HISTORY(VI)-LESSON-5 KINGDOMS, KINGS AND AN EARLY REPUBLIC (QUE ANSWERS)

 

HISTORY(VI)-LESSON-5

KINGDOMS, KINGS AND AN EARLY REPUBLIC

(QUE ANSWERS)

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                                           (NCERT SOLUTION)

Q.1 State whether true or false:

   1.    Rajas who led the ashvamedha horse pass through their lands were invited to the sacrifice.

   2.    The charioteer sprinkled sacred water on the king

   3.    Archaeologists have found palaces in the settlements of the janapadas

   4.    Pots to store grain were made out of Painted Grey Ware

   5.    Many cities in mahajanapadas were fortified

ANSWER:

1. True 2. False   3. False    4. False    5. True

Q.2 Fill in the chart who paid taxes  given below with the terms: hunter-gatherers, farmers, traders, craftspersons, herders.

Answer:-Farmers – Gave one-sixth of the produce to the state

  Craftspersons- contributed to labour

Herder- contributed in the form of animal produce

Traders – stimulated commercial activity by buying and selling goods

Hunter-gatherers – would provide forest produce such as elephants, furs and other items as a tribute.

Q.3 Who were the groups who could not participate in the assemblies of the ganas?

Answer:

The following groups couldn’t participate in the assemblies of the ganas:

1. Women

2. Dasas, the slaves

3. Kammakaras, the landless labourers

Q.4 Why did the rajas of mahajanapadas build forts?

Answer : The rajas of mahajanapadas built forts in order to defend their capital city from attacks by other rajas.

   1.    It is also probable that they wanted to show how rich and powerful they were by building large and powerful walls.

   2.    The more practical reason could be that it was more easy to govern fortified cities.

Q.5 In what ways are present-day elections different from the ways in which rulers were chosen in janapadas?

Answer: In janapadas, men became ‘rajas’ by performing the Ashvamedha sacrifice. The rajas who let the Ashvamedha horse pass through their lands meant that they accepted the supremacy of the raja who wanted to perform the sacrifice.

In modern times, leaders are elected through a democratic system. Every citizen who is 18 years or older has the right to cast his.her vote. The candidates who win the majority of votes become public leaders

Q.6 Were there any janapadas in your state? If yes, name them. If not, name the janapadas that would have been closest to your state, and mention whether they were to the east, west, north or south.

Answer: The answer is subjective to the region and area you live in. Take the assistance of your subject teacher and also the help of the map given on page 57 in the textbook to prepare your answer.

Q.7 Find out whether any of the groups mentioned in answer 2 pay taxes today

Answer: Out of the groups mentioned in answer 2, traders are the ones who pay taxes today.

Q.8 Find out whether the groups mentioned in answer 3 have voting rights.

Answer: Today, voting rights are not decided by gender or profession. Women, ‘kammakaras’ and ‘dasas’ – all are entitled to vote today.

 

OTHER IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

1.MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

Choose the correct option to complete the statements given below:

(i) The ‘Ashvamedha’ was the sacrifice of
(a) horse
(b) cow
(c) bull
(d) goat

(ii) Which of these groups of people were not allowed to take part in the rituals after the ‘Ashvamedha’?
(a) ‘Vish’/’Vaishya’
(b) Priests
(c) Women
(d) ‘Shudras’.

(iii) The two words that constitute the word ‘janapada’ mean:
(a) woman and foot
(b) citizens and foot
(c) men and hand
(d) goats and ‘rajas’.

(iv) Which of these was usually fortified?
(a) all cities in ‘mahajanapadas’
(b) all cities in ‘janapadas’
(c) capital cities of ‘mahajanapadas’
(d) the whole ‘mahajanapada’.

(v) One-sixth of the produce was taken as tax from
(a) farmers
(b) hunter-gatherers
(c) crafts-persons
(d) Traders.

(vi) The present name of Raj agriha is
(a) Rajgir
(b) Rajmahal
(c) Rajgaon
(d) Patna.

(vii) Alexander was a ruler who lived in
(a) Slovenia
(b) Greece
(c) Rome
(d) Macedonia.

(viii) At the banks of which river did Alexander’s troops stop?
(a) Indus
(b) Ganga
(c) Narmada
(d) Beas.

(ix) Vajji had its capital city at
(a) Raj agriha
(b) Vaishali
(c) Patna
(d) Magadha.

Answer:
(i)—(a), (ii)—(d), (iii)—(b), (iv)–(c), (v)—(a), (vi)—(a), (vii)—(d), (viii)—(d), (ix)—(b).

