-preserved city. Papers love asking "which was excavated first" versus "which is bigger" — don't let the two questions blur together.

Key Sites and Their Signature Finds

Think of each Harappan site as a suspect in a detective lineup, each one famous for exactly one distinguishing object found at the scene. That is how you should memorise them.

Site	River	Modern Location	Famous For
Harappa	Ravi	Punjab, Pakistan	Granaries, workmen's quarters
Mohenjo-daro	Indus	Sindh, Pakistan	Great Bath, Bronze "Dancing Girl"
Lothal	Bhogava (near Sabarmati)	Gujarat, India	Dockyard, bead-making factory
Kalibangan	Ghaggar	Rajasthan, India	Ploughed field, fire altars
Dholavira	Luni region, Rann of Kutch	Gujarat, India	Water reservoirs, signboard
Rakhigarhi	Ghaggar plain	Haryana, India	Largest Harappan site in India
Banawali	Saraswati (dried)	Haryana, India	Toy plough, radial street plan
Surkotada	—	Gujarat, India	Horse remains

Memory hook: For dockyard sites remember "LO-thal has a LOck-like dock." For Dholavira remember "DHOLAVIRA has DHOLAK-shaped water tanks" — a stretch, but it sticks, and that's the point of a mnemonic; it doesn't need to be elegant, only unforgettable.

Town Planning and Features

Harappan cities followed a grid pattern, streets crossing at right angles, almost like a modern housing colony laid out by a disciplined engineer rather than grown organically over centuries. Houses were built of burnt brick in a fixed ratio of 4:2:1 (length:width:height), and most had their own wells and bathing platforms connected to a covered drainage system running under the streets. This drainage system is the single most quoted "advanced feature" in the entire syllabus — a Bronze Age city with covered sewers is genuinely unusual for its time, and examiners know it.

The Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro, built of burnt brick and made watertight with gypsum mortar, is thought to have had ritual significance. The Great Granary at Harappa points to organised food storage, meaning surplus grain was collected, likely as a form of tax or tribute, and stored centrally.

The Harappans had no known monumental temples or palaces, which is itself a testable fact — unlike Mesopotamia or Egypt, no structure has been confidently identified as a palace or a large temple. Their script remains undeciphered to this day, written mostly on seals, usually right to left, often featuring animals like the unicorn-like bull.

Economy and Society

Harappans practised agriculture (wheat, barley, and possibly cotton, which they may have been the earliest cultivators of), and traded with Mesopotamia, evidenced by Harappan seals found at sites like Ur. Lothal's dockyard confirms maritime trade. They used standardised weights, mostly in multiples of 16, and had no clear evidence of coined money — trade was likely by barter or weighed metal.

Society appears to have been relatively egalitarian by the standards of the era; there is little evidence of grand royal tombs or palatial hierarchy, unlike contemporary Egypt. Terracotta figurines suggest worship of a Mother Goddess, and a seal depicting a figure surrounded by animals is often called the "Proto-Shiva" or Pashupati seal, found at Mohenjo-daro.

Decline Theories

No single cause is confirmed, and the exam usually just wants you to recognise the plausible theories rather than pick one "correct" answer:

• Aryan invasion theory — once popular, now largely discredited by mainstream historians due to lack of evidence of large-scale conflict.
• Climatic change — drying up of the Saraswati-Ghaggar river system, reducing agricultural viability.
• Tectonic activity and flooding — shifting river courses, especially of the Indus, disrupting settlements.
• Deforestation and overuse of resources — soil exhaustion from repeated cultivation and brick-firing.

Exam trap: Do not select "Aryan invasion" as the safe default answer anymore. Recent RRB and SSC papers increasingly favour "climatic change" or "river shifting" as the expected answer, reflecting the updated academic consensus.

The Vedic Age

Early Vedic Period (c. 1500-1000 BCE)

The Vedic Age begins with the composition of the Rigveda, the oldest of the four Vedas, believed to be composed by Indo-Aryan-speaking people who settled first in the Sapta-Sindhu region — the land of seven rivers in present-day Punjab and its neighbourhood. The Rigveda is a collection of over a thousand hymns organised into ten books called mandalas, addressed mostly to nature gods like Indra (god of war and rain, most invoked), Agni (fire), and Varuna (cosmic order).

