Kings, Farmers and TownsClass 12 History NCERT Solutions
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Q1ANSWER IN 100-150 WORDS
Discuss the evidence of craft production in Early Historic cities. In what ways is this different from the evidence from Harappan cities?
Solution
Evidence of craft production in Early Historic cities (c. 600 BCE - 600 CE) comes from archaeological finds and inscriptional records.
Evidence from Early Historic Cities:
- Archaeological Artefacts: Excavations have unearthed a wide range of artefacts, including fine pottery bowls and dishes with a glossy finish, known as Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW). Other finds include ornaments, tools, weapons, and vessels made from diverse materials like gold, silver, copper, bronze, ivory, glass, shell, and terracotta.
- Inscriptions: Short votive inscriptions found in cities mention the occupations of donors, providing direct evidence of craftspeople such as weavers, scribes, carpenters, potters, goldsmiths, and blacksmiths. These inscriptions also refer to guilds or shrenis (organisations of craft producers and merchants), which regulated production and marketing.
Differences from Harappan Cities:
- Nature of Sites: A major difference is that most Early Historic urban sites are still inhabited today, which makes extensive excavation difficult. In contrast, Harappan cities were abandoned, allowing for more complete archaeological investigation.
- Types of Artefacts: While Harappan cities are known for distinctive items like seals, standardized bricks, and specialized bead-making, Early Historic cities are characterized by artefacts like NBPW and a greater prevalence of iron tools.
- Written Evidence: Harappan script remains undeciphered, so our knowledge of their craftspeople is purely archaeological. For Early Historic cities, deciphered inscriptions in Brahmi and Kharosthi provide names and occupations of artisans and merchants, offering a more direct insight.
Q2ANSWER IN 100-150 WORDS
Describe the salient features of mahajanapadas.
Solution
The sixth century BCE was a major turning point in early Indian history, marked by the emergence of sixteen large states known as mahajanapadas. Their salient features were:
- Political Structure: Most mahajanapadas were ruled by a king. However, some, known as ganas or sanghas (e.g., Vajji), were oligarchies where power was shared by a group of men, often collectively called rajas.
- Capital Cities: Each mahajanapada had a capital city, which was often fortified to protect it from attack. These cities were also centres of political and economic activity.
- Military and Bureaucracy: To maintain the fortified cities and for defence, rulers began to maintain standing armies and regular bureaucracies. This required significant resources.
- Revenue Collection: Rulers collected taxes and tribute from cultivators, traders, and artisans to meet their resource needs. Dharmasutras, composed by Brahmanas, laid down norms for rulers, advising them on tax collection.
- Territorial Expansion: Raids on neighbouring states were considered a legitimate means of acquiring wealth and expanding territory, leading to frequent conflicts among the mahajanapadas.
Q3ANSWER IN 100-150 WORDS
How do historians reconstruct the lives of ordinary people?
Solution
Reconstructing the lives of ordinary people is challenging because they rarely left behind historical records. Inscriptions and official documents primarily focus on the achievements and perspectives of kings and elites. However, historians use a variety of alternative sources to piece together an understanding of common life:
- Anthologies and Stories: Historians examine stories from collections like the Jatakas (written in Pali) and the Panchatantra. These tales, which likely originated as popular oral stories, often reflect the perceptions and problems of ordinary people. For instance, the Gandatindu Jataka describes the plight of villagers suffering under a wicked king and oppressive tax collectors, revealing the strained relationship between rulers and their subjects.
- Archaeological Evidence: Excavations of settlements yield artefacts of daily use such as pottery, tools, and remains of houses. These objects provide insights into the material culture, diet, and living conditions of the general population.
- Legal and Normative Texts: Texts like the Dharmasutras and the Manusmriti, while prescriptive, discuss social norms, family structures, and property relations that affected ordinary people. They provide a framework for understanding societal expectations and structures.
- Accounts of Foreign Travellers: The writings of travellers like Megasthenes (Greek) or Xuan Zang (Chinese) sometimes contain observations on the lives, occupations, and customs of the common people they encountered.
Q4ANSWER IN 100-150 WORDS
Compare and contrast the list of things given to the Pandyan chief (Source 3) with those produced in the village of Danguna (Source 8). Do you notice any similarities or differences?
