Traditions and Encounters, 4th Edition (Bentley)

Chapter 9: STATE, SOCIETY, AND THE QUEST FOR SALVATION IN INDIA

Multiple Choice Quiz

1
Which of the following was not conveyed by the author of the Indika?
A)Indian ants were as big as foxes and could mine gold from the earth.
B)Large Indian armies used elephants as war animals.
C)The Indians were suffering from poverty and all kinds of miseries.
D)The capital of Patalputra had 570 towers.
E)There were two prominent belief systems that were exempt from taxes.
2
In contrast to Persia and China, classical India
A)was isolated from the outside world by formidable geographical barriers.
B)did not have well-developed religions.
C)lacked a strong and continuing imperial tradition.
D)was a backward country in terms of economy and culture.
E)All of the answers are correct.
3
The invasions of Darius and Alexander played an important role in Indian politics and history because
A)the conquests brought India, Persia, and Mesopotamia together as one country.
B)foreign religions began to take root in Indian society.
C)the Greeks dominated Indian history for centuries.
D)the intrusions destroyed many petty kingdoms and created a political vacuum.
E)All of the answers are correct.
4
The man who founded the first Indian empire was
A)Chandragupta Maurya
B)Chandra Gupta
C)Ashoka Maurya
D)Alexander of Macedon
E)Siddhartha Gautama
5
Ashoka, the great emperor of the Mauryan empire,
A)was the only emperor who extended India beyond the subcontinent.
B)wrote a handbook on the principles of government
C)converted to Buddhism after his bloody war against Kalinga.
D)abdicated his throne and led a life so ascetic that he starved himself to death.
E)None of the answers are correct.
6
Which of the following caused the Maurya empire to decline and collapse?
A)financial difficulties caused by maintaining the army and bureaucracy.
B)peasant rebellions and factional violence among members of the imperial court.
C)foreign invasion by White Huns.
D)too many converts to Jainism refused to fight wars.
E)All of the answers are correct.
7
The Kushan empire
A)originated from nomadic conquerors from central Asia.
B)pacified large areas of present-day Pakistan, Afghanistan, and north India.
C)peaked under the rule of Kashika.
D)played a crucial role in the Silk Road trading network.
E)All of the answers are correct.
8
Compared with the Mauryan empire, the Gupta empire was
A)smaller in size.
B)less powerful and stable.
C)less centralized.
D)longer-lived.
E)All of answers are correct.
9
The White Huns occupied Bactria and prepared to cross the Hindu Kush into India during the fourth and fifth centuries. Their invasions
A)reduced the Gupta empire into an empty name.
B)galvanized local kingdoms to unify themselves for self-defense.
C)met fierce resistance from the Gupta empire.
D)introduced Buddhism to India.
E)None of the answers are correct.
10
Which of the following is true with respect to marriage in classical India?
A)Child marriage was common.
B)Intercaste marriage was forbidden by law.
C)An ideal wife was weak-willed, faithful, and loyal to her husband.
D)Sita was the model of the ideal wife.
E)All of these.
11
In classical India, jati
A)were economically self-sufficient and politically autonomous.
B)had their own courts to control crimes and solve disputes.
C)were not much different from guilds of other societies.
D)were based on religious affiliation.
E)All of the answers are correct.
12
Your textbook states that "economic development and social change in classical India had profound implications for the established cultural as well as social order." By this the authors meant that
A)social distinctions based on castes and jati were practically out of date.
B)asceticism became unnecessary when more and more people became wealthy.
C)Aryan rituals and beliefs became more popular.
D)new religions emerged to meet the needs of changing times.
E)None of the answers are correct.
13
Among the principles of Jainist ethics, the most important was
A)ahimsa.
B)kshatriya.
C)Jina.
D)kama.
E)Boddhisatva.
14
According to legend, Siddhartha Gautama, the first Buddha, abandoned his family and comfortable life to lead the existence of a holy man because of his concern with
A)suffering.
B)the souls of everything in the universe.
C)social responsibility associated with his caste.
D)his guilt over his behavior in battle.
E)his children.
15
The religious goal of early Buddhism was
A)"Turning of the Wheel of the Law."
B)the Four Noble Truths.
C)the Noble Eightfold path.
D)nirvana.
E)reincarnation.
16
According to the authors of the textbook, Jainism and Buddhism appealed especially to members of lower castes because both religions
A)practiced asceticism, which poor people could afford to do.
B)did not recognize social distinctions based on caste or jati.
C)organized monastic orders that provided the poor with shelters and a meaningful lifestyle as monks.
D)appealed to the brahmans.
E)All of the answers are correct.
17
Which of the following statements do not apply to Ashoka's support of Buddhism?
A)He banned animal sacrifices and hunting.
B)He became a vegetarian.
C)He built monasteries and stupas and made pilgrimages to Buddhist holy sites.
D)He sent Buddhist missionaries to foreign countries.
E)He abdicated his throne, abandoned his imperial family, lived in a Buddhist monastery, and finally attained nirvana.
18
One of the differences between early Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism was that
A)Mahayana theologians invented the notion of the boddhisatva.
B)Mahayana theologians revised the Four Noble Truths.
C)Mahayana Buddhists did not honor the Buddha as a god.
D)Mahayana Buddhists did not embrace the notion of dharma.
E)Mahayana Buddhism was dominant in Ceylon.
19
Buddhism gradually lost its popularity in India because
A)it did not promise to make life easy for its adherents.
B)Brahmans, the dominant class of classical India, no longer tolerated Buddhism.
C)Buddhist monasteries were abolished in India by royal decree.
D)it grew increasingly remote from the population at large.
E)All of the answers are correct.
20
Which of the following is not true with regard to Hinduism?
A)It restricted sexual activities.
B)It became the most popular religion of classical India.
C)It did not have a single founder like Siddhartha Gautama for Buddhism.
D)It supported the caste system.
E)It included a belief in reincarnation.
Traditions and Encounters Book Cover
Glencoe Online Learning CenterSocial Studies HomeProduct InfoSite MapContact Us

The McGraw-Hill CompaniesGlencoe

Please read our Terms of Use and Privacy Notice before you explore our Web site. To report a technical problem with this Web site, please contact the Web Producer.