Early Vedic society was pastoral, cattle being the chief measure of wealth — the word for war itself, "gavishthi," literally means "search for cows." Society was organised around the tribe (jana), not territory, and the sabha and samiti were assemblies where tribal matters and elections of the chief (rajan) were discussed. Notably, women could attend these assemblies in the early period, a detail examiners like to test because it contrasts with later restriction.

Later Vedic Period (c. 1000-600 BCE)

This period produced the Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda, along with the Brahmanas (ritual manuals), Aranyakas (forest texts), and Upanishads (philosophical texts, the foundation of Vedanta philosophy). The centre of activity shifted eastward, from Punjab into the Gangetic plains, and iron technology (referred to as "shyama ayas" or dark metal) enabled forest clearance and expansion of agriculture.

Society became more stratified. The varna system hardened into four categories — Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (warriors and rulers), Vaishyas (traders and agriculturists), and Shudras (labourers) — and birth increasingly determined a person's varna rather than occupation alone. The sabha and samiti declined in importance as kingship became more hereditary and powerful, kings performing elaborate sacrifices like the Rajasuya (royal consecration) and Ashvamedha (horse sacrifice) to assert authority.

Think of the shift from Early to Later Vedic like a village panchayat gradually turning into a monarchy — decisions that used to be made by consensus in an open assembly slowly became decisions made by one man backed by priests and ritual authority. That is the deepest pattern running through this whole period, and once you see it, dates and text names become much easier to slot into place.

Jainism and Buddhism

Why Two New Religions Emerged Together

By the 6th century BCE, Vedic ritualism had grown expensive and exclusionary — elaborate animal sacrifices, Sanskrit texts only priests could read, and a rigid varna hierarchy. Traders, farmers, and common people in the Gangetic belt wanted a simpler moral path, not conducted in Sanskrit and not requiring costly sacrifice. Jainism and Buddhism both arose from this discontent, in roughly the same region, in roughly the same century, taught in Prakrit languages the common person could understand.

Jainism

Jainism, though its philosophy is far older, was systematised by its 24th and last Tirthankara, Vardhamana Mahavira (c. 540-468 BCE), born at Kundagrama near Vaishali (in present-day Bihar) to a Kshatriya family. He left home at 30, attained Kevala Jnana (omniscience) at 42 under a sal tree near the river Rijupalika, and preached for around 30 years before his death at Pavapuri, near Rajgir.

The core Jain teachings, called the Triratna (Three Jewels), are Right Faith, Right Knowledge, and Right Conduct. Right Conduct rests on five vows (panchamahavrata): non-violence (ahimsa, the strictest of all, extending even to insects), truth, non-stealing, celibacy, and non-possession. Ahimsa in Jainism is so absolute that monks traditionally sweep the ground before them to avoid stepping on insects — this single image is worth remembering because it is the most tested "distinguishing feature" of Jainism against Buddhism.

Jainism later split into two sects: Svetambara ("white-clad") and Digambara ("sky-clad," i.e., nude ascetics), the split traditionally linked to a famine that scattered Jain monks and later disagreement over practice. Jainism never spread far outside India, unlike Buddhism, largely because its extreme asceticism made mass conversion difficult.

Buddhism

Siddhartha Gautama, later called the Buddha ("the enlightened one"), was born around 563 BCE at Lumbini (in present-day Nepal) to a Shakya clan chief, Suddhodana, at Kapilavastu. Legend holds he left the palace after seeing the "four sights" — an old man, a sick man, a corpse, and an ascetic — realising suffering as universal. He attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya under a Peepal tree at age 35, delivered his first sermon at Sarnath (near Varanasi), called the "Dharmachakra Pravartana" (Turning of the Wheel of Law), and died at Kushinagar around 483 BCE, an event called the Mahaparinirvana.

Exam trap: Four places, four events — Lumbini (birth), Bodh Gaya (enlightenment), Sarnath (first sermon), Kushinagar (death). Papers frequently swap two of these to test whether you actually know the sequence or just memorised the list.