Solution
A comparison of the gifts given to the Pandyan chief and the items produced in the village of Danguna reveals significant differences in their nature, context, and purpose, with few similarities.
Differences:
- Nature of Goods: The gifts for the Pandyan chief were primarily exotic forest products and valuable items such as ivory, fragrant wood, honey, sandalwood, spices, and wild animals like tigers and elephants. In contrast, the items from Danguna were basic agricultural and pastoral products necessary for daily life and administration, such as grass, animal hides, charcoal, flowers, and milk.
- Context of Exchange: The items given to the Pandyan chief are described as 'gifts' from subordinate people, typical of a chiefdom where tribute is offered voluntarily or out of respect. The items from Danguna are mentioned in the context of exemptions from royal dues. This implies they were part of a regular, compulsory taxation system in a kingdom, which the donee of the land grant was now exempt from providing to royal officials.
- Economic System: The list for the chief reflects a forest-based, gift-exchange economy. The Danguna list reflects a settled agricultural economy with a structured system of revenue collection.
Similarities:
- The only major similarity is that both lists represent resources being transferred from the local population to a powerful authority (a chief or a king's representative/donee). Both demonstrate the extraction of surplus from the countryside to support an elite.
Q5ANSWER IN 100-150 WORDS
List some of the problems faced by epigraphists.
Solution
Epigraphists, who study inscriptions, face several problems in their work of deciphering and interpreting these historical sources:
- Technical Limitations: Letters in inscriptions can be very faintly engraved, making them difficult to read. Inscriptions may also be damaged over time, or have letters missing, which leads to uncertainty in reconstruction.
- Decipherment and Language: Not all scripts have been deciphered. Even when the script is known, the exact meaning of the words used can be ambiguous, as some may be specific to a particular time or place and are no longer in use.
- Incompleteness of Evidence: Thousands of inscriptions have been discovered, but this is likely only a small fraction of what was originally inscribed. Many inscriptions have not survived the ravages of time, so the available evidence is incomplete.
- Inherent Bias: Inscriptions do not record everything. They usually focus on grand events, royal achievements, or religious donations. The daily lives, joys, and sorrows of ordinary people are rarely mentioned. Furthermore, the content almost always reflects the perspective of the person who commissioned the inscription, making it a biased source.
- Contextual Interpretation: It is not always easy to be certain about the context. For example, an inscription might be found far from its original location, or its purpose might be unclear, requiring epigraphists and historians to make careful judgments.
Q10MAP WORK
Compare Maps 1 and 2, and list the mahajanapadas that might have been included in the Mauryan Empire. Are any Asokan inscriptions found in these areas?
Solution
A comparison of Map 1 (Early States and their Capitals) and Map 2 (The Distribution of Asokan Inscriptions) indicates that the Mauryan Empire, at its peak under Asoka, encompassed the territories of almost all the major mahajanapadas.
Mahajanapadas included in the Mauryan Empire:
By overlaying the two maps, the following mahajanapadas and their surrounding regions clearly fall within the boundaries of the Mauryan Empire:
- Gandhara
- Kamboja
- Kuru
- Panchala
- Surasena
- Matsya
- Avanti
- Chedi
- Vatsa
- Koshala
- Kashi
- Magadha
- Vajji
- Anga
- Malla
Presence of Asokan Inscriptions:
Yes, Asokan inscriptions are found in the areas of many of these former mahajanapadas, which confirms Mauryan control over them. Examples include:
- In the region of Gandhara, major rock edicts are found at Shahbazgarhi and Mansehra.
- In the Kuru-Panchala region, pillar edicts have been found at Topra and Meerut (later moved to Delhi).
- Near Kashi, an important pillar inscription is located at Sarnath.
- In the heartland of Magadha, inscriptions have been found near Pataliputra, the imperial capital.
- In the territory of Avanti, whose capital was Ujjayini (a major Mauryan provincial centre), inscriptions are found nearby, such as at Sanchi.
- The region of Kalinga, though not one of the original sixteen mahajanapadas but a powerful state, was conquered by Asoka, and major rock edicts are found there at Dhauli and Jaugada.
