Practice question · Sort into groups
Sort each item: associated with the Mauryan era or the Gupta era?
Groups: Mauryan · Gupta
- Ashoka’s rock and pillar edicts
- The symbol for zero and place value
- Aryabhata’s astronomy
- First unification of the subcontinent
- Kalidasa’s Sanskrit drama
- The Arthashastra’s statecraft
Hints
- The two eras are separated by several centuries.
- One built the first great state, the other hosted the classical synthesis.
Show the answer
Mauryan: Ashoka’s rock and pillar edicts, The Arthashastra’s statecraft, First unification of the subcontinent
Gupta: Aryabhata’s astronomy, The symbol for zero and place value, Kalidasa’s Sanskrit drama
Why
Two peaks, six centuries apart: the Maurya built the first great state, the Gupta hosted the great classical synthesis. Neither was "India" as a single continuous thing, that is a modern back-projection.
Practise Ancient India: Maurya and Gupta
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