Buddha's core teaching is the Four Noble Truths: life is suffering (dukkha); suffering has a cause (desire); suffering can end; and the path to end it is the Eightfold Path (right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration). Unlike Jainism's harsh asceticism, Buddhism preached the Madhyama Marga, the Middle Path, avoiding both indulgence and extreme self-denial — like walking a road between two ditches rather than falling into either.

Buddhism spread faster and wider than Jainism, partly because it rejected caste more explicitly, used the common tongue (Pali) for teaching, and welcomed lay followers alongside monks. Four Buddhist councils were held after Buddha's death; the most tested are the First Council at Rajgir (soon after his death, under patronage of Ajatashatru, compiling the Sutta and Vinaya Pitakas) and the Third Council at Pataliputra under Ashoka, which added the Abhidhamma Pitaka and decided to send missionaries abroad.

The Mauryan Empire

Chandragupta Maurya

Chandragupta Maurya founded the Mauryan Empire around 321 BCE, overthrowing the last Nanda ruler with guidance from his mentor Chanakya (also called Kautilya or Vishnugupta), author of the Arthashastra, a treatise on statecraft, economics, and military strategy. Chandragupta defeated Seleucus Nicator, Alexander's successor in the region, around 305 BCE, gaining territory up to the Hindu Kush in exchange for 500 war elephants; Seleucus sent an ambassador, Megasthenes, to the Mauryan court, whose account "Indica" is a key source for this period, though it survives only in fragments quoted by later writers.

Chandragupta is said to have abdicated the throne late in life, embraced Jainism, and died by voluntary fasting (sallekhana) at Shravanabelagola in Karnataka.

Ashoka the Great

Ashoka (reigned c. 268-232 BCE), Chandragupta's grandson, is the most tested Mauryan ruler by far. The turning point of his reign was the Kalinga War (261 BCE), fought against the kingdom of Kalinga (present-day Odisha). The scale of bloodshed sickened him so deeply that he renounced armed conquest and adopted Dhamma, a policy of ethical governance based on non-violence, tolerance, and welfare, which he then had inscribed on rocks and pillars across his empire.

Ashoka's edicts, written mostly in Prakrit using Brahmi script (Kharosthi in the northwest, Greek and Aramaic in Afghanistan), are found at sites like Sarnath, Sanchi, and Girnar. The Sarnath Lion Capital, with four lions back to back atop a wheel, was adopted as independent India's national emblem, and the wheel from its base sits at the centre of the Indian national flag. This is one of the most repeated "connect the ancient to the modern" facts in the entire GK syllabus — remember it as literally the picture on your passport.

Exam trap: Ashoka's edicts describe him as "Devanampiya Piyadasi" (Beloved of the Gods, of Gracious Mien) — not as "Ashoka" directly. His actual name only appears in a handful of minor edicts. Papers sometimes ask which title appears on the edicts, expecting this exact phrase.

Mauryan Administration

The empire was divided into provinces governed by royal princes (kumaras) or governors, with the capital at Pataliputra. Chanakya's Arthashastra describes an elaborate spy network and a highly centralised bureaucracy covering trade, agriculture, mining, and taxation, land revenue typically pegged around one-sixth of produce. Special officers called Dhamma Mahamatras were appointed under Ashoka specifically to spread and monitor ethical conduct, an early and unusual example of a state actively promoting moral policy rather than just collecting taxes and keeping order.

The Post-Mauryan Period

After Ashoka's death around 232 BCE, the empire weakened rapidly and fragmented within about 50 years. The Shungas (founded by Pushyamitra Shunga, who assassinated the last Mauryan king around 185 BCE) ruled parts of north India next, followed by the Kanvas. In the northwest, Indo-Greek, Shaka, Parthian, and Kushan rulers established control at various points. The most notable Kushan ruler was Kanishka, whose reign is associated with the Fourth Buddhist Council and the flowering of Gandhara art, which fused Greek sculptural technique with Buddhist subject matter — literally Buddha carved with a Greco-Roman face and toga-like robes. In the south, the Satavahanas ruled the Deccan and promoted trade with Rome, evidenced by Roman coin hoards found across peninsular India.

The Gupta Empire — India's Golden Age

Rise and Major Rulers

Sri Gupta founded the dynasty around 240 CE, but the empire's real expansion began with Chandragupta I (r. c. 320 CE), who took the title Maharajadhiraja and is often treated as the effective founder of Gupta imperial power, partly through his marriage alliance with the Lichchhavi princess Kumaradevi.

