Ch-5 Kingdoms, Kings and An Early Republic

HISTORY
LESSON 6: Kingdoms, Kings and an early Republic (Key)

W.B (pp-65)
1. How did men become rulers in the past? The rajas were chosen by the jana
2. What was the ashvamedha? 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.
3. The raja was the central figure in all rituals.
4. The ashvamedha was a ritual performed by the rajas.

5. The shudras were excluded from the rituals.
6. The Samaveda, the Yajurveda and the _Atharvaveda were written in the later vedic
period.
7. What does the later vedic literature contain? The later vedic literature consists of the
Samaveda, yajurveda and the atharvaveda
8. Define varna. The division of the people into four sections by birth
9. Who were: a) Brahmins : the priests
b) Kshatriyas: the warrior class
c) Vaishyas: the trading community
d) Shudras: the lower class who did all the lowly jobs
10. On what basis were people divided into groups? By birth
WB (pp-66)
1. The Brahmins performed big sacrifices.
2. What does janapada mean? 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.
3. Name some important janapadas. Gandhara, Kosala, Panchal, Kausambhi,
Magadha, Vajji
4. Name some excavated settlements in the janapadas. Purana Qila in Delhi,
Hastinapur near Meerut and Atranjikhera near Etah
5. What do the finds in these settlements suggest? It showed that people lived in huts,
kept cattle as well as other animals. They also grew a variety of crops- rice,
wheat, barley, pulses, sugarcane, sesame and mustard
6. List the crops grown by the people in the janapadas. rice, wheat, barley, pulses,
sugarcane, sesame and mustard
7. What is special about Painted Grey Ware? The grey pots had painted designs
usually simple lines and geometric patterns
Writing Task: W.B (pp- 66)

1. Janapadas became important about 2500 years ago.
2. Define: a) Mahajanapadas b) Fortified
Mahajanapadas- Some janapadas became more important than others and
were known as mahajanapadas
Fortified- 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
3. List 2 features of the mahajanapadas. 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.
Enormous amount of labour and resources were required.
4. Why did the rajas of the mahajanapadas build forts? The ‘rajas’ of
‘mahajanapadas’ built forts around their capital cities because probably the
people were afraid of attacks from other kings and needed protection. It is also
possible that some ‘rajas’ wanted to show that they were rich and powerful by
building large, tall and impressive walls around cities. Moreover, by fortifying,
the land and its people could be controlled more easily.
5. List 2 ways in which the rajas of the mahajanapadas were different from the one
mentioned in the Rigveda. The rajas of the mahajanapadas now began
maintaining armies as opposite to those in the Rig Vedic period. Soldiers were
paid regular salaries and maintained by the king throughout the year. Some
payments were probably made using punch marked coins .
W.B (pp-67,68)
1. Why did the rulers of the mahajanapadas need resources? As the rulers were building
huge forts and maintaining huge armies, they needed resources
2. The rulers of the mahajanapadas started collecting taxes as they were building huge
forts and maintaining huge armies
3. Taxes on crops was an important source of income.
4. How much of the tax was fixed on the crops? 1/6th of the produce
5. List the occupations that were taxed. Craftspersons- weavers, herders, hunters,
gatherers
6. What do you think would have been provided by hunters and gatherers in lieu of
taxes? Forest produce
7. Name the changes that occurred in agriculture in this period. a) Growing use of iron
ploughshares b) People began transplanting paddy
8. What led to the increase in crop production and how? Transplanting paddy seeds
led to the increase in crop production. This meant instead of scattering seeds on the
ground from which plants would sprout saplings were grown and then planted in the
fields. This made many plants to survive.
9. Landless agricultural labourers were called kammakaras.
10. Dasas and Dasis were slave men and women.
Writing Task: W.B (pp 68)
1. Magadha was the most important mahajanapada.
2. Ganga and Son rivers flew through Magadha.
3. How did the rivers help Magadha? A) Transport b) Water supplies c) Making
the land fertile
4. What were the uses of forests for Magadha? A) Elephants which lived in the forests
could be captured and trained for the army b) Forests also provided wood for
building houses, carts and chariots c) There were iron ore mines in the region
that could be tapped to make strong tools and weapons
5. Bimbisara, Ajatshatru and Mahapadmananda were the very powerful rulers of
Magadha.
6. Rajagriha was the capital of Magadha for several years.
7. Later, Pataliputra was made the capital of Magadha.
8. Alexander was the ruler of Macedonia in Europe.
9. Alexander conquered parts of Egypt and West Asia.
10. Alexander’s soldiers refused to march further east wards because they were scared as
they heard that the rulers of India had vast empires of foot soldiers, chariots and
elephants
Writing Task ( W.B pp-69,70)
1. Vaishaliwas the capital of Vajji.
2. Define Gana. In ‘ganas’ , there 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
3. What was the sangha? Means organisation or association
4. How were the decisions taken in Vajji? Through discussion and debate
5. Who were the groups who could not participate in the assemblies of the ganas?
Women dasas and kammakaras
6. Name the religious leaders who belonged to the gana. Buddha and Mahavira
7. Ajatshatru sent Vassakara to the Buddha to get his advice on the matter of attack on
Vajji.
8. The last of the ganas were conquered by the Gupta rulers.
9. Name the form of government set up by the people of Athens. Democracy
Multiple Choice :
a) The rajas were chosen by the jana
b) The samaveds, Yajurveda and the Atharva veda were composed by the Priests
c) Janapadas came to be known as Mahajanapadas around 2500 years.
d) The tax on produce was called Bhaga.
e) Democracy in Athens lasted for about 200 years.
Fill in the blanks:

