The Hindu Puranas describes Maurya’s as Shudras. The Junagarh Rock Inscription of Rudradaman suggest that the Maurya’s might be Vaishaya. The Buddhist books on the other hand try to link the Maurya dynasty with Sakya Kshatriya clan to which Gautam Buddha belonged. Here are 50 Gk Question and Answer about Maurya Empire.
Q.1 Who was the founder of the Maurya Empire?
- A) Ashoka
- B) Bindusara
- C) Chandragupta Maurya
- D) Brihadratha
Answer: C) Chandragupta Maurya
Q.2 Which famous advisor and strategist helped Chandragupta Maurya to establish the Maurya Empire?
- A) Kautilya (Chanakya)
- B) Kalidasa
- C) Aryabhata
- D) Bhaskaracharya
Answer: A) Kautilya (Chanakya)
Q.3 Which ancient Indian text, written by Kautilya, is a treatise on statecraft, economic policy, and military strategy?
- A) Arthashastra
- B) Mahabharata
- C) Ramayana
- D) Rigveda
Answer: A) Arthashastra
Q.4 What was the capital of the Maurya Empire?
- A) Pataliputra
- B) Ujjain
- C) Taxila
- D) Kashi
Answer: A) Pataliputra
Q.5 Who succeeded Chandragupta Maurya as the ruler of the Maurya Empire?
- A) Ashoka
- B) Bindusara
- C) Brihadratha
- D) Kunala
Answer: B) Bindusara
Q.6 Which Mauryan emperor is known for spreading Buddhism throughout Asia?
- A) Chandragupta Maurya
- B) Bindusara
- C) Ashoka
- D) Brihadratha
Answer: C) Ashoka
Q.7 In which battle did Ashoka conquer the Kalinga region?
- A) Battle of Hydaspes
- B) Battle of Kalinga
- C) Battle of Panipat
- D) Battle of Taxila
Answer: B) Battle of Kalinga
Q.8 What was the impact of the Kalinga War on Ashoka?
- A) He continued his conquests
- B) He adopted Jainism
- C) He embraced Buddhism and non-violence
- D) He abdicated the throne
Answer: C) He embraced Buddhism and non-violence
Q.9 Which language were the edicts of Ashoka inscribed in?
- A) Sanskrit
- B) Pali
- C) Prakrit
- D) Tamil
Answer: C) Prakrit
Q.10 Under which Maurya ruler for the first time the North India was United?
- A) Ashoka
- B) Chandragupta Maurya
- C) Bindusara
- D) Brihadratha
Answer: B) Chandragupta Maurya
Also Read |
Art & Culture of Gupta Period: https://testyourgk.in/arts-culture-of-gupta-period/
Q.11 What was the primary religion of the Maurya Empire before Ashoka’s conversion to Buddhism?
- A) Hinduism
- B) Jainism
- C) Buddhism
- D) Zoroastrianism
Answer: A) Hinduism
Q.12 Who was the Greek ambassador sent to the Mauryan court?
- A) Herodotus
- B) Megasthenes
- C) Alexander
- D) Socrates
Answer: B) Megasthenes
Q.13 Which work by Megasthenes gives a detailed account of Mauryan administration and society?
- A) Indika
- B) Arthashastra
- C) Rigveda
- D) Upanishads
Answer: A) Indika
Q.14 What was the southernmost province of the Maurya Empire?
- A) Avanti
- B) Dakshinapatha
- C) Kalinga
- D) Magadha
Answer: B) Dakshinapatha
Q.15 Who was the last ruler of the Maurya Empire?
- A) Ashoka
- B) Bindusara
- C) Chandragupta Maurya
- D) Brihadratha
Answer: D) Brihadratha
Q.16 Who assassinated the last Maurya ruler Brihadratha?
- A) Pushyamitra Shunga
- B) Bindusara
- C) Chandragupta Maurya
- D) Ashoka
Answer: A) Pushyamitra Shunga
Q.17 Which region of India was NOT part of the Maurya Empire at its zenith?