Q11PROJECT (ANY ONE)
Collect newspapers for one month. Cut and paste all the statements made by government officials about public works. Note what the reports say about the resources required for such projects, how the resources are mobilised and the objective of the project. Who issues these statements, and how and why are they communicated? Compare and contrast these with the evidence from inscriptions discussed in this chapter. What are the similarities and differences that you notice?
Solution
This project requires you to analyze modern government communication about public works and compare it with ancient inscriptional evidence.
Steps for the Project:
- Collection: For one month, collect newspaper clippings (physical or digital) that report on public works projects announced or discussed by government officials (e.g., ministers, civil servants). This could include new roads, dams, schools, hospitals, or irrigation schemes.
- Analysis of Modern Evidence: For each clipping, note the following:
- Objective: Why is the project being undertaken? (e.g., for public welfare, economic development, national security).
- Resources: What resources are needed? (e.g., funding, land, labour, technology).
- Mobilisation: How are these resources mobilized? (e.g., through taxes, loans, public-private partnerships).
- Communication: Who makes the statement (e.g., Prime Minister, Chief Minister)? How is it communicated (e.g., press conference, public rally, social media)? Why is it communicated (e.g., to inform the public, to gain political support)?
Comparison with Inscriptional Evidence:
Now, compare your findings with the evidence from inscriptions in the chapter (e.g., Asokan edicts, the inscription on the Sudarshana lake).
Similarities:
- State Initiative: In both ancient and modern times, the state (ruler or government) is a key initiator of major public works. The repair of the Sudarshana lake by rulers Rudradaman and a Gupta king is a direct parallel to a modern government building or repairing a dam.
- Stated Objective: Both ancient rulers and modern governments often state that public works are for the benefit of the people. Asoka's dhamma aimed at the well-being of his subjects, just as modern projects are framed around public welfare.
- Propaganda/Communication: Both use public announcements to project power and benevolence. Asoka had his orders inscribed on rocks and pillars for all to see, similar to how modern governments use newspapers and media to publicize their achievements.
Differences:
- Mode of Communication: Ancient rulers used permanent media like stone inscriptions. Modern governments use mass media like newspapers, television, and the internet, which are immediate but less permanent.
- Resource Mobilisation: Inscriptions mention kings using their own resources or collecting dues. Modern governments have complex financial systems involving public taxes, national budgets, international loans, and private sector investment, which are reported in detail.
- Audience and Accountability: Asokan inscriptions were royal proclamations. Modern government statements are part of a democratic process where officials are, in theory, accountable to the public, and reports are often subject to public and media scrutiny.
- Level of Detail: Newspaper reports often provide detailed financial data, timelines, and technical specifications for projects, a level of detail not found in ancient inscriptions, which were more focused on the glory of the patron.
Q12PROJECT (ANY ONE)
Collect five different kinds of currency notes and coins in circulation today. For each one of these, describe what you see on the obverse and the reverse (the front and the back). Prepare a report on the common features as well as the differences in terms of pictures, scripts and languages, size, shape and any other element that you find significant. Compare these with the coins shown in this chapter, discussing the materials used, the techniques of minting, the visual symbols and their significance and the possible functions that coins may have had.
Solution
This project involves a comparative study of modern currency and ancient coins.
Part 1: Analysis of Modern Currency
- Collection: Gather at least five different coins and currency notes currently in circulation in India (e.g., ₹1, ₹5, ₹10 coins; ₹10, ₹50, ₹100 notes).
- Description: For each item, create a detailed description:
- Obverse (Front): Note the main image (e.g., Lion Capital of Asoka), the words 'भारत' and 'India', and the denomination in numerals.
- Reverse (Back): Note the central image (e.g., Konark Sun Temple, Sanchi Stupa, Mangalyaan), the year of issue, the denomination written in multiple languages (usually 15 on the language panel of notes), and symbols like the Swachh Bharat logo.
- Report on Common Features & Differences:
- Common Features: All currency features the national emblem (Lion Capital), the name of the country, and the denomination. Notes have security features like watermarks and security threads.
- Differences: Different denominations have different sizes, colours, and images on the reverse, often representing India's cultural heritage or scientific achievements.
Part 2: Comparison with Ancient Coins
Now, compare your findings with the coins discussed in the chapter (punch-marked, Indo-Greek, Kushana, Gupta).
