Introduction
The Sunga Dynasty was founded in 185 BCE by Pushyamitra Sunga, who was the commander-in-chief of the last Mauryan king, Brihadratha. He killed Brihadratha and took over the throne, marking the end of the Mauryan Empire. The Sunga Dynasty ruled parts of North and Central India, with its capital at Pataliputra (later shifted to Vidisha). This dynasty is important for exams because it acted as a bridge between the fall of the Mauryas and the rise of later Indian kingdoms.
It is also linked to important developments in religion, art, and literature, such as the Manusmriti, the Malavikagnimitram by Kalidasa, and the famous Bharhut Stupa. Questions on the Sunga Dynasty often test facts about its founder, important rulers, art and architecture, and its relation with Buddhism.
Below given 50+ Important Gk MCQs Sunga Dynasty MCQs:
Q.1 Who founded the Sunga Dynasty?
A) Pushyamitra Sunga
B) Agnimitra
C) Vasumitra
D) Devabhuti
Answer: A) Pushyamitra Sunga
Q.2 Pushyamitra Sunga overthrew which Mauryan ruler?
A) Ashoka
B) Brihadratha
C) Dasharatha
D) Samprati
Answer: B) Brihadratha
Q.3 The Sunga Dynasty was founded around which year?
A) 322 BCE
B) 273 BCE
C) 185 BCE
D) 78 BCE
Answer: C) 185 BCE
Q.4 Who was the last ruler of the Maurya Dynasty?
A) Ashoka
B) Bindusara
C) Brihadratha
D) Dasharatha
Answer: C) Brihadratha
Q.5 Pushyamitra Sunga was originally the —
A) Minister of the Mauryan Empire
B) Commander-in-Chief of the Mauryan army
C) Governor of Ujjain
D) Chief Priest
Answer: B) Commander-in-Chief of the Mauryan army
Q.6 Which dynasty succeeded the Mauryas in northern India?
A) Gupta Dynasty
B) Kushana Dynasty
C) Sunga Dynasty
D) Satavahana Dynasty
Answer: C) Sunga Dynasty
Q.7 What was the original capital of the Sunga Dynasty?
A) Ujjain
B) Pataliputra
C) Taxila
D) Vidisha
Answer: B) Pataliputra (modern-day Patna, Bihar)
Q.8 Which city later became an important capital of the Sunga rulers?
A) Vidisha
B) Madurai
C) Kannauj
D) Mathura
Answer: A) Vidisha (also known as Besnagar)
Q.9 Pushyamitra Sunga is mentioned in which ancient Buddhist text?
A) Milindapanho
B) Divyavadana
C) Buddhacharita
D) Lalitavistara
Answer: B) Divyavadana
Q.10 Which Buddhist text mentions the alleged persecution of Buddhists by Pushyamitra Sunga?
A) Divyavadana
B) Mahavamsa
C) Dipavamsa
D) Tripitaka
Answer: A) Divyavadana
Q.11 Which scholar is associated with the Sunga period?
A) Patanjali
B) Ashvaghosha
C) Nagarjuna
D) Vasubandhu
Answer: A) Patanjali
Q.12 Patanjali wrote which famous grammatical work?
A) Arthashastra
B) Mahabhashya
C) Ashtadhyayi
D) Mudrarakshasa
Answer: B) Mahabhashya
Q.13 Patanjali’s Mahabhashya is a commentary on the grammar of —
A) Panini
B) Kalidasa
C) Kautilya
D) Banabhatta
Answer: A) Panini
Q.14 Which ruler of the Sunga Dynasty performed the Ashvamedha sacrifice?
A) Agnimitra
B) Pushyamitra Sunga
C) Bhagabhadra
D) Devabhuti
Answer: B) Pushyamitra Sunga
Q.15 How many Ashvamedha sacrifices did Pushyamitra Sunga reportedly perform?
A) One
B) Two
C) Three
D) Four
Answer: B) Two
Q.16 Who was the son of Pushyamitra Sunga?
A) Agnimitra
B) Vasumitra
C) Bhagabhadra
D) Devabhuti
Answer: A) Agnimitra
Q.17 Who succeeded Pushyamitra Sunga?
