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TNPSC ancient India history practice questions

By the PrepMatic team · Updated 9 Oct 2026 · 3 min read

Unit III of the TNPSC General Studies paper covers the history and culture of India and the Indian national movement, and it carries about 10 of the 75 questions. Ancient India is the first slice, and it is the shortest to revise: five or six periods, a dozen rulers and a few famous sites. The five questions below are typical of the way TNPSC asks. TNPSC History and Indian National Movement covers the subject in full.

What this topic covers

• Prehistoric and Indus Valley cultures: the cities, their features and trade.
• The Vedic age: the four Vedas and the later Vedic period.
• Religious movements: Buddhism and Jainism, their founders and teachings.
• Empires: the Mauryas, the post-Mauryan kingdoms and the Guptas.
• Culture: art, literature, science and foreign travellers.

Sample questions

Question 1

The Great Bath was discovered at:

• A. Harappa
• B. Lothal
• C. Kalibangan
• D. Mohenjo-daro

Question 2

The oldest of the four Vedas is the:

• A. Rig Veda
• B. Yajur Veda
• C. Sama Veda
• D. Atharva Veda

Question 3

Ashoka embraced Buddhism after the:

• A. Battle of the Hydaspes
• B. Kalinga war
• C. Battle of Panipat
• D. Battle of Tarain

Question 4

The Chinese traveller Fa-Hien visited India during the reign of:

• A. Chandragupta II
• B. Ashoka
• C. Kanishka
• D. Harsha

Question 5

Gautama Buddha delivered his first sermon at:

• A. Lumbini
• B. Bodh Gaya
• C. Sarnath
• D. Kushinagar

Answers and explanations

1. D. The Great Bath, a large water tank with steps, was found at Mohenjo-daro in present-day Pakistan. Harappa is known for its granaries and Lothal for its dockyard.
2. A. The Rig Veda, a collection of hymns, is the oldest Veda and dates to the early Vedic period. The Sama, Yajur and Atharva Vedas came later.
3. B. The Kalinga war (about 261 BCE) caused great suffering, and Ashoka turned to Buddhism and spread its message of dhamma. The other battles belong to other periods.
4. A. Fa-Hien came during the reign of Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya) of the Gupta dynasty in the early fifth century. Hiuen Tsang came in Harsha's time.
5. C. Buddha gave his first sermon at Sarnath, near Varanasi, an event known as the Dharmachakra Pravartana. Lumbini is his birthplace, Bodh Gaya is where he gained enlightenment and Kushinagar is where he died.

How to prepare ancient India

Build one timeline with dates in rounded figures and no more than twenty entries: the Indus cities, the Vedic period, Buddha and Mahavira, the Mauryas, the Kushanas, the Guptas and Harsha. Attach one monument, one text and one traveller to each period. This turns the chapter into a table of "who, what, where" that you can revise in half an hour.

Learn the sources of history as a short list: archaeological (pottery, seals, coins), literary (Vedas, epics, Arthashastra, Sangam texts) and foreign accounts (Megasthenes, Fa-Hien, Hiuen Tsang). A question often asks for the source of information about a king or a period.

Do not spend time on distant detail such as the exact chronology of the later Vedic kingdoms. TNPSC's questions on this period are about famous items. For the South Indian side, return to TNPSC Sangam age practice. For what comes next, move to TNPSC medieval India practice.

Take the full topic test on PrepMatic

After finishing this chapter, take a timed history round with a PrepMatic topic test (about 15 questions in 30 minutes). The test gives you accuracy and speed per question, and across several tests your analytics show whether history is a strength. Basic plan users get 5 topic tests free.

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