Comparison Points:
- Materials: Modern coins are made of base metal alloys (like stainless steel or nickel-brass). Ancient coins were often made of precious metals like silver (punch-marked), gold (Kushana, Gupta), or copper, reflecting their intrinsic value. Modern notes are made of paper or polymer.
- Techniques of Minting: Ancient coins were made using techniques like punching (stamping symbols onto a metal blank) or die-striking. Modern coins and notes are mass-produced using sophisticated machinery that allows for high detail and complex security features.
- Visual Symbols and Significance:
- Ancient: Early punch-marked coins had only symbols (geometric, floral). Indo-Greek coins were the first to bear realistic portraits and names of rulers. Kushana and Gupta coins also featured kings, deities, and symbols of power. The symbols were meant to guarantee the coin's authenticity and project the ruler's authority and divine connection.
- Modern: Modern currency features national symbols (Lion Capital) instead of a specific ruler, signifying a republic. The images on the reverse celebrate national identity, culture, and progress, rather than an individual's power.
- Scripts and Languages: Ancient coins often used one or two scripts (e.g., Greek and Kharosthi on Indo-Greek coins; Brahmi on Gupta coins). Modern Indian currency uses multiple languages and scripts to reflect the country's linguistic diversity.
- Possible Functions:
- Ancient: Coins facilitated trade and economic exchanges. The widespread use of gold coins by the Kushanas indicates high-value transactions. They also served as a medium for rulers to communicate their power and legitimacy over a wide area.
- Modern: Modern currency serves the same economic function but is a token or 'fiat' currency, its value guaranteed by the central bank (Reserve Bank of India) rather than the value of its material. It also functions as a powerful symbol of national sovereignty and identity.
Q6Write A SHORT ESSAY (ABOUT 500 WORDS) ON THE FOLLOWING:
Discuss the main features of Mauryan administration. Which of these elements are evident in the Asokan inscriptions that you have studied?
Solution
The Mauryan Empire (c. 321-185 BCE) was the first large, centralized empire in the Indian subcontinent, and its administration was complex and highly organized. Historians reconstruct its features using sources like Megasthenes' Indica, Kautilya's Arthashastra, and Asokan inscriptions.
Main Features of Mauryan Administration:
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Centralized Political Control: The empire had five major political centres: the capital, Pataliputra, and four provincial centres at Taxila, Ujjayini, Tosali, and Suvarnagiri. This structure allowed the emperor to maintain control over the vast territory. Administrative control was strongest around the capital and these provincial centres, which were strategically chosen for their importance in trade routes or access to resources like gold mines.
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Organized Military: The Mauryas maintained a large and powerful army. The Greek writer Megasthenes describes a committee with six subcommittees responsible for coordinating military activity. These subcommittees managed the navy, transport and provisions, infantry, cavalry, chariots, and elephants. The army was crucial for both expansion and for ensuring the security of trade and communication routes.
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Extensive Bureaucracy: The state employed a vast number of officials to manage its affairs. According to Megasthenes, officials were appointed to supervise rivers, measure land, inspect irrigation canals, collect taxes, and oversee various occupations like woodcutters, carpenters, and miners. The Arthashastra also provides detailed information on the duties of various officials.
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Communication Networks: The existence of the empire depended on a robust network of communication along both land and riverine routes. Journeys between the centre and provinces took weeks, so ensuring provisions and protection for travellers and officials was vital.
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Propagation of Dhamma: Asoka introduced the policy of dhamma as a moral and ethical code to hold his diverse empire together. It promoted ideals like respect for elders, generosity, kindness to servants, and religious tolerance. He appointed special officers called the dhamma mahamatta to travel throughout the empire and spread this message.
Elements Evident in Asokan Inscriptions:
Several of these administrative features are directly reflected in the Asokan inscriptions studied in the chapter:
- The inscriptions themselves, found across the subcontinent from Afghanistan to Orissa, confirm the vast extent of the empire and a uniform messaging system.
- The inscriptions explicitly mention the five major political centres (Pataliputra, Taxila, Ujjayini, Tosali, Suvarnagiri).
- The policy of dhamma is the central theme of most of Asoka's edicts. They proclaim his understanding of dhamma and his efforts to spread it.
- The appointment of the dhamma mahamatta is mentioned, highlighting the creation of a special cadre of officials for a specific administrative purpose.
