SAST Final Flashcards
Who left an inscription in Allahabad and was the first great ruler of the imperial Guptas?
Samudragupta
What was the old name of Allahabad?
Prayag
When did Chandragupta I rule?
AD 320-335
When did Samudragupta live?
AD 335-375
Samudragupta’s most famous campaign took place where?
Southern India
Why did the king of Sri Lanka send gifts to the Gupta court?
For permission to build monastery and a guesthouse for Buddhist pilgrims at Bodh Gaya
One model some scholars use to explain Gupta rule is which of the following?
Multi-centered
When did Chandragupta II live?
AD 375-413/415
What was Chandragupta II greatest military success?
Victory over Shaka-Kshatrapa dynasty and annexation of their prosperous realm in Gujarat
When did the Vakataka dynasty rise to prominence?
3rd century AD after the fall of the Shatavanvahana empire
What role did Prabhavatigupta play in the Vakataka’s realm?
acted as regent for her two sons
What was the original pattern for Gupta coins?
initially conformed to Roman pattern and were called Dinara, later diminishes gold content and increased weight from 7.8g->9.3g
What types of currencies were used in the Gupta dynasty?
Gold coins called Dinara
When did Faxian visit India?
During the Reign of Chandragupta II
One of the reasons that the Guptas are so famous is which of the following?
Flowering of classical Sanskrit literature
Who was the greatest dramatist and poet during the Gupta dynasty?
Kalidasa
When did the Puranas achieve their final shape?
Age of the Guptas
How many Great Puranas are there?
18
Which Purana teaches about Durga?
Devimahatmya part of the Markandeya Purana
What is the Indian name for the god of war?
Kumaraskanda
One source of revenue for Buddhist temples during the Gupta period was donations by wealthy individuals. What was another source of income for them?
Interest
What was one source of income for Hindu temples during the Gupta period?
Land grants or of the assignment of the revenue of whole villages
Who were the Pushyamitras?
Tribal community living on the banks of Narmada
What was one of the results of Skandagupta’s victory over the Huns?
Disrupted international trade of northwestern India, diminished one of the most important financial sources of the Gupta empire
When were the Huns successful in conquering NW India?
510-ish
Toramana the Hun’s son was named which of the following?
Mihirakula
Yashodharma won a battle against the Hun king in 528. But what lead to the Hun’s down fall?
Defeat at the hands of the Turks in central Asia around middle 6th century
What was the effect of Hun rule on Buddhist establishments?
Succumbed to this assault and never recovered
What separates South India from the North?
Vindhya mountains and Narmada river and large tracts of barren inhospitable land
What cultural influence spread from South India to the North?
Bhakti movement
What was one way Hinduisation affected the southern tribes?
Oppression and exploitation of tribal ppl
What made the southern delta areas so enticing to settlement?
Fertile and rivers
Which products does the Arthashastra NOT list as found in South India?
Anything other than shells, diamonds, and other precious stones, pearls and articles made of gold
Which eco-type is NOT mentioned in the Sangam texts?
Anything other than mountains (kurrinci), forests and pastures (mullai), dry, barren land (palai), valleys of great rivers (marutam), and the coast (neytal)
What was one of the goods that South India coastal areas produced?
Salt
The Mauryan Empire’s administration acted as a model for southern India’s emerging centers. What else was a major influence on the development of politics?
trade with northern Indian, migration of Buddhist and Jaina monks
Following the fall of the Maurya Empire who called himself “Supreme Lord of Kalinga”?
Kharavela
What allowed the king of Kalinga to eliminate taxes?
Spoils of many successful campaigns
How many war elephants did Kalinga maintain according to Pliny the Elder?
700
According to the Aitareya Brahmana text what is the origin of the Shatavahana?
Non-Aryan tribe in 500 BC
Where was the capital of the Shatavahana under Satakarni I?
Pratisthana (Paithan)
How many cavalry did the Shatavahanas keep according to Pliny the Elder?
30,000
Administratively what was a general feature of state formation in the early medieval period in India?
Incorporation of local lords into state hierarchy
Who is recorded to have made donations to Nagarjunikonda?