2 . FILL IN THE BLANKS

Fill in the blanks with appropriate words to complete each sentence:

   1.    Some changes took place in the ways of choosing new ‘rajas’ about………………….. years ago.

   2.    Purana Qila was a settlement in a ‘janapada’ and is now located in ………………………

   3.    Archaeologists have discovered that people in ‘janapadas’ lived in ……………………….

    4.    Painted Grey Ware is a type of…………………

   5.    The taxes on crops were called ………………

   6.    Herders were supposed to pay taxes in the form of…………………….

   7.    ‘Kammakara’ was a word used for …………………

   8.    A ruler called……….. extended the control of Magadha up to the northwest part of the subcontinent.

Answer.

   1.    3000   2.    New Delhi   3.    huts   4.    pottery   5.    ‘bhaga   6.    animals and animal produce   7.    landless agricultural laburers  8.    Mahapadma Nanda.

 

    3.    TRUE/FALSE

State whether these sentences are true (‘I’) or false (F).

    1.    The sprinkling of sacred water on the king was done by the ‘Shudras’.

    2.    The word ‘janapada’ means the land where the ’jana’ has set its foot.

    3.    Capital cities were fortified with huge walls of wood, brick, or stone.

    4.    The rulers of ‘mahajanapadas’ depended on occasional gifts brought by people,

    5.    The rivers Narmada and Brahmaputra flowed through Magadha.

     6.    Alexander was the only person who conquered Magadha.

    7.    Both the Buddha and Mahavira belonged to ‘ganas’ or ‘sanghas’.

Answer.

    1.    F   2.    T   3.    T   4.    F   5.    F   6.    F   7.    T

4. V. VERY SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

1. Name a ritual used to recognise someone as a ‘raja’.
Ans: ‘Ashvamedha’ was one ritual used to recognise kings.

2. Which category of people was excluded from the rituals?
Ans: The ‘Shudras’ were excluded from rituals,

3. Name two ‘janapadas’ in North India.
Ans: Hastinapura and Atranjikhera.

4. How were cities fortified?
Ans: Cities were fortified by building huge walls of wood, brick or stone around them,

5. For what did rulers need taxes?
Ans: Rulers needed taxes to build huge forts and to maintain big armies,

6. Name tivo rivers that flowed through Magadha.
Ans. Ganga and Son were two rivers that flowed through Magadha.

7. Name some places conquered by Alexander.
Ans: Alexander conquered parts of Egypt and West Asia.

8. Which rulers conquered the last of the ‘ganas’ or ‘sanghas’?
Ans: The Gupta rulers conquered the last of the ‘ganas’ or ‘sanghas’.

5 .SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

1. Write a short note on the ‘Ashvamedha’ ritual
Ans: The ‘Ashvamedha’ (horse sacrifice) was a ritual used to recognise men as ‘rajas’. A horse was left to wander freely. If it wandered into another kingdom and the king of that kingdom stopped it, they had to fight. The ‘raja’ who succeeded in the challenge was recognised as stronger. He would then perform the sacrifice, in which other kings would also come.

2. What were the different roles of different persons in the sacrifice?
Ans: The ‘raja’ was the central person in the sacrifice. He was given a special seat, like a throne. His charioteer would tell others tales of the ‘rajas’ exploits. His wives and sons would perform several minor rituals. Other ‘rajas’ would sit and watch. Priests sprinkled sacred water on the king. Ordinary people brought gifts.

3. What is known about the ‘janapadas’ and their people?
Ans: Archaeologists have excavated a number of settlements in ‘janapadas’. They have found that people lived in huts. The people kept cattle as well as other animals. They grew a variety of crops like rice, wheat, barley, pulses, etc. They made earthen pots, some of which were grey in colour and some red.

4. Write a short note on the governance system in ‘ganas’ or ‘sanghas’?
Ans: In ‘ganas’ or ‘sanghas’, these were not one but many rulers. Even if there were several men together, each was called a ‘raja’. They performed rituals together. They met in assemblies and took decisions. Women, ‘dasas’ and ‘kammakaras’ were not allowed to participate in these assemblies.

6.LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

1. What was the important feature of the capital cities of ‘mahajanapadas’? Why were they fortified? How were they fortified? 
Ans: Capital cities of ‘mahajanapadas’ were mostly fortified by building huge walls of wood, brick or stone around them. There were various reasons for building forts. They were probably built because people were afraid of attacks from other kings and needed protection.

Some rulers probably built forts to make their cities impressive and to show how rich and powerful they were. Moreover, by making forts, controlling the fortified area became easier for the kings. Buildings forts required a great deal of planning. Hundreds of thousands of brick or stone had to be prepared. An enormous amount of labour and resources were required.

2. What changes took place in agriculture around this time?  
Ans: There were two significant changes in agriculture around this time:
(i) Growing use of the iron ploughshares helped in yielding better grain produce. Heavy, clayey soil could be turned over better with an iron ploughshare than with a wooden ploughshare.

(ii) People began transplanting paddy. This meant that instead of scattering seed on the ground, from which plants would sprout, saplings were grown and then planted in the fields. Production developed due to this since many plants survived.