Ancient Indian History

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks to identify the person who successfully convinced the Buddha to establish an order of nuns (\textit{bhikkhunis}) and admit women into the monastic community (\textit{sangha}).
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
According to Buddhist scriptures, the Buddha was initially hesitant to ordain women. His foster mother, Mahapajapati Gotami, was the first to request ordination for herself and a group of followers, but she was refused multiple times.
It was Ananda, the Buddha's devoted cousin and personal attendant, who intervened on their behalf. Ananda approached the Buddha and presented a logical argument, asking if women were capable of attaining enlightenment just like men. When the Buddha affirmed that they were, Ananda urged him to allow their ordination. Persuaded by Ananda's reasoning and persistence, the Buddha finally agreed to establish the Bhikkhuni Sangha, albeit with eight additional rules (the \textit{Garudhammas}) for the nuns.
Therefore, while Mahapajapati Gotami was the primary seeker, Ananda was the successful persuader.
Step 3: Final Answer:
Ananda persuaded the Buddha to allow women into the sangha.

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks to identify the dynasty whose rulers used the royal title 'devaputra'. This title signifies a divine status for the king.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:

(1) Kushanas: The Kushan kings, most famously Kanishka, adopted the title 'Devaputra', meaning "Son of God." This practice was likely influenced by the Chinese emperors who called themselves "Son of Heaven," as the Kushans originated from the Yuezhi tribes of the Central Asian steppes bordering China.
(2) Sakas: Saka rulers in India used titles such as 'Rajan' and 'Mahakshatrapa' (Great Satrap).
(3) Mauryas: The most famous Mauryan title was used by Ashoka: 'Devanampiya Piyadasi', meaning "Beloved of the Gods, He who looks on with affection." This suggests divine favour, but not direct divine sonship like 'devaputra'.
(4) Satavahanas: Satavahana rulers often used metronymics (names derived from the mother), such as 'Gotami-puta' (son of Gotami).
Step 3: Final Answer:
The title 'devaputra' was adopted by the Kushana rulers.

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks to identify the Satavahana king who took on the title 'eka bamhana', signifying his supreme status as a Brahmana and a protector of the varna system.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The claim to be an 'eka bamhana' (the unique Brahmana) is famously associated with Gotami-puta Siri-Satakani, one of the most powerful rulers of the Satavahana dynasty. This claim is recorded in the Nashik inscription of his mother, Gautami Balasri. The inscription praises him for destroying the pride of the Kshatriyas and for stopping the intermixture of the four varnas. He is portrayed as a champion of the Brahmanical order who defeated foreign rulers like the Sakas, Yavanas (Greeks), and Pahlavas (Parthians).
Step 3: Final Answer:
Gotami-puta Siri-Satakani is the ruler who claimed the title 'eka bamhana'.

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks to identify the specific Buddhist text that contains the legend of Emperor Ashoka's redistribution of the Buddha's relics and the construction of 84,000 stupas.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:

(4) Mahaparinibbana Sutta: This text, part of the Sutta Pitaka, describes the last days of the Buddha, his death (parinibbana), and the initial division of his relics into eight portions among different kings and clans, who then built the first eight stupas.
(1) Ashokavadana: This is a much later Sanskrit text (c. 2nd century CE), part of a larger collection called the Divyavadana. It is not a canonical text but a collection of legends about Ashoka. It is this text that famously narrates the story of how Ashoka, after his conversion to Buddhism, gathered the relics from the original eight stupas, subdivided them into 84,000 portions, and had stupas built over them throughout his vast empire.
(2) Sutta Pitaka and (3) Vinaya Pitaka: These are two of the three 'baskets' (Tripitaka) of the Pali Canon. They contain the Buddha's discourses and the rules for the monastic order, respectively, but not the story of Ashoka's redistribution of relics.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The story of Ashoka building 84,000 stupas over the Buddha's relics is found in the Ashokavadana.