A) Vasumitra
B) Agnimitra
C) Bhagabhadra
D) Narayana
Answer: B) Agnimitra
Q.18 Agnimitra is the central character of which Sanskrit play?
A) Malavikagnimitram
B) Abhijnanasakuntalam
C) Mrichchhakatika
D) Mudrarakshasa
Answer: A) Malavikagnimitram
Q.19 Who wrote Malavikagnimitram?
A) Banabhatta
B) Kalidasa
C) Vishakhadatta
D) Bhasa
Answer: B) Kalidasa
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Q.20 Which of the following is the correct chronological order?
A) Mauryas → Sungas → Kanvas
B) Sungas → Mauryas → Kanvas
C) Kanvas → Mauryas → Sungas
D) Mauryas → Kanvas → Sungas
Answer: A) Mauryas → Sungas → Kanvas
Q.21 Agnimitra was the ruler of which important city before becoming king?
A) Vidisha
B) Taxila
C) Pataliputra
D) Mathura
Answer: A) Vidisha
Q.22 Which Sunga ruler is mentioned in the Heliodorus Pillar inscription?
A) Pushyamitra
B) Agnimitra
C) Bhagabhadra
D) Devabhuti
Answer: C) Bhagabhadra
Q.23 The Heliodorus Pillar is located at which city?
A) Sanchi
B) Besnagar
C) Bharhut
D) Mathura
Answer: B) Besnagar, Madhya Pradesh
Q.24 The Sunga period witnessed the revival of —
A) Vedic traditions
B) Islamic traditions
C) European traditions
D) Christian traditions
Answer: A) Vedic traditions
Q.25 Who erected the famous Heliodorus Pillar?
A) Megasthenes
B) Heliodorus
C) Menander
D) Demetrius
Answer: B) Heliodorus, a Greek ambassador
Q.26 Heliodorus was an ambassador of which Indo-Greek ruler?
A) Menander
B) Antialcidas
C) Demetrius
D) Apollodotus
Answer: B) Antialcidas
Q.27 Heliodorus was sent as an ambassador to the court of —
A) Pushyamitra
B) Agnimitra
C) Bhagabhadra
D) Devabhuti
Answer: C) Bhagabhadra
Q.28 The Heliodorus Pillar is dedicated to which deity?
A) Shiva
B) Vishnu
C) Indra
D) Surya
Answer: B) Vishnu
Q.29 Which language was widely used in inscriptions and literature during the Sunga period?
A) Sanskrit
B) Persian
C) Arabic
D) Tamil only
Answer: A) Sanskrit
Q.30 The Heliodorus Pillar is important evidence of the early development of —
A) Shaivism
B) Vaishnavism
C) Buddhism
D) Jainism
Answer: B) Vaishnavism
Q.31 Which symbol is associated with the Heliodorus Pillar?
A) Garuda
B) Bull
C) Lion
D) Elephant
Answer: A) Garuda
Q.32 Which dynasty succeeded the Sunga Dynasty?
A) Gupta Dynasty
B) Kanva Dynasty
C) Kushana Dynasty
D) Satavahana Dynasty
Answer: B) Kanva Dynasty
Q.33 Who founded the Kanva Dynasty after the fall of the Sungas?
A) Vasudeva Kanva
B) Simuka
C) Bimbisara
D) Pushyamitra
Answer: A) Vasudeva Kanva
Q.34 The Sunga Dynasty was followed by which dynasty in Magadha?
A) Nanda Dynasty
B) Kanva Dynasty
C) Gupta Dynasty
D) Maurya Dynasty
Answer: B) Kanva Dynasty
Q.35 The famous Bharhut Stupa is mainly associated with which religion?
A) Hinduism
B) Buddhism
C) Jainism
D) Zoroastrianism
Answer: B) Buddhism
Q.36 The railings and gateways of Bharhut Stupa are famous for —
A) Persian inscriptions
B) Buddhist sculptures and Jataka stories
C) Mughal paintings
D) Gupta coins
Answer: B) Buddhist sculptures and Jataka stories
Q.37 Who assassinated the last Sunga ruler Devabhuti?
A) Simuka
B) Vasudeva Kanva
C) Kanishka
D) Menander
Answer: B) Vasudeva Kanva
Q.38 Which famous Buddhist monument received major additions during the Sunga period?