His son Samudragupta (r. c. 335-375 CE) is called the "Napoleon of India" by some historians for his extensive military campaigns, recorded in the Allahabad Prashasti (Prayag Prashasti), a lengthy inscription composed by his court poet Harisena, engraved on the same Ashokan pillar now at Allahabad — another example of history literally being layered on top of history on a single stone.

Chandragupta II "Vikramaditya" (r. c. 380-415 CE) is the ruler most associated with the empire's cultural peak. He defeated the Western Kshatrapas (Shakas) in Gujarat, married his daughter Prabhavati Gupta into the Vakataka dynasty of the Deccan to secure the south, and his court is traditionally said to have hosted the legendary "Navaratnas" (nine gems), scholars including Kalidasa. The Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Fa Hien visited India during this reign and left a valuable travel account describing a prosperous and largely peaceful kingdom.

Exam trap: Both Chandragupta II and later Skandagupta used the title "Vikramaditya." Do not assume every mention of "Vikramaditya" in a question automatically means Chandragupta II — check context.

Administration and Economy

Gupta administration was less centralised than the Mauryan model; provinces (bhuktis) were divided into districts (vishayas), governed with a degree of local autonomy. Gold coins called dinaras were issued in large numbers, reflecting economic prosperity, and land grants to Brahmins and temples (agrahara grants) became common, a practice that would shape land relations for centuries afterward.

Science, Mathematics, and Art

This period earns its "golden age" label mainly through intellectual output. Aryabhata (born 476 CE), in his work Aryabhatiya, calculated the value of pi to four decimal places, explained the rotation of the earth on its axis as the cause of day and night, and correctly attributed the cause of eclipses to shadows rather than mythological creatures. Varahamihira contributed to astronomy and astrology in his Brihat Samhita. In mathematics, the decimal place-value system and the concept of zero as a functional numeral were refined in this era, a contribution now recognised globally as foundational to modern mathematics.

In metallurgy, the Iron Pillar of Delhi at the Qutub complex, dated to the Gupta period (inscribed with the name of a king generally identified as Chandragupta II), has stood for over 1,600 years with minimal rusting, evidence of remarkably advanced metallurgical skill for its time.

Gupta-era art produced the Ajanta cave paintings (Buddhist, in Maharashtra, though spanning a longer period than the Guptas alone) and refined temple architecture, seen in early structural temples like the Dashavatara Temple at Deogarh. Think of the Gupta period as India's equivalent of a national science fair combined with an art exhibition happening at the same royal court — mathematics, medicine, sculpture, and poetry were not separate departments but overlapping achievements of the same few decades.

Classical Sanskrit Literature

Kalidasa is the towering literary figure of the age, author of the play Abhijnanashakuntalam (the story of King Dushyanta and Shakuntala), the epic poems Raghuvamsha and Kumarasambhava, and the lyric poem Meghaduta (Cloud Messenger). His work set the standard for classical Sanskrit drama and poetry for centuries after. Other notable texts of the wider period include the Panchatantra, a collection of animal fables attributed to Vishnu Sharma, designed to teach practical wisdom to young princes, and the compilation of the Puranas in something close to their present form.

Decline of the Gupta Empire

The empire weakened in the late 5th and 6th centuries CE under repeated invasions by the Hunas (White Huns), particularly under their leader Mihirakula, combined with the loosening grip of provincial governors who gradually asserted independence. By the mid-6th century, the once-vast empire had fragmented into smaller regional kingdoms, closing the classical chapter of ancient Indian history and opening the door to the early medieval period.