The Queen
One of the South Indian Buddhist monasteries inscriptions lists realms it had relations with. Which kingdom is Not listed?
Kashmir and Gandhara, the Yavanas (Greeks), Vanavasi in western India, Toshali and Vanga (Orissa and Bengal), in the east Damila (Tamil Nadu), and the Island of Tamrapani (Sri Lanka), and even China
According to modern research when was the Sangam literature composed?
500 BC to 500 AD
Which kingdom used the kulasangha form of rule?
Chera kingdom
When did the Kalabhra Interregnum end?
When the Pallava dynasty emerged in sixth century
Under which Kalabhra king did Buddhism and poets prosper?
Acchutavikkanta
What was an important aspect of South Indian history?
Flourishing trade with Rome
How did Hegel depict trade with India?
moving force/all nations have directed their wishes and desires to this miraculous country/treasures
When trade with the Mediterranean declined what did South Indian kingdoms do?
They turned to Southeast Asia
Under which Roman Emperor did trade with India greatly expand?
Augustus
What was the most important port on the Malabar coast of India?
Muziris
Where were the shards of Red Polish Ware dug up at Poduka originally form?
Areezo in Italy
What was the driving force on India’s international trade?
Quest for Roman gold
When did Harsha reign?
606-647
What was the northern boundary of Harsha’s kingdom?
Punjab/Himalayas
What was Bana’s book’s title?
Harshacharita
How long did Xuanzang visit India to study Buddhism?
13 years (630-643)
Who defeated Harsha’s army in about 630 CE?
Pulakeshin II
Where was the Pallavas’ capital?
Kanchipuram near Madras
Whose brother was set up as viceroy at Vengi?
Pulakeshin II’s bro
Who selected Kanauj as his capital one century after Harsha?
Yashovarman
Which dynasty controlled parts of Bihar and Bengal in the late eighth century?
Pala dynasty
Who ruled the Deccan following the Rashtrakutas?
Chalukyas of the Kalyani
Who ruled Kashmir in the eighth century?
Lalitaditya
The Gurjara Pratihars and the Palas often fought each other. Which dynasty defeated both of them?
The 3rd Rashtrakuta king, Dhurva
Which king bestowed the lands of the Cholas on his family members?
Krishna III (Rasktrakuta King)
The Prathiharas maintained four large armies. How many men were in each?
700,000 to 900,000 men
How did the Cholas gain control of the Krishna-Godaveri delta region?
marital alliance
What did the fire sacrifice on Mount Abu accomplish for the Rajputs?
purified and admitted them to status of Kshatriyas
Who founded Delhi?
Tomaras
Who had built the Khajuraho temples?
Chandellas
Who founded the Pala dynasty?
Gopala
How did Ramapala put an end to Kaivarta power?
cementing alliance with various neighbouring rulers
Who replaced the Palas?
Vijayasena
Who took the western part of Lakshmanasens’s kingdom?
Muhammad Bakhtyar Khalji
Which educational institution was founded by Dharmapala?
New Buddhist university of Vikramashila
What is one indication of Palal Buddhist culture influencing Southeast Asia?
Paintings of Thangkas in Tibet and sculptures of Southeast Asia
Who was the first Chalukya king?
Pulakeshin I
What did the first Chalukya king do to declare his independence from the Kadambas?
Establish capital in Vatapi and celebrated great horse sacrifice
What year did Vikramiditya II of the Chalukya capture the Pallava capital?
740
Who founded the Pallava dynasty?
King Simhavishnu
What was the original religion that Mahendravarman followed?
Jainism
Who constructed the port Mahabalipuram?
Narasimhavarman aka Mahamalla
Who was the greatest Pallava builder?
Narasimhavarman II
How many Buddhist monasteries were there in Kanchipuram during Pallava rule?
100
How many Hindu temples were there in Kanchipuram during the Pallava rule?
80
What opportunity provided the Chola come back in the 9th -10th century?
Tributary princes under the Pallavas and reasserted their independence when Pallava power declined due to constant confrontation with mighty Rashtrakutas
Which kingdoms did Rajaraja Chola defeat to expand his territorial boundaries?
Pandyas & Cheras
Who built and Buddhist monastery at Nagapatam in 1005 CE?