A) Sanchi Stupa
B) Nalanda University
C) Mahabodhi Temple
D) Ajanta Caves
Answer: A) Sanchi Stupa
Q.39 The Sunga Dynasty ruled approximately from —
A) 322 BCE to 185 BCE
B) 185 BCE to 73 BCE
C) 73 BCE to 30 BCE
D) 30 BCE to 78 CE
Answer: B) 185 BCE to 73 BCE
Q.40 Who was the last ruler of the Sunga Dynasty?
A) Devabhuti
B) Bhagabhadra
C) Agnimitra
D) Vasumitra
Answer: A) Devabhuti
Q.41 Which of the following was a major source of information about the Sunga Dynasty?
A) Puranas
B) Ain-i-Akbari
C) Rajatarangini only
D) Akbarnama
Answer: A) Puranas
Q.42 The Sunga Dynasty ruled for approximately how many years?
A) 50 years
B) 112 years
C) 250 years
D) 400 years
Answer: B) 112 years
Q.43 Which dynasty is associated with the early development of the Bharhut School of Art?
A) Sunga Dynasty
B) Vardhan Dynasty
C) Gupta Dynasty
D) Chola Dynasty
Answer: A) Sunga Dynasty
Q.44 The Sunga rulers mainly followed which religion?
A) Buddhism
B) Brahmanism
C) Jainism
D) Zoroastrianism
Answer: B) Brahmanism
Q.45 Pushyamitra Sunga is believed to have revived which Vedic sacrifice?
A) Rajasuya
B) Ashvamedha
C) Vajapeya
D) Agnihotra
Answer: B) Ashvamedha
Q.46 Who was the grandson of Pushyamitra Sunga?
A) Agnimitra
B) Vasumitra
C) Bhagabhadra
D) Devabhuti
Answer: B) Vasumitra
Q.47 The Sunga Dynasty was primarily established in —
A) Southern India
B) Northern and Central India
C) Eastern India only
D) Western India only
Answer: B) Northern and Central India
Q.48 Which foreign power posed a major threat to the Sunga Kingdom?
A) Indo-Greeks
B) Romans
C) Arabs
D) Turks
Answer: A) Indo-Greeks
Q.49 Which Indo-Greek ruler is traditionally associated with invasions during the Sunga period?
A) Rudradaman
B) Kanishka
C) Menander I
D) Nahapana
Answer: C) Menander I
Q.50 According to Patanjali, the Indo-Greeks attacked which two important cities?
A) Pataliputra and Saketa
B) Ujjain and Mathura
C) Taxila and Sanchi
D) Vidisha and Bharhut
Answer: A) Pataliputra and Saketa
Q.51 The ancient city of Saketa is generally identified with which city?
A) Patna
B) Mathura
C) Varanasi
D) Ayodhya
Answer: D) Ayodhya
Q.52 Which text provides information about Indo-Greek invasions during the Sunga period?
A) Arthashastra
B) Mahabhashya
C) Rajatarangini
D) Harshacharita
Answer: B) Mahabhashya
Q.53 Which Sunga ruler is said to have defeated the Yavanas?
A) Pushyamitra Sunga
B) Agnimitra
C) Devabhuti
D) Vasumitra
Answer: A) Pushyamitra Sunga
Q.54 Vasumitra is associated with the defeat of the —
A) Shakas
B) Yavanas
C) Kushanas
D) Pallavas
Answer: B) Yavanas
Q.55 According to Malavikagnimitram, Vasumitra defeated the Yavanas on the banks of which river?
A) Ganga
B) Narmada
C) Sindhu
D) Yamuna
Answer: C) Sindhu
Conclusion
To sum up, the Sunga Dynasty holds a special place in Ancient Indian history as it marked the shift from the Mauryan to the post-Mauryan period. For exam purposes, remember key facts: Pushyamitra Sunga as the founder, the dynasty’s support for Brahmanical revival, and its contribution to art through the Bharhut Stupa carvings. Also note that the last Sunga ruler, Devabhuti, was overthrown by his minister Vasudeva Kanva, leading to the start of the Kanva Dynasty. These points are commonly asked in MCQs, so candidates should focus on dates, names, and cultural contributions while revising this topic.
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