Ans: A

Exp:

The Indian peninsula situated south of the Krishna River was divided into three kingdoms- Chera, Chola and Pandya.

• Pandya territory included the South-East portion of the Indian peninsula. Its capital was at Madurai. Pandyas entered their golden age under Maravarman I and Jatavarman Sundara Pandya I in the 13th century. Hence, Pair 1 is correctly matched.
• Karikala was the famous king of Cholas around A.D. 100. He founded Puhar and constructed 160 km of embankment along the Kaveri river. Under Karikala’s successors, the Chola power declined. Hence, Pair 2 is incorrectly matched.
• According to the Chera poets, the greatest king of the Chera kingdom was Senguttuvan, the Red Chera. He routed his rivals and established his cousin on the throne. He invaded the north and crossed the Ganga. Hence, Pair 3 is incorrectly matched.

Ans: A

Exp:

Statement 1 is correct: Besides agricultural labourers, Ancient South Indian kingdoms witnessed the low class artisans. Pulaiyans belonged to this category. They made rope ‘Charpaiyas’ and used animal skins as mats. This minor class also faced social inequality and poverty. 

Statement 2 is incorrect: Kings maintained a professional army with the help of an efficient tax system and flourished trade. Captains of the army were awarded the title of ‘Enadi’ at a formal ceremony. Civil and Military offices were held by ‘Vallalas’ or rich peasants. The ruling caste was called ‘Arasar’ and has matrimonial relations with the vallalas.

Ans: A

Exp:

During the Chola rule, the temple was the main centre for all religious and social meetings. Several shiva and vishnu temples were built during this period.

• Ranganathaswamy temple is a hindu temple dedicated to Ranganatha(form of vishnu). It is constructed in dravidian architectural style. The temple was first built by Chola ruler Dharmavarma.
• Airavatesvara temple is located in Thanjavur district of Tamilnadu. It was built by Chola king Rajaraja II. It is much smaller in size as compared to the Brihadisvara temple.
• Brihadisvara temple was built by Chola ruler Rajaraja I in 1010 CE. It is known as ‘Big temple’. It is dedicated to lord Shiva.
• Sri Venkateswara temple is dedicated to lord Venkateswara(form of vishnu). It is also known as Tirumala temple. The temple construction started in 300 A.D. where many kings contributed to its construction. There are different mythologies related to the construction of the temple by Raja Thondaman. It was not built under the Chola rule.

Ans: C

Exp:

Option 1 is correct: Korkai, in the Tirunnelveli district of Tamil Nadu, was an important Pandya port which was famous for its pearls.

Option 2 is correct: Puhar or modern Kaveripattanam was a great centre of trade and commerce and had a large dock. It was once a flourishing port  in the city of Kaveri Poompattinam, which is described in Post Sangam literature like Silappadikaram, Manimekalai, Paṭṭiṉappālai (Sangam Literature) and Akananuru (Sangam Literature) as the capital of the Early Chola kings in Tamilakam.

Option 3 is correct:  Muziris/Muchiri on the southwest coast was the foremost port of the Cheras. It is believed that the Roman ships laden with gold used to land here and took back large amounts of pepper.

Ans: D

Exp:

Statement 1 is incorrect: Sangam economy had a flourishing trade with the Roman world. The best account of Indo-Roman trade is given in the book called the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, which was written in the first century CE by an anonymous author.

Statement 2 is incorrect: Roman writer, Pliny, complains in detail in his account ‘Natural History’ that Rome was drained of gold on account of her trade with India.