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question requires arranging four pivotal events in Indian history, from the beginning of the Mughal Empire to the rise of the British East India Company, in their correct chronological order.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Let's assign dates to each event:

(A) Babur defeats Ibrahim Lodi...: This event is the First Battle of Panipat, which marked the foundation of the Mughal Empire in India. It occurred in 1526.
(B) Humayun is defeated by Sher Shah...: Humayun was defeated by Sher Shah Suri at the Battle of Chausa (1539) and the Battle of Kannauj (1540). This led to Humayun's exile, during which he took refuge at the Safavid court in Persia in 1544.
(C) Nadir Shah invades India and sacks Delhi: The Persian ruler Nadir Shah invaded India and decisively defeated the Mughal army at the Battle of Karnal, subsequently sacking Delhi. This devastating event took place in 1739.
(D) The 'diwani' of Bengal was transferred...: Following their victory at the Battle of Buxar (1764), the English East India Company was granted the Diwani (the right to collect revenue) of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa by the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II through the Treaty of Allahabad in 1765.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The events are already listed in the correct chronological order: (A) 1526, (B) 1540s, (C) 1739, (D) 1765. Therefore, the correct sequence is (A), (B), (C), (D).

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks for the total time span of the Harappan Civilization. This includes its early formative stages, the mature urban phase, and the late declining phase. It's important to note that the provided options are unusually broad and do not align perfectly with standard archaeological periodization, requiring the selection of the 'best fit' answer.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The standard archaeological timeline for the Indus Valley (Harappan) Civilization is typically divided into three phases:
Early Harappan Phase: c. 3300 BCE to 2600 BCE
Mature Harappan Phase: c. 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE
Late Harappan Phase: c. 1900 BCE to 1300 BCE
The total span is therefore roughly from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE. Now let's evaluate the given options:
(1) 2000 BCE to 1000 BCE: This range primarily covers the Late Harappan and post-Harappan periods, missing the crucial Mature and Early phases.
(3) 1500 BCE to 900 BCE: This corresponds to the Rigvedic and Later Vedic periods, which came after the decline of the Mature Harappan phase.
(4) From Post Vedic Civilisation: This is chronologically incorrect as the Harappan civilization predates the Vedic period.
(2) 6000 BCE to 1300 BCE: This option is extremely broad. However, it is the only one that encompasses the entire Harappan timeline (3300-1300 BCE). The start date of 6000 BCE is likely intended to include the pre-Harappan agricultural settlements like Mehrgarh (which dates back to c. 7000 BCE) that are seen as precursors to the civilization. The end date of 1300 BCE correctly marks the end of the Late Harappan phase. Despite its wide range, it is the most plausible choice among the flawed options.
Step 3: Final Answer:
Given the imperfect options, "From 6000 BCE to 1300 BCE" is the best possible answer as it is the only one that fully contains the known duration of the civilization and its precursors.

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question requires arranging key events in the history of Harappan archaeology in the correct time sequence, from the earliest to the most recent.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Let's establish the dates for each event:

(A) Report of Alexander Cunningham on Harappan seal: Alexander Cunningham, the first Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), visited Harappa and found a unique seal. He published his report on this find in 1875. This is the earliest event on the list.
(C) Daya Ram Sahni begins excavations at Harappa: The first systematic archaeological excavations at Harappa, which led to the discovery of the Indus Valley Civilization, were started by Rai Bahadur Daya Ram Sahni in 1921. This is the next major development.
(B) S.R. Rao begins excavations at Lothal: The excavation of the important Harappan port city of Lothal in Gujarat was led by archaeologist S.R. Rao. This work took place between 1955 and 1960.
(D) Vasant Shinde begins archaeogenetic research at Rakhigarhi: Archaeogenetic research, which involves studying ancient DNA, is a very recent advancement. The significant research on skeletal remains from Rakhigarhi, led by Vasant Shinde, yielded major publications around 2018-2019. This is the most recent event.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The correct chronological order is: Cunningham's report (A), Sahni's excavation (C), Rao's excavation (B), and Shinde's research (D). Therefore, the sequence is (A), (C), (B), (D).

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks about the specific languages used for Ashoka's edicts in the northwestern part of his empire, corresponding to modern-day Afghanistan.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Emperor Ashoka's policy was to communicate his message of Dhamma in the language and script that were understood by the local population.

In most of India, his inscriptions were in Prakrit, written in the Brahmi script.
In the far northwestern parts of the Mauryan empire (modern Pakistan and Afghanistan), the population was diverse and included people of Greek and Persian descent due to centuries of interaction with the Achaemenid and Hellenistic worlds.
To reach this audience, Ashoka had his edicts inscribed in languages and scripts familiar to them. Consequently, inscriptions found in Afghanistan, such as the famous Kandahar Edict, are bilingual or monolingual in Aramaic (the administrative language of the former Achaemenid Persian Empire) and Greek.
Step 3: Final Answer:
In Afghanistan, the Ashokan inscriptions were written in Aramaic and Greek.