a) The Painted Grey Ware Bowls and plates were used to serve special food on the
special occasions.
b) The Painted Grey Ware had geometric patterns painted on them.
c) Digha Nikaya, a famous Buddhist book was composed about 2300 years ago.
Writing Task: (W.B pp- 70)

True / False
1. Rajas who let the ashwamedha horse pass through their lands were invited to their
sacrifice. T
2. The charioteer sprinkled water on the king. F
3. Archaeologists have found places in the settlements of the janapadas. T
4. Pots to store grain were made out of Painted Grey Ware. T
5. Many cities in mahajanapadas were fortified. T
6. The raja was not the hereditary ruler. F
7. The people were divided into five groups. F
8. Some payments in the janapadas could also be made through coins. T
Match the following:

1. Purana Qila iii i) 1/6th
2. Hastinapur v ii) Macedonia
3. Bhaga i iii) Delhi
4. Alexander ii iv) Athens
5. Democracy iv v) Near Meerut
Give one word:

1. They were expected to study and teach vedas. Brahmins
2. Janapadas gained control over large areas. Mahajanapadas
3. Most powerful mahajanapada. Magadha
Writing Task: W.B (pp71)

Very short Answers:
1. What did it mean to allow the horse to pass through one’s kingdom? It meant that
they accepted the raja who wanted to perform the sacrifice
2. What was the function of the king’s charioteer during the rituals? Chanted tales of
the raja’s glory
3. How were the appointments to important positions made in Athens? Through lottery
4. What was expected of the citizens of Athens? To serve in the army and the navy
Short Answers:
1. What was the system of govt. in Vajji? (NCERT Refer page- 61)
2. There were several thousand slaves in Athens. What was the difference between the
treatment done to the slaves in India and Athens? Slaves in Athens were not treated
as citizens but in India slaves too are treated as citizens.
Picture based Question:

Answer: a) Painted Grey Ware bowl
b) Bowl
c) Used to serve special food for special people on special occasions
d) In the janapadas
e) Extremely fine to touch with a nice ,smooth surface.
Long Answers
1. What was the views of the people regarding the varna system? (Refer NCERT
Page- 60 in the yellow box)
2. What was the Ashwamedha ritual? How was it performed? 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.
3. What was the system of taxes in the mahajanapadas? (Refer NCERT Page- 59 )
4. According to Buddha, Vajji would continue to prosper for long. Why? (Refer
NCERT Page- 62 in the box)
Long Answers:
1. Discuss the democratic set up in Athens. (Refer NCERT Page-63 in the box)
2. In what ways are the present day elections different from the way rulers were
chosen in janapadas? Choosing rulers in ‘janapadas’—Men were chosen ‘rajas’
by performing big sacrifices. The ‘ashvamedha’ (horse sacrifice) was one such
ritual which was used to identify a ‘raja’. The ‘raja’ chosen by this sacrifice
was considered very powerful. Electing rulers today—Today, we have a
democratic system of government. Each citizen has a right to vote and the
government is decided by elections in which each citizen casts his vote.
Map based question:
Answer:
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HISTORY

LESSON 6: Kingdoms, Kings and an early Republic (Key)

3. The raja was the central figure in all rituals.

4. The ashvamedha was a ritual performed by the rajas.

Writing Task: W.B (pp- 66)

Fill in the blanks:

Writing Task: (W.B pp- 70)

Match the following:

Give one word:

Writing Task: W.B (pp71)

Picture based Question:

Map based question:

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