Shailendra king of Shrivvijaya
What drove the expansion of the Cholas into Southeast Asia and raised concerns with Siam and Cambodia?
Trade with China
When did the international trade merchants raise to a significant power factor in India?
Medieval Period
Which region of international trade was controlled by the Ayyavole?
Trade of the Deccan
What was the regional base of the Manigramam trade guild?
Tamil Nadu
What evidence is there that the “negation of the world” philosophy was not as prevalent in the late Middle Ages as it was in the early period of India?
inscription showing merchants had high opinion of themselves
What effect did the constant raise and fall of dynasties in the Middle Ages have on the culture of India?
Distributive effect
What difference in structure of the government is found in comparing Harsha’s Empire with the Gupta Empire?
Internal structure
What was a distinctive structural feature on the medieval realms?
Rise of samantas
Why was the medieval political structure inherently weak?
Not in position to install centralized admin beyond core area
What was the first stage of “development from below” in South India?
Tribal chieftain would turn into local Hindu princeling
What role did the tributary princes play in administration of the nuclear areas of a realm in Medieval India?
attended court of king but played no significant role in admin
What event would mark the beginning of the third phase in the “development from below” in South India?
conquest and annexation of at least 1 early kingdom and some principalities which existed in intermediate region
What was one type of development Orissa had before the decline of Kharavela’s realm?
imposed from above or imported from other region
When did the second phase of development in Orissa began?
Samudragupta’s intervention
What areas were brought together by the Somavamshis?
3 at coast and 2 in hinterland
Which group of government officials is not mentioned in the Mahanadi delta inscription?
governors and district officers
Who can the mandala lords of the Bhaumakara dynasty’s realm be compared to?
Allodial lords of medieval Europe
How was the king’s prestige measured in Medieval India?
in terms of number of tributary princes attending the court
What was Amoghavarsha’s cleaver way to control the tributary princes?
sent thousands dancers and courtesans as spies to the courts of his samantas
In the Gupta dynasty why did the king give land grants to Brahmins in distant lands?
So they would act as missionaries of Hindu culture
What was the name of the large temple build in Paramaras around 1059-80?
Udayeshvara Temple at Udaipur
The close connections between the king and the large temple allowed him do what to unruly samantas?
Threaten with royal god
What is one religious factor that characterizes medieval India?
Transformation of Brahminism into a new kind of Hinduism
What was one non-religious factor that characterizes medieval India?
growth of regional cultures, evolution of regional language, emergence of regional kingdoms
In medieval India why was infrastructure and agrarian extension under financed?
Resources diverted to Brahmins and temples
What two contradictory tendencies when synthesized led to Hinduism of today?
Brahmin counter-reformaiton and Bhakti cults
Which of the Hindu schools of philosophy is considered the “essence of Indian philosophy”?
Vedanta
When did Shankara life?
788-820
According to Shankara why do people believe the world is real?
Ignorance (avidya)
How did Shankara accommodate popular Hinduism?
“allowing for lower truth” which embodies the manifold experience of the world and implies the existence of a divine creator
Bhakti emphasizes which of the following?
Love of God and child-like devotion to him
Where did the Bhakti movement begin?
Tamil Nadu
What were the Vaishnavite bhakti saints called?
Nayanars and Alwars
What constitutes the “Tamil Veda”?
“Holy Scriptures” (Tirumurai)
What groups of people made up the early Shaivite bhakti movement?
Tamils/Tamil Saints
What religious phenomenon helped increase bhakti’s appeal?
Gods manifested themselves at numerous places on Earth as well as in their heavenly abodes.
What were two aspects of incorporating local gods into the greater Hindu pantheon?
anthropomorphism
sanskritised
What cult is centered at Chidambaram?
Cult of Shiva
Vyagrahapada came to Chidambaram for what reason?
In order to worship the Mulasthana lingam
How was the “fish-eyed” goddess incorporated into the Great Tradition of Hindusim?
identifying her with Shiva’s wife Parvati
According to the Great Tradition who is Jagannath?
Lord of the World
Why do people go on pilgrimage to Gaya?
sacrifice for the ancestors
Who was the most important representative of the Vaishnavite School of philosophy?
