6 questions from past BPSC papers, each with the correct answer and an
explanation of why. This is a Bihar-specific topic, which BPSC returns to more often than a general UPSC-style syllabus would suggest. Free to read — no signup.
How often it has appeared
Paper
67
68
70
71
70Re
Total
Mauryan Empire
1
1
0
1
3
6
Questions
63rd Pre · 2018
Founder of the Mauryan Empire was:
Bindusara
Ashoka
Chandragupta Maurya
Bimbisara
67th Pre · 2022
The Kalinga War took place in:
250 BCE
261 BCE
305 BCE
326 BCE
Why: After this war, Ashoka adopted Buddhism and Dhamma.
64th Pre · 2018
Ashokan inscriptions are mostly written in which script?
Devanagari
Brahmi
Kharoshthi
Sanskrit
Why: Kharoshthi only in NW; Greek-Aramaic in Kandahar.
65th Pre · 2019
James Prinsep deciphered the Brahmi script in:
1814
1837
1857
1875
69th Pre · 2023
The Sarnath Lion Capital is from which dynasty?
Maurya
Gupta
Pala
Kushana
Why: Adopted as India's state emblem on 26 January 1950.
67th Pre · 2022
Lauriya Nandangarh pillar (Mauryan) is in which Bihar district?
Patna
West Champaran
East Champaran
Vaishali
Mains-style questions on this topic
Descriptive questions from past papers. There is no single correct option — practise
writing the answer, then check your structure against the syllabus.
67th Mains GS-1 · 2022
Was Ashoka's Dhamma a religious doctrine or a code of social ethics? Examine.
65th Mains GS-1 · 2019
Discuss the salient features of Mauryan administration with reference to the Arthashastra.
Study these topics in order, and remember them
These questions are free to read. The app is the paid part, and it covers the whole exam rather
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interview, and 19 Bihar-specific topics — 94 chapters in reading order, each with a brief
on how the examiner asks it. ₹199 for a month, or ₹499 until your attempt is done — which is the one
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