- One inscription (Source 10) details Asoka's own administrative reforms, where he appointed pativedakas (reporters) to inform him about the affairs of the people at all times, showing a system for gathering information to ensure efficient governance.
Q7Write A SHORT ESSAY (ABOUT 500 WORDS) ON THE FOLLOWING:
This is a statement made by one of the best-known epigraphists of the twentieth century, D.C. Sircar: "There is no aspect of life, culture and activities of the Indians that is not reflected in inscriptions." Discuss.
Solution
D.C. Sircar's statement that "there is no aspect of life, culture and activities of the Indians that is not reflected in inscriptions" is a powerful assertion of the immense value of epigraphy as a historical source. While inscriptions do provide an exceptionally wide range of information, the claim that they reflect every aspect of life is an overstatement. A critical discussion reveals both the strengths and significant limitations of inscriptional evidence.
On one hand, inscriptions offer a remarkable window into many facets of early Indian life. Politically, they are invaluable for reconstructing dynastic histories, recording the exploits and conquests of kings, as seen in the Prayaga Prashasti of Samudragupta or the Kalinga edict of Asoka. They delineate the extent of empires and provide details of administrative structures, such as the mention of dhamma mahamattas in Asokan edicts. Economically, they record land grants (like that of Prabhavati Gupta), which shed light on agrarian relations, revenue systems, and the extension of agriculture. The mention of guilds (shrenis) and the construction of irrigation works, like the Sudarshana lake, further illuminate economic activities. Socially, votive inscriptions reveal the occupations of ordinary people like goldsmiths and weavers, and show that women could also make donations and own resources, challenging the prescriptive norms found in some texts. They also provide insights into religious life through records of donations to Brahmanas, monasteries, and temples, and the propagation of ethical codes like Asoka's dhamma.
However, despite this wide scope, there are fundamental limitations to what inscriptions can reveal, which challenge Sircar's absolute statement. The chapter itself highlights these limitations clearly. Firstly, inscriptions are not representative of the entire population. They almost invariably project the perspective of the elite—the kings, queens, and wealthy patrons who commissioned them. The voices and experiences of the vast majority of people are absent. As the text states, "routine agricultural practices and the joys and sorrows of daily existence find no mention in inscriptions." The lives of marginalized groups such as pastoralists, hunter-gatherers, landless labourers, and forest dwellers are rarely, if ever, recorded. Secondly, the content is selective, focusing on grand, unique events rather than the mundane realities of daily life. Aspects of culture such as folk music, dance, oral traditions, and popular beliefs are not things that were typically engraved on stone or copper plates. Finally, what has survived is only a fraction of what was originally inscribed. Much has been lost to time, leaving our knowledge incomplete.
In conclusion, while inscriptions are an indispensable and richly detailed source for understanding the political, economic, and religious activities of early India, they do not encompass all aspects of life. Sircar's statement rightly emphasizes their importance but overlooks their inherent biases and the vast areas of human experience they do not cover. To get a fuller picture of the past, historians must supplement epigraphic evidence with other sources like archaeology, literature, and numismatics.
Q8Write A SHORT ESSAY (ABOUT 500 WORDS) ON THE FOLLOWING:
Discuss the notions of kingship that developed in the post-Mauryan period.
Solution
In the post-Mauryan period (c. 200 BCE onwards), diverse and new notions of kingship emerged across the subcontinent, moving away from the Mauryan model of a centralized, paternalistic monarch. These new ideas were shaped by regional political developments and influences from Central Asia.
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Chiefdoms in the South: In the Deccan and further south, new kingdoms and chiefdoms of the Cholas, Cheras, and Pandyas arose. Here, the idea of kingship was often embodied in the 'chief'. A chief was a powerful leader whose position was not always hereditary and who derived support from his kinfolk. Unlike kings who collected regular taxes, chiefs received gifts and tribute from their subordinates, which they then redistributed among their supporters. Their authority was based on leadership in warfare, performing rituals, and arbitrating disputes, as described in early Tamil Sangam texts.