- A) Tamil Nadu
- B) Gujarat
- C) Bengal
- D) Punjab
Answer: A) Tamil Nadu
Q.18 Which river was important for the Maurya capital Pataliputra?
- A) Ganga
- B) Yamuna
- C) Narmada
- D) Godavari
Answer: A) Gangas
Q.19 What was the main economic activity in the Maurya Empire?
- A) Agriculture
- B) Industry
- C) Trade
- D) Fishing
Answer: A) Agriculture
Q.20 What was the name of the council of ministers that assisted the Maurya rulers?
- A) Ratnas
- B) Mantriparishad
- C) Sabha
- D) Samiti
Answer: B) Mantriparishad
Also Read |
50 Gk MCQs about Gupta Period: https://testyourgk.in/50-gk-mcqs-about-gupta-dynasty/
Q.21 Which Mauryan emperor is credited with the construction of the Great Stupa at Sanchi?
- A) Chandragupta Maurya
- B) Bindusara
- C) Ashoka
- D) Brihadratha
Answer: C) Ashoka
Q.22 Which contemporary of Chandragupta Maurya founded the Seleucid Empire?
- A) Alexander the Great
- B) Ptolemy
- C) Seleucus Nicator
- D) Antigonus
Answer: C) Seleucus Nicator
Q.23 What was the role of the “Dhamma Mahamatta” in the Maurya administration?
- A) Military commander
- B) Chief justice
- C) Officer to spread the principles of Dhamma
- D) Tax collector
Answer: C) Officer to spread the principles of Dhamma
Q.24 The Greeks gave the title Amitrochaters to which Mauryan ruler?
- A) Dasharatha
- B) Devavarman
- C) Bindusara
- D) Ashoka
Answer: C) Bindusara
Q.25 Which ancient Indian scholar mentioned the Maurya Empire in his writings?
- A) Aryabhata
- B) Patanjali
- C) Panini
- D) Kautilya
Answer: D) Kautilya
Q.26 Which dynasty succeeded the Maurya Empire in northern India?
- A) Gupta dynasty
- B) Shunga dynasty
- C) Satavahana dynasty
- D) Kushan dynasty
Answer: B) Shunga dynasty
Q.27 What was the Mauryan system of provincial administration called?
- A) Desha
- B) Janapada
- C) Bhukti
- D) Pradesh
Answer: B) Janapada
Q.28 Which inscription provides information about Ashoka’s conversion to Buddhism?
- A) Junagadh Rock Inscription
- B) Sanchi Stupa Inscription
- C) Bhabru Edict
- D) Hathigumpha Inscription
Answer: C) Bhabru Edict
Q.29 Which Mauryan ruler established the first widespread empire in India?
- A) Ashoka
- B) Chandragupta Maurya
- C) Bindusara
- D) Brihadratha
Answer: B) Chandragupta Maurya
Q.30 What was the name of the mother of King Ashoka?
- A) Vidisha Mahadevi Kumari
- B) Subhadrangi
- C) Durdhara
- D) Mura Maurya
Answer: B) Subhadrangi
Also Read |
50 Gk MCQs about Pushyabhuti dynasty: https://testyourgk.in/50-gk-mcqs-about-pushyabhuti-dynasty/
Q.31 Which region was NOT conquered by the Mauryas?
- A) Kalinga
- B) Tamil Nadu
- C) Gandhara
- D) Bengal
Answer: B) Tamil Nadu
Q.32 Who succeeded Ashoka as the ruler of the Maurya Empire?
- A) Dasaratha
- B) Kunala
- C) Jalauka
- D) Samprati
Answer: A) Dasaratha
Q.33 Who was the youngest brother of king Ashoka?
- A) Tissa
- B) Keshnak
- C) Susima
- D) Kunala
Answer: A) Tissa
Q.34 In which inscription of Ashoka he called himself as ‘Magadhiraj’?
