✅ Answer: C) 1, 2 and 3All three statements are correct. Fa-Hien visited during Chandragupta II (399–414 CE). Xuanzang visited during Harshavardhana (629–645 CE). Both visited Nalanda — Fa-Hien found it a flourishing Buddhist centre; Xuanzang spent years studying there. I-Tsing also visited Nalanda later.

✅ Answer: B) The first long inscription in SanskritThe Junagarh Rock Inscription of Rudradaman I (2nd century CE) is significant as the first long inscription in Sanskrit. Earlier inscriptions (like Ashokan edicts) used Prakrit. Rudradaman’s inscription describes his military victories and the repair of Sudarshana Lake in Gujarat.

✅ Answer: B) Pulakesi IIThe Aihole Inscription (634 CE) was composed by Ravikirti, the court poet of Pulakesi II of the Chalukya dynasty. It describes Pulakesi II’s military achievements, including his famous victory over Harshavardhana on the banks of the Narmada river. It is written in Sanskrit.

✅ Answer: C) Al-Biruni — Mahmud of GhazniAl-Biruni came to India with Mahmud of Ghazni in the 11th century. Megasthenes visited Chandragupta Maurya (not Ashoka). Fa-Hien visited Chandragupta II (not Harsha). Ibn Battuta visited Muhammad bin Tughlaq (not Alauddin Khalji). These are frequently confused in exams.

✅ Answer: C) Kharavela of KalingaThe Hathigumpha Inscription (Elephant Cave Inscription) at Udayagiri, Odisha, is associated with Kharavela, the Chedi king of Kalinga (1st century BCE). It describes Kharavela’s military campaigns, his patronage of Jainism, and his achievements. It is written in Brahmi script.

✅ Answer: C) All edicts are written in Sanskrit languageThis is incorrect. Ashokan edicts are written in Prakrit language (not Sanskrit), using Brahmi script (most), Kharosthi script (northwest), and Greek/Aramaic (Afghanistan). Ashoka deliberately used Prakrit — the language of common people — to communicate his Dhamma message widely.

✅ Answer: C) Indo-Roman trade in the 1st century CEThe Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (1st century CE) is an anonymous Greek merchant’s account describing trade routes, ports, and goods traded between Rome and India. It mentions Indian ports like Barygaza (Bharuch), Muzuris (Kerala), and describes Indian exports — spices, cotton, gems, and imports — wine, gold, silver.

✅ Answer: B) Mahajanapada period (600–200 BCE)Punch-marked coins are the earliest Indian coins, associated with the Mahajanapada period (600–200 BCE). They are made of silver and copper with symbols punched on them. They provide evidence of a monetised trade economy in ancient India. They continued through the Mauryan period.

✅ Answer: B) Muhammad bin TughlaqIbn Battuta, the Moroccan traveller, visited India during the reign of Muhammad bin Tughlaq (1334–1342 CE). His account Rihla describes the Delhi Sultanate, Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s eccentric policies (capital transfer, token currency), Indian society, and his own experiences as a qazi (judge) in Delhi.

✅ Answer: C) Social and economic life of common peopleJataka Tales are Buddhist stories about the previous lives of Gautama Buddha. They are valuable historical sources because they describe the social and economic life of common people during 500–200 BCE — trade, guilds, occupations, social customs, and everyday life. They provide a “bottom-up” view of ancient Indian society.