226. Which religion spread primarily through the efforts of traders and merchants?
(A) Shinto
(B) Zoroastrianism
(C) Jainism
(D) Buddhism
(E) Judaism
227. People in Neolithic Asia probably cultivated all of the following EXCEPT
(A) millet
(B) rice
(C) spices
(D) poi
(E) bananas
228. All of the following are true of the empire of Chandragupta Maurya EXCEPT that it
(A) adopted Buddhism as a unifying force throughout the empire
(B) became the first unified, centralized government in India
(C) used standardized coinage to make trade more efficient
(D) established governmental control of mining and shipbuilding
(E) formed a powerful military
229. The summer monsoons in India blow
(A) northeast off the Indian Ocean
(B) south across the dry Asian interior
(C) southwest from the Pacific Ocean
(D) west from southeast Asia
(E) east from the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, and the Red Sea
230. All of the following were true of women in the Gupta Empire EXCEPT that
(A) they could own and inherit property
(B) child marriage became more common
(C) widows with sons were not permitted to remarry
(D) female infanticide was occasionally practiced
(E) they could not participate in sacred rituals or study religion
231. In its current form, the Manusmriti (laws of Manu)
(A) was probably written during the Mauryan Empire
(B) attempted to validate the high caste position of the Brahmans
(C) preached gender equality in religious practice but not in economic matters
(D) attempted to mitigate the social inequality of the caste system
(E) was probably written during the Gupta Empire
232. Mathematical and scientific achievements of the Gupta Empire include all of the following EXCEPT
(A) new developments in surgery
(B) Indian numerals and the decimal number system
(C) accurate calculation of the value of pi and the circumference of the earth
(D) the concept of zero
(E) the spinning wheel for spinning thread or yarn from wool
233. “As man discards worn out clothes
To put on new and different ones,
So the embodied self discards its worn-out bodies
to take on new ones… .
Death is certain for anyone born,
and birth is certain for the dead;
since the cycle is inevitable
you have no cause to grieve!”
In this passage, Lord Krishna is explaining to the warrior Arjuna
(A) the existence of heaven and hell
(B) the importance of nirvana
(C) the doctrine of reincarnation
(D) the meaning of karma
(E) the way to achieve buddhahood
234. All of the following are true of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana EXCEPT that
(A) they both probably took their final form during the Mauryan period
(B) they are both epic poems
(C) they are both longer than The Iliad and The Odyssey put together
(D) they are both written in Sanskrit
(E) they both contain digressions into Hindu mythology and philosophy
235. “The Brahmin was his mouth, his two arms made the Kshatriya; his two thighs made the Vaishya; and from his feet was made the Sudra.”
This passage from the Rigveda deals with the origin of
(A) Indian monarchial rule
(B) slavery after the collapse of the Indus Valley culture
(C) the caste system
(D) humanity
(E) the earth according to Hindu legend
236. All of the following are true of Jains EXCEPT that
(A) they are vegetarians
(B) they believe Mahavira established the central historical beliefs of Jainism
(C) they practice nonviolence
(D) their religion has basically been absorbed into Hinduism in modern times
(E) adherents who conquer their inner enemies are called jinas
237. One of the main reasons for the collapse of the Gupta Empire was
(A) peasant revolts
(B) invasions by the Huns
(C) the Muslim conquest of northern India
(D) the disloyalty of the southern vassals
(E) all of the above
238. The Tamil people
(A) invaded India in the second millennium BCE
(B) are native to southern India and Sri Lanka
(C) speak an Indo-European language
(D) converted to Islam to avoid the caste system
(E) live around the Indo-Gangetic plain because of its alluvial soil
239. Buddhism declined in India for all of the following reasons EXCEPT that
(A) Buddhist monks became preoccupied with philosophy
(B) changes in Hinduism favored a new personal relationship with major deities
(C) the fall of the Han Dynasty decreased merchant support for Buddhist monasteries
(D) the Upanishads were reinterpreted to rival Buddhist teachings
(E) the more popular Theravada Buddhism was gradually supplanted by Mahayana Buddhism in India
240. Kalidasa was
(A) the Sanskrit poet who wrote Abhijnanasakuntalam
(B) the Hindu sage who wrote the Ramayana
(C) the monk who first spread Buddhism to Tibet and Nepal
(D) the Hindu deity with the body of a boy and the head of an elephant
(E) the Guptan ruler who extended the empire to the Himalayas
241. All of the following are true of Ashoka the Great EXCEPT that
(A) he helped spread Buddhism to Sri Lanka
(B) he promoted vegetarianism
(C) he was the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya
(D) he issued Rock and Pillar Edicts
(E) his empire helped spread the use of Indian numerals
242. Within a century after Ashoka’s death,
(A) Alexander the Great conquered northern India
(B) Chandragupta established his capital at Patna
(C) Buddhism virtually disappeared in India
(D) India fragmented into small warring states
(E) music festivals and dances were outlawed
243. All of the following are true regarding Theravada Buddhism EXCEPT that
(A) it is the oldest surviving Buddhist school of thought
(B) it is the main religion of continental southeast Asia and Sri Lanka
(C) it deemphasizes the role of ritual
(D) it tends to be more liberal and accessible than Mahayana Buddhism
(E) its main scriptures are in Pali, not Sanskrit
244. The custom of sati describes
(A) exorbitant gifts of gold at Hindu weddings
(B) the naming ceremony following the birth of a Brahmin child
(C) the traditional lighting of a lamp to a Hindu deity in the morning
(D) the self-immolation of a widow after her husband’s death
(E) a particular kind of ritual murder and robbery of travelers in India
245. The Four Noble Truths are most closely associated with
(A) Hinduism
(B) the laws of Manu
(C) Sikhism
(D) Jainism
(E) Buddhism
246. All of the following are major river systems of the Indian subcontinent EXCEPT
(A) the Indus
(B) the Brahmaputra
(C) the Ganges
(D) the Syr Dar’ya
(E) all of the above are major river systems of the Indian subcontinent
247. The classical empires of the Han, Romans, and Gupta experienced all of the following prior to their downfall EXCEPT
(A) the dissolution of their empires into numerous local governments
(B) economic decline
(C) major conflicts between political and religious authorities
(D) the need to hold off foreign tribes along their borders
(E) internal political weakness before their downfall
248. The Indus Valley culture (fl. c. 2600–1700 BCE) is often associated with the city of
(A) Margao
(B) Madras
(C) Pataliputra (present-day Patna)
(D) Bamiyan
(E) Harappa
249. All of the following are true of the so-called Aryan invasion theory EXCEPT that
(A) it has been controversial for more than a century
(B) it now attempts to explain the collapse of the Indus Valley culture
(C) most scholars believe it to be false
(D) DNA evidence seems to support it
(E) it has often had a racial component
250. Puranas are
(A) women who had a special dispensation to own property in the Gupta Empire
(B) a form of stupa that has official status as law
(C) the lowest caste in Hinduism
(D) a type of religious text
(E) specialized infantrymen from the Mauryan Empire