- A) Yerragudi Inscription
- B) Junagadh Rock Edict
- C) Bhabru Inscription
- D) Allahabad Pillar Edict
Answer: C) Bhabru Inscription
Q.35 Which Mauryan ruler’s reign marked the peak of the empire’s territorial expansion?
- A) Chandragupta Maurya
- B) Bindusara
- C) Ashoka
- D) Brihadratha
Answer: C) Ashoka
Q.36 Which Chinese traveller visited India during the Maurya period?
- A) Xuanzang
- B) Fa-Hien
- C) I-Tsing
- D) None of the above
Answer: D) None of the above
Q.37 What was the primary focus of Ashoka’s Dhamma?
- A) Economic prosperity
- B) Military expansion
- C) Moral and ethical conduct
- D) Scientific advancement
Answer: C) Moral and ethical conduct
Q.38 Which Mauryan ruler is mentioned in the Puranas?
- A) Chandragupta Maurya
- B) Bindusara
- C) Ashoka
- D) Brihadratha
Answer: A) Chandragupta Maurya
Q.39 What was the primary script used for the inscriptions of the Maurya period?
- A) Devanagari
- B) Brahmi
- C) Kharosthi
- D) Tamil-Brahmi
Answer: B) Brahmi
Q.40 Which was a major trade route during the Maurya period?
- A) Silk Road
- B) Grand Trunk Road
- C) Amber Road
- D) Incense Route
Answer: B) Grand Trunk Road (connecting Taxila in the northwest to Pataliputra)
Q.41 Who was the Mauryan ruler who established diplomatic relations with Hellenistic kingdoms?
- A) Ashoka
- B) Bindusara
- C) Chandragupta Maurya
- D) Brihadratha
Answer: C) Chandragupta Maurya
Q.42 What was the role of the “Rajukas” in the Maurya administration?
- A) Army officers
- B) Village headmen
- C) Judicial and revenue officers
- D) Messengers
Answer: C) Judicial and revenue officers
Q.43 Which Mauryan ruler is credited with organizing the Third Buddhist Council?
- A) Chandragupta Maurya
- B) Bindusara
- C) Ashoka
- D) Dasaratha
Answer: C) Ashoka
Q.44 Which region was known for its skilled elephant trainers during the Maurya period?
- A) Gandhara
- B) Magadha
- C) Kalinga
- D) Sindh
Answer: C) Kalinga
Q.45 Which ruler of Maurya Empire donated three caves namely, Vapika, Gopika & Vadithika to Ajivika monks?
- A) Samprati
- B) Dasharatha
- C) Shalishuka
- D) Devavarman
Answer: B) Dasharatha
Q.46 Which ancient university was prominent during the Maurya period?
- A) Nalanda
- B) Takshashila
- C) Vikramashila
- D) Odantapuri
Answer: B) Takshashila
Q.47 Which modern country was part of the Maurya Empire?
- A) Sri Lanka
- B) China
- C) Afghanistan
- D) Thailand
Answer: C) Afghanistan
Q.48 Which Mauryan emperor is known for sending Buddhist missionaries to Sri Lanka?
- A) Chandragupta Maurya
- B) Bindusara
- C) Ashoka
- D) Brihadratha
Answer: C) Ashoka
Q.49 Which Mauryan ruler’s reign saw the construction of the Ashokan Pillars?
- A) Chandragupta Maurya
- B) Bindusara
- C) Ashoka
- D) Dasaratha
Answer: C) Ashoka
Q.50 Which ancient text refers to the governance and polity of the Maurya Empire?
- A) Manusmriti
- B) Arthashastra
- C) Mahabharata
- D) Ramayana
Answer: B) Arthashastra
Ancient Indian History: https://testyourgk.in/category/ancient-indian-history/
Connect with us on social media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/test_your_gk?igsh=MWN6b3Bwd2lhaDN1OA==
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561756379011&mibextid=ZbWKwL
Pinterest: https://pin.it/4ad8gsy44
Telegram: https://t.me/testyourgkofficial
1 thought on “50 Gk MCQs about Maurya Empire”