1. The Aryans originally lived somewhere east of the Alps, in a region known as which area?
2. In which ancient text is the earliest specimen of the Indo-European language found?
3. Consider the following statements regarding the Rig Veda:
(I) It consists of ten mandalas.
(II) Books II to VII form its earliest portions.
(III) Books I and X seem to have been the latest additions.
Which of the above is/are correct?
4. The Rig Veda has many common features with which text, considered the oldest text in the Iranian language?
5. Aryan names mentioned in the Kassite inscriptions of 1600 B.C. and the Mitanni inscriptions of the fourteenth century B.C. were found in which present-day country?
6. The Aryans are believed to have appeared in India a little earlier than which year?
7. What type of weapons associated with the earliest Aryans have been discovered in north-western India?
8. The Sindhu river mentioned repeatedly in the Rig Veda is identical with which modern river?
9. The Sarasvati river, mentioned in the Rig Veda and now lost in the sands of Rajasthan, is represented by the area covered by which present river?
10. The Aryans possibly obtained copper for their earliest settlements in India from mines located in which region?
11. The whole region in which the Aryans first settled in India is called by which name?
12. In the Rig Veda, the term used for the indigenous inhabitants who were also mentioned in ancient Iranian literature was:
13. Which term in the Rig Veda refers to the "slaughter of the dasyus," reflecting Aryan hostility towards this group?
14. Consider the following statements about the Battle of Ten Kings:
(I) It was fought on the river Parushni, identical with the river Ravi.
(II) It gave victory to Sudas and established the supremacy of the Bharatas.
(III) The Purus were the most important among the defeated tribes.
Which of the above is/are correct?
15. The Bharatas subsequently joined hands with the Purus to form which new ruling tribe?
16. In the Rig Veda, the term used for war, literally meaning "search for cows," is:
17. Which term used for copper or bronze in the Rig Veda indicates that metal-working was known to the Rig Vedic Aryans?
18. The recently excavated Painted Grey Ware site found along with 'late Harappan' pottery, roughly of the Rig Vedic period, is located in which state?
19. In the Rig Vedic period, the tribal chief who led the administrative machinery was known by which title?
20. Consider the following pairs of Rig Vedic tribal assemblies and their nature:
(I) Sabha – deliberative assembly attended even by women
(II) Samiti – important political assembly
(III) Vidatha – assembly exercising deliberative, military and religious functions
Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?
21. Who were the two priests, described as purohitas, who played a major part in the time of the Rig Veda?
22. The Rig Vedic functionary who used spears, axes and swords, and commanded the militia in times of war, was called:
23. In the Rig Vedic tribal organization, the officer who enjoyed authority over the pasture ground was called:
24. In the Rig Veda, the term varna, used for social divisions, originally denoted:
25. The fourth social division, the sudras, is mentioned for the first time in which part of the Rig Veda?
26. Which Rig Vedic god, called Purandara or "breaker of forts," was regarded as a warlord and rain god, with 250 hymns devoted to him?
27. Which Rig Vedic god, to whom 200 hymns are devoted, acted as an intermediary between the gods and the people?
28. Which Rig Vedic god occupied the third important position and was supposed to uphold the natural order (rta)?
29. According to the Rig Veda, the marriageable age of women seems to have been:
30. Which of the following collections of Vedic hymns, set to tune for the purpose of singing, is considered a modified version of the Rig Veda?
31. Which Vedic Samhita contains charms and spells to ward off evils and diseases, throwing light on non-Aryan beliefs and practices?
32. The later Vedic texts, including the Vedic Samhitas and the Brahmanas, were compiled in which region?
33. The Later Vedic period, associated with Painted Grey Ware and iron-phase archaeology, is dated to approximately:
34. The Kuru and Panchala peoples combined to form the Kuru-Panchala power, with their capital set up at:
35. The Mahabharata war, the main theme of the epic, is supposed to have been fought around which year, between the Kauravas and Pandavas of the Kuru clan?
36. Towards the end of the later Vedic period, around 600 B.C., the Vedic people spread from the doab further east into which regions?
37. Iron was first used in the Gandhara area, in present-day Pakistan, from around which period?
38. Excavations show that iron weapons such as arrow-heads and spear-heads came to be commonly used in western Uttar Pradesh from about which year?
39. For the first time, the Later Vedic people came to be acquainted with which crop in the doab, referred to as vrihi in the Vedic texts?
40. Which of the following royal sacrifices performed by later Vedic kings was supposed to confer supreme power on the performer?
41. Which later Vedic royal sacrifice meant unquestioned control over an area through which the royal horse ran uninterrupted?
42. The officer with whom taxes and tributes were probably deposited during the Later Vedic period was called:
43. Consider the following statements about the four varnas in the Later Vedic period:
(I) The vaisyas were assigned producing functions such as agriculture and cattle-breeding.
(II) The kshatriyas are represented as living on the tributes collected from the vaisyas.
(III) All three higher varnas were entitled to upanayana, while the sudras were deprived of the sacred thread ceremony.
Which of the above is/are correct?
44. Which artisan class in the Later Vedic period, associated with chariot-making, enjoyed a high status and was entitled to the sacred thread ceremony despite generally being outside the three higher varnas?
45. In the Later Vedic pantheon, which god, formerly a minor deity, came to occupy the supreme position as the creator?
46. Which Later Vedic god, associated with cattle, came to be regarded as the god of the sudras?
47. The Upanishads, which criticized rituals and stressed the value of right belief and knowledge of atma and Brahma, were compiled around 600 B.C. mainly in the land of:
