Kingdoms, Kings and an Early Republic

Q1. Fill in the blanks.

                             i.        ‘Rajas’ who let the ashvamedha horse pass through their lands were invited to the sacrifice.

                           ii.        Archaeologists have found huts in the settlements of the janapadas.

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

                          iv.        Herders were also expected to pay taxes in the form of animals and animal produce.

                            v.        Soldiers were paid regular salaries and maintained by the king throughout the year.

                          vi.        Both the Buddha and Mahavira belonged to ganas or sanghas.

          vii.        Ajatasattu wanted to attack the Vajjis.

Q2. True/False

                            i.        Priests performed the rituals including the sprinkling of sacred water. True

                           ii.        Usually, the tax was fixed at 1/6th of what was produced. This was known as bhaga or a share. True

                          iii.        The word kammakaras used for slave men and women. False

                          iv.        Raja composed later Vedic books. False

                            v.        Shudras had to serve the other three groups and could not perform any rituals. True

                          vi.        In Magadha elephants were captured and used in army. True

Q3. What is ‘Sangha’?

Ans. Sangha means organisation or association.

Q4. What was the source of income of Raja of Mahajanapadas?

Ans. Taxes was the source of income of Raja of Mahajanapadas.

Q5. Name the four groups into which later vedic society was divided.

Ans. Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras

Q6. Name some rivers that flowed through Magadha.

Ans. Many rivers such as the Ganga and Son flowed through Magadha.

Q7. Who conquered the last of the ganas or sanghas?

Ans. Gupta rulers conquered the last of the ganas or sanghas.

Q8. What was the most important source of revenue to the state?

Ans. Agriculture

Q9. What was the capital of Vajji?

Ans. Vaishali (Bihar)

Q10. What does ashvamedha means?

Ans. Ashvamedha means horse sacrifice.

Q11. Name the animal that played a pivotal role during Ashvamedha.

Ans. Horse

Q12. What is the modern name of Rajagriha?

Ans. Rajagriha (present-day Rajgir) is in Bihar.

Q13. Name the Later Vedic books.

Ans. The Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda are the Later Vedic books.

Q14. Who was the minister of Ajatasattu?

Ans. Vassakara was the minister of Ajatasattu.

Q15. What does the word ‘Janapada’ mean?

Ans. The word janapada literally means the land where the jana set its foot, and settled down.

Q16. What is Digha Nikaya?

Ans. Digha Nikaya is a famous Buddhist book, which contains some of the speeches of the Buddha. These were written down about 2300 years ago.

Q17. Why the rivers that flowed through Magadha were considered important.

Ans. This was important for (a) transport, (b) water supplies (c) making the land fertile.

Q18. Who were the groups who could not participate in the assemblies of the ganas?

Ans. Women, dasas and kammakaras could not participate in these assemblies.

Q19. What does Varna mean?

Ans. The priests divided people into four groups, called varnas. According to them, each varna had a different set of functions.