Quick Revision — One-Line Facts

• Harappa was excavated first (1921) by Daya Ram Sahni; Mohenjo-daro followed (1922) by R.D. Banerji.
• Lothal (Gujarat) had a dockyard, proving Harappan maritime trade.
• Dholavira is known for its sophisticated water reservoir system.
• Rakhigarhi (Haryana) is the largest known Harappan site in India.
• Harappan houses followed a 4:2:1 brick ratio and a grid town plan.
• The Harappan script remains undeciphered.
• The Rigveda is the oldest Veda, organised into 10 mandalas.
• Indra was the most invoked god in the Rigveda; Agni and Varuna followed.
• The Later Vedic Age saw composition of the Upanishads, the base of Vedanta philosophy.
• The varna system hardened into a birth-based hierarchy in the Later Vedic period.
• Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara, was born at Kundagrama near Vaishali.
• Jainism's five vows are called the panchamahavrata; ahimsa is the strictest.
• Jainism split into Svetambara and Digambara sects.
• Buddha was born at Lumbini, enlightened at Bodh Gaya, preached first at Sarnath, died at Kushinagar.
• Buddhism's core teaching is the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path (Middle Path).
• The First Buddhist Council was held at Rajgir; the Third, under Ashoka, was at Pataliputra.
• Chandragupta Maurya founded the Mauryan Empire (c. 321 BCE) with Chanakya's guidance.
• Megasthenes, a Greek ambassador, wrote "Indica" describing Mauryan India.
• The Kalinga War (261 BCE) transformed Ashoka; he adopted Dhamma afterward.
• The Sarnath Lion Capital is India's national emblem; its wheel is on the national flag.
• Ashoka's edicts call him "Devanampiya Piyadasi."
• Kanishka (Kushan dynasty) hosted the Fourth Buddhist Council; his era produced Gandhara art.
• Chandragupta I effectively founded Gupta imperial power (c. 320 CE).
• Samudragupta's conquests are recorded in the Allahabad Prashasti by poet Harisena.
• Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya) hosted Kalidasa; Fa Hien visited during his reign.
• Aryabhata calculated pi to four decimal places and explained earth's rotation.
• The Iron Pillar of Delhi demonstrates advanced Gupta-era metallurgy.
• Kalidasa wrote Abhijnanashakuntalam, Raghuvamsha, Kumarasambhava, and Meghaduta.
• The Gupta Empire declined mainly due to Huna invasions in the late 5th-6th centuries CE.
• Chandragupta Maurya died at Shravanabelagola after embracing Jainism.

Memory Tables

Table 1: Founders and Key Events at a Glance

Figure	Associated With	Key Fact
Daya Ram Sahni	Harappa excavation (1921)	First Harappan site discovered
R.D. Banerji	Mohenjo-daro excavation (1922)	Found Great Bath, Dancing Girl
Mahavira	Jainism (24th Tirthankara)	Born Kundagrama, died Pavapuri
Buddha	Buddhism	Born Lumbini, died Kushinagar
Chandragupta Maurya	Mauryan Empire founder	Guided by Chanakya, defeated Seleucus
Ashoka	Mauryan peak, Dhamma policy	Kalinga War turned him to non-violence
Chandragupta I	Gupta imperial rise	Married Lichchhavi princess Kumaradevi
Samudragupta	Gupta military expansion	Allahabad Prashasti by Harisena
Chandragupta II	Gupta cultural peak	Hosted Kalidasa, defeated Shakas
Aryabhata	Gupta-era science	Aryabhatiya, pi to 4 decimals

Table 2: Religious and Cultural Landmarks

Landmark/Site	Belongs To	Significance
Great Bath, Mohenjo-daro	Indus Valley Civilization	Likely ritual bathing structure
Sarnath	Buddhism	Site of first sermon, Lion Capital
Bodh Gaya	Buddhism	Site of enlightenment
Shravanabelagola	Jainism	Chandragupta Maurya's death site
Sanchi	Buddhism (Ashokan)	Major stupa and edicts
Ajanta Caves	Gupta-era Buddhist art	Cave paintings, Maharashtra
Iron Pillar, Delhi	Gupta metallurgy	Rust-resistant, over 1,600 years old
Deogarh Temple	Gupta architecture	Early structural stone temple

Practice MCQs

Q1. Which Harappan site is known for its dockyard, indicating maritime trade? (a) Kalibangan (b) Lothal (c) Banawali (d) Surkotada

Q2. The Great Bath, a major structure of the Indus Valley Civilization, was found at which site? (a) Harappa (b) Dholavira (c) Mohenjo-daro (d) Rakhigarhi

Q3. Which Veda is the oldest and consists of hymns organised into ten mandalas? (a) Samaveda (b) Yajurveda (c) Atharvaveda (d) Rigveda

