Question Discussion & Solution

The correct answer is Simuka.

Key Points

• The founder of the Satavahana dynasty was Simuka.
• The Satavahanas established their independent rule after the decline of the Mauryas.
• Satavahanas ruled over parts of western and central India.
• They were also known as the Andhras.
• The Puranas and inscriptions remain important sources for the history of Satavahanas.
• Important inscriptions:
  • The Nasik and Nanaghad inscriptions throw much light on the reign of Gautamiputra Satakarni. 
• Satvahana rulers worshipped a large number of Vaishnava gods such as Krishna, Vasudeva, and others.
• The official language of the Satavahanas was Prakrit.

Additional Information

• Gautamiputra Satakarni:
  • He was the greatest ruler of the Satavahana dynasty.
  • He took his name after his mother.
  • He ruled for a period of 24 years from 106 to 130 A.D.
• Hala:
  • ​He was the 17th King of the Satavahana dynasty.
  • He wrote books on Gathasaptasati and Sattasai.
• Vasudeva:
  • ​The founder of the Kanva dynasty
  • He assassinated the last ruler of the Sunga dynasty.

The correct answer is Five.

Key Points

• The first sermon was delivered to his 5 disciples at Sarnath in a deer park.
• The first sermon delivered by Buddha was on deliverance from suffering.
• The event of the first sermon is known as "Dharmachakra Pravartana" which means turning the wheel of dharma.
• In the first sermon, Buddha gave two elements of the Holy Trinity of Buddhism.
  • Dhamma: Teachings
  • Sangha: Order of Buddhist monks and nuns
• His five disciples became Arhats.
• Buddha obtained Mahaparinirvana at the age of 80 in Kushinagar.

Additional Information

• After attaining Enlightenment Buddha discovered four noble truths:
  • The truth of suffering (Dukkha)
  • The truth of the cause of suffering (Samudaya)
  • The truth of the end of suffering (Nirodha), and
  • The truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering (Astangika-Marga).
• Buddha attained Enlightenment at the age of 35 at Gaya under a Peepal tree at Uruvela.
• The Peepal tree under which Buddha attained Enlightenment is the famous Bodhi tree.

The correct answer is 1829 AD.

• The Bengal Sati Regulation which banned the Sati practice in all jurisdictions of British India was passed on 4 December 1829 by the then Governor-General Lord William Bentinck.

Key Points

• Sati is a practice among Hindu communities where a recently widowed woman, either voluntarily or by force, immolates herself on her deceased husband's pyre.
• The woman who immolates herself is called a Sati which is also interpreted as a chaste woman or a good and devoted wife.
• Raja Rammohan Roy was a vociferous campaigner against Sati.
• Lord William Bentinck helped Raja Rammohan Roy to suppress many prevalent social evils like Sati, polygamy, child marriage, and female infanticide.

The correct answer is Jai Prakash Narayan.

Key Points

• Jai Prakash Narayan:
  • Jayaprakash Narayan, generally referred to as JP or Lok Nayak, was an Indian independence activist, revolutionist, theorist, socialist and political leader.
  • He is better known as the "Hero of Quit India Movement" and he is memorized for leading the mid-1970s opposition against Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, for whose overthrow he had called for a "total revolution".
  • His biography, Jayaprakash, was authored by his nationalist friend and the writer of Hindi literature, Rambriksh Benipuri.
  • In 1999, he was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in the esteem of his social work.
  • Other awards awarded to him were the Magsaysay award for Public Service in 1965.

Additional Information

• Rajendra Prasad:
  • He was the 1st President of Independent India.
  • He joined the organisation in 1911 and a few years later, he met Mahatma Gandhi.
  • He participated in the non-cooperation movement in 1920.
  • He took an active part in the rehabilitation work after the 1914 floods and the 1934 earthquake in Bihar.
  • Dr Prasad became the Congress president in 1934 at its Bombay session.
  • He was chosen president once again in 1939.
  • He spent almost 3 years in jail after the Quit India Movement.
• Braj Kishore:
  • Brajkishore Prasad was a lawyer inspired by Mohandas Gandhi during the Indian Independence Movement.
  • He was instrumental in Gandhi taking up the Champaran and Kheda Satyagraha, in which Gandhi handpicked Rajendra Prasad and Anugrah Narayan Sinha along with him to successfully lead the movement.
  • Gandhi was so impressed by Prasad's dedication that he set aside a full chapter on him in his autobiographical book, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, called "The Gentle Bihari".
• Sri Krishna Sinha:
  • He was the 1st Chief Minister of Bihar.
  • He was known as “Babu Kesari” for his lionlike roars when he rose to address the masses.
  • His close friend and prominent Gandhian, Dr Anugrah Narayan Singh wrote an essay for him titled “Mere Shri Babu”.
  • He wrote –  “ Since 1921, the history of Bihar has been the history of life”.

• Siddhartha also was known as Buddha got his enlightenment in Gaya located in the Indian state of Bihar.
• Buddha obtained enlightenment under a tree which is now popularly known as the Bodhi Tree.
• Bodh Gaya is the most sacred place for the Buddhists.
• Buddha achieved Mahaparinirvana around 484 BCE in the town of Kushinagar in north India.
• Buddha gave his first sermon in Sarnath.