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Divine Kingship: A prominent notion that developed during this period was the claim to divine status by rulers. This strategy was best exemplified by the Kushana rulers (c. first century BCE - first century CE), who controlled a vast kingdom extending from Central Asia. They projected a godlike image in several ways:
- They adopted the title devaputra, meaning "son of god," possibly inspired by Chinese rulers who called themselves "sons of heaven."
- They installed colossal statues of themselves in shrines, both in India (near Mathura) and Afghanistan, suggesting they wished to be worshipped as deities.
- Their coins often featured an image of the king on the obverse and a deity on the reverse, visually associating the ruler with the divine.
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Superhuman Status through Prashastis: The Gupta rulers (c. fourth century CE onwards) also projected an elevated, almost superhuman status, though through different means. Their histories are often reconstructed from prashastis (eulogies) composed by court poets. The Prayaga Prashasti, for example, describes its patron, Samudragupta, in exaggerated terms. It claims he was "without an antagonist on earth," a "Supreme Being" (Purusha), and equal to gods like Kubera (god of wealth), Varuna (god of the ocean), and Indra (god of rains). This was a way for kings to present a facade of immense power and divine sanction, especially when their actual control might have been weakening.
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Kingship based on Samantas: The Gupta empire and other larger states of the period depended on a network of subordinate rulers known as samantas. These local lords maintained themselves through control over land and resources. They offered homage and provided military support to the main ruler. This created a more decentralized form of kingship, where the power of the emperor depended on the loyalty of these powerful feudatories, who could themselves aspire to become kings if the central ruler was weak.
In essence, post-Mauryan kingship was not monolithic. It ranged from the kin-based leadership of southern chiefs to the divinely sanctioned authority of the Kushanas and the feudatory-dependent, superhuman image of the Guptas.
Q9Write A SHORT ESSAY (ABOUT 500 WORDS) ON THE FOLLOWING:
To what extent were agricultural practices transformed in the period under consideration?
Solution
The period from c. 600 BCE to 600 CE witnessed significant transformations in agricultural practices, leading to increased productivity and surplus. However, these changes were not uniform across the subcontinent, and their benefits were unevenly distributed.
The key transformations in agriculture were:
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Adoption of the Iron Ploughshare: A major technological shift was the spread of plough agriculture using an iron-tipped ploughshare. This technology was particularly effective in the fertile alluvial river valleys, such as those of the Ganga and the Kaveri, where the heavy soil could be turned more easily. This led to a substantial expansion of cultivable land and a growth in agricultural productivity from the sixth century BCE onwards.
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Introduction of Paddy Transplantation: In some parts of the Ganga valley, the production of paddy (rice) was dramatically increased through the technique of transplantation. In this method, seeds are first grown into saplings in nurseries and then transplanted into waterlogged fields. This ensures a higher survival rate of saplings and leads to much higher yields, although it is an extremely labour-intensive process.
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Expansion of Irrigation: To overcome the uncertainties of rainfall, there was an increased use of various forms of irrigation. This included the construction and maintenance of wells, tanks, and, less commonly, canals. The construction of these irrigation works was undertaken by communities, powerful individuals, and even kings. The Sudarshana lake in Gujarat, an artificial reservoir first built during Mauryan rule and later repaired by Shaka and Gupta rulers, is a prime example of state involvement in large-scale irrigation projects.
Extent and Limitations of the Transformation:
While these developments were transformative, their impact was not universal. The extent of this agricultural transformation was limited by geography and terrain.
- The use of the iron ploughshare was restricted to areas with suitable soil and high rainfall. In semi-arid regions like parts of Punjab and Rajasthan, this technology was not adopted until the twentieth century.
- In hilly tracts, such as those in the northeastern and central parts of the subcontinent, people continued to practice hoe agriculture, which was better suited to the terrain.
Furthermore, the benefits of increased production were not shared equally. The new technologies and the resulting surplus led to growing social differentiation within rural society. Buddhist texts and other literature refer to a clear hierarchy, including large landowners (vellalar in Tamil texts or gahapatis in Pali texts), small peasants (uzhavar), and landless agricultural labourers and slaves (adimai). This indicates that while production increased, it also deepened economic inequalities.
In conclusion, agricultural practices were significantly transformed through new technologies like the iron plough and transplantation, and the expansion of irrigation. This led to an overall increase in production, but the transformation was geographically limited and contributed to greater social stratification in rural society.