Q4. Vardhamana Mahavira, the last Tirthankara of Jainism, was born near which city? (a) Kapilavastu (b) Vaishali (c) Pataliputra (d) Ujjain

Q5. At which location did Gautama Buddha deliver his first sermon? (a) Bodh Gaya (b) Kushinagar (c) Sarnath (d) Lumbini

Q6. Who was the mentor and advisor of Chandragupta Maurya, author of the Arthashastra? (a) Megasthenes (b) Chanakya (c) Harisena (d) Vishnu Sharma

Q7. The Kalinga War, which changed the course of Ashoka's rule, was fought in which year? (a) 326 BCE (b) 305 BCE (c) 261 BCE (d) 232 BCE

Q8. The Sarnath Lion Capital, adopted as independent India's national emblem, was originally erected by whom? (a) Chandragupta Maurya (b) Ashoka (c) Kanishka (d) Samudragupta

Q9. Which Greek ambassador visited the Mauryan court and wrote an account titled "Indica"? (a) Seleucus Nicator (b) Alexander (c) Megasthenes (d) Fa Hien

Q10. The Allahabad Prashasti, describing Samudragupta's military conquests, was composed by whom? (a) Kalidasa (b) Harisena (c) Aryabhata (d) Varahamihira

Q11. Which Gupta ruler's reign is associated with the visit of the Chinese pilgrim Fa Hien? (a) Chandragupta I (b) Samudragupta (c) Chandragupta II (d) Skandagupta

Q12. Aryabhata, in his work Aryabhatiya, is credited with explaining which of the following? (a) Formation of the Himalayas (b) Rotation of the earth causing day and night (c) Origin of Sanskrit grammar (d) Construction of the Iron Pillar

Q13. The Kushan ruler under whom the Fourth Buddhist Council was held, and whose reign saw the flowering of Gandhara art, was: (a) Ashoka (b) Kanishka (c) Pushyamitra Shunga (d) Chandragupta II

Q14. Which of the following is correctly matched with regard to the decline of the Indus Valley Civilization theories currently favoured by mainstream historians? (a) Aryan invasion, now the most widely accepted theory (b) Alien intervention (c) Climatic change and river shifting (d) Sudden volcanic eruption

Q15. Kalidasa, the celebrated Sanskrit poet and playwright of the Gupta court, wrote which of the following works? (a) Panchatantra (b) Arthashastra (c) Abhijnanashakuntalam (d) Brihat Samhita

Answer Key

Q	Answer	Reason
1	(b) Lothal	Lothal in Gujarat had a dockyard confirming Harappan sea trade with Mesopotamia.
2	(c) Mohenjo-daro	The Great Bath, made watertight with gypsum mortar, was a Mohenjo-daro landmark.
3	(d) Rigveda	Rigveda is the oldest Veda, containing over a thousand hymns in ten mandalas.
4	(b) Vaishali	Mahavira was born at Kundagrama, near Vaishali, in present-day Bihar.
5	(c) Sarnath	Buddha's first sermon at Sarnath is called the Dharmachakra Pravartana.
6	(b) Chanakya	Chanakya (Kautilya), author of the Arthashastra, guided Chandragupta Maurya's rise.
7	(c) 261 BCE	The Kalinga War led Ashoka to renounce armed conquest and adopt Dhamma.
8	(b) Ashoka	The Lion Capital at Sarnath was erected by Ashoka; its wheel is on India's flag.
9	(c) Megasthenes	Megasthenes, sent by Seleucus Nicator, recorded Mauryan society in "Indica."
10	(b) Harisena	Harisena, Samudragupta's court poet, composed the Prayag Prashasti.
11	(c) Chandragupta II	Fa Hien visited India during Chandragupta II's reign, describing a prosperous kingdom.
12	(b) Rotation of the earth	Aryabhata correctly attributed day and night to earth's rotation on its axis.
13	(b) Kanishka	Kanishka's patronage produced the Fourth Buddhist Council and Gandhara art.
14	(c) Climatic change and river shifting	Modern consensus favours climatic and river-course changes over the discredited invasion theory.
15	(c) Abhijnanashakuntalam	Kalidasa's play tells the story of King Dushyanta and Shakuntala.