Method. The running timeline at the foot of each page has two bands — Political Developments above and Cultural and Religious Developments below. Pick one entry, note which band it sits in, and then answer the three questions in order. A good answer names the event exactly as the book prints it, with its dates.
Here are the events the chapter's own timeline offers, so you can choose from the book rather than from memory:
| Political Developments | Cultural and Religious Developments |
|---|---|
| 321 BCE — Foundation of Mauryan Empire by Chandragupta Maurya | 2000–500 BCE — Vedic period |
| 272–232 BCE — Aśhoka's reign | 1500–300 BCE — Upaniṣhads |
| 185 BCE — Foundation of Śhunga empire by Puṣhyamitra Śhunga | 600–300 BCE — Life of Gautama Buddha and Mahāvīra |
| 1st century BCE — Khāravela's reign | 272–232 BCE — Philosophy of Dhamma |
| 30–375 CE — Kuṣhāṇas | 300 BCE–300 CE — Sangam literature composed |
| 106–130 CE — Gautamīputra Śhātakarṇi's reign | 1st century BCE — Udaygiri and Khandagiri caves, patronage of art |
| 250–510 CE — Vākāṭakas | 78 CE — Saka Era begins |
| 275 CE — Pallava dynasty established | 300–400 CE — Faxian's visit; Kālidāsa |
| 320–550 CE — Guptas | 427 CE — Nalanda university established |
| 350–1140 CE — Kāmarūpa | 480 CE — Vallabhī university established |
| 475–776 CE — Maitrakas | 500 CE — Āryabhaṭa |
| 510–606 CE — Maukharīs | 550 CE — Rāvaṇaphāḍī cave temple |
| 543 CE — Foundation of Chālukyan dynasty by Pulakeśhin I | 629–645 CE — Xuanzang's visit |
| 606 CE — Harṣhavardhana annexes Kannauj | 630–668 CE — Mahabalipuram rock-cut temples |
| 630–668 CE — Narasimhavarman I's reign | 724–760 CE — Martanda Sun Temple, Anantnag, Kashmir |
| 712 CE — Arab conquest of Sindh | 756–773 CE — Kailasa Temple, Ellora |
| 724–760 CE — Lalitāditya Muktapīḍa's reign | 783–820 CE — Vikramśhila university |
| 730–1036 CE — Gurjara-Pratihāras; 750–1161 CE — Pālas; 753–982 CE — Rāṣhṭrakūṭas | 985–1014 CE — Brihadeeshwara Temple, Thanjavur |
| 985–1014 CE — Rājarāja I's reign |
Sample answer: The event I chose is 427 CE — Nalanda university established. What happened? A great centre of higher learning was founded at Nalanda in the middle Ganga region. Fig. 5.10 marks it as one of the prominent universities and advanced centres of learning of early India, alongside Takṣhaśhilā, Vallabhī, Vikramśhilā, Odantapurī, Jagaddalā, Sompura, Mithilā, Vārāṇasī, Ujjayinī, Ahichchhatra, Śhāradā Pīṭha, Puṣhpagiri, Nāgārjunakoṇḍā, Saloṭgī, Kānchīpuram, Ennayiram, Thrissur and Anurādhāpura. Students came from India and from other regions, and the subjects taught in this tradition ranged from the Vedas, grammar, logic and philosophy to mathematics, medicine and astronomy.