Ramanja
The Vaishnavite philosophy of 1,100 CE is classified as which of the following?
Combination of Shankara’s Advaita philosophy with the Vaishnava Pancharatra theology, the latter claiming that Vishnu is the foundation of the universe - became doctrine of the Shri Vaishnavas. Ramanuja advocated a ‘qualified monism’ (vishishthadvaita).
What is the content of the Gitagovinda?
love of Radha and Krishba
When did Chaitanya live?
1485-1533
What was one factor that helped northern India emerge from being eclipsed by the south?
Mathura chosen as centre of Krishna cult
The most prominent school of Shaivism in the north was which of the following?
Kashmir Shaivism
Who was the greatest exponent of Shaivism who lived in the 11th century?
Abhinavagupta
What was one of the advantages that Shaiva Siddhanta?
Match the overpowering influence of Ramanuja’s philosophy
What is one of the significant characteristics of the Lingayats?
Buried their dead instead of burned, reject caste system and Brahmin hegemony ritual, prohibit child marriage, allow re-marriage of widows, strict vegetarians, emphasized non-killing (ahimsa), shunned sexual excesses
What was one contributing factor in the development of regional literature?
various sects and religious movements
What helped promote pilgrimage sites in the period 1000-1300 CE?
Indo-Aryan languages
Which of the three theories of spreading Indian culture to SE Asia has been rejected by scholars?
Kshatriya
Why was J.C. van Leur important?
The first critic
Who sent the first Buddhist monks to Burma?
Ashoka
Which South Indian Buddhist master spent five months in Suvarnadvipa on his way to China?
Vajrabodhi
Which area of India deserves the greatest credit for spreading Indian influences in SE Asia?
South India, especially Tamil Nadu
When did direct Indian influence recede in SE Asia?
13th century
Which dynasty is considered a Golden Age in India?
Gupta
Who was the last great Gupta ruler in the 5th century?
Skandagupta
Which areas of study advanced under the Gupta rule?
Math and Astronomy
Who was the greatest poet and dramatists during the Gupta period?
Kalidasa
Who were the great Mahayana philosophers and co-founders during the Gupta period?
Nagarjuna, Asanga, Vasubandhu, Maitreya
What was different about the Gupta military in comparison to previous native Indian militaries?
no chariots but mounted warriors lancers/swords no archers steel bows and arrows, fire arrows war elephants shields, javelins, swords
The God Shiva is often depicted as a lingam what is the goddess depicted as?
Yoni
The period of Shakyamuni’s life that Mahayana took as a model was which of the following?
Awakening->Parinirvana
The future earthly Buddha will be named which of the following?
Maitreya
When did the Vajrayana originate?
6th century
Kriya, Carya, Yoga and Anuyoga tantras are based on what fundamental Buddhist concept?
Darshana
Which is a feature of Tantric Hinduism?
world embracing vision, positive expression of divine consciousness in male (shiva) and female (shakti) forms
One of the unique techniques used in Hindu tantra is which of the following?
sex yoga, mantra, rituals, asanas, pranayama, yatra, mandalas
In what century did Harsh come to power?
In the year 606 (7th)
How old was Harsha when he was crowned king?
16
Which play did Harsha write?
Ratnavali, Nagananda, Priyadarshika
When was the Pala Empire begin?
750
Which Pala king ruled in 1170 CE?
Vigrahapala III
The earliest (proto-) Bengala literary work is which of the following?
Bhuddhist Charyapada
When was the Chera Dynasty founded?
3rd century B.C.E.
Who established the Medieval Cholas?
King Vijayalaya
In what year was Rajadhiraja Chola II ruling?
1044-1053
In what centuries did the Chalukya ruel?
6-12th
Which religious group did the Chalukya support?
Jainism, Shaivism
Who was the founder of the Badami Chulukya royal dynasty?
Pulakeshi I
In the Vedic Mahajanapada period, what was the name of Andhra?
Telugu Cholas
According to the powerpoint, who was the last of the “Later Pallava” rulers?
Aparajitha Varman
Who brought Buddhism to Sri Lanka?
Mahinda
In which centuries did the Licchavis rule Kathmandu valley?
3rd century CE
