HBSE 6th Class Social Science Solutions History Chapter 11 New Empires and Kingdoms

Haryana State Board HBSE 6th Class Social Science Solutions History Chapter 11 New Empires and Kingdoms Textbook Exercise Questions and Answers.

Haryana Board 6th Class Social Science Solutions History Chapter 11 New Empires and Kingdoms

HBSE 6th Class History New Empires and Kingdoms Textbook Questions and Answers

Let’s Recall

Question 1.
State whether true or false :

  1. Harishena composed a prashasti in praise of Gautamiputra Shri Satakarni.
  2. The rulers of Aryavarta brought tribute for Samudragupta.
  3. There were twelve rulers in Dakshinapatha.
  4. Taxila and Madurai are important centres under the control of the Gupta rulers.
  5. Aihole was the capital ofPallavas.
  6. The local assemblies functioned for several centuries in South India.

Answer:

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

Question 2.
Mention three authors who wrote about Harshvardhana.
Answer:

  • Banabhatta (court poet of Harshvardhana).
  • Xuan Zang.
  • Harshvardhan himself.

HBSE 6th Class Social Science Solutions History Chapter 11 New Empires and Kingdoms

Question 3.
What changes do you find in the army at this time?
Answer:
Kings of this time had a large and well maintained army. Except this regular army there were some military leaders who provided king with troops whenever they required. These military leaders were not paid salaries. They collect revenue from the land granted by the king and used collected revenue for maintaining gQod army. Thus during these days the military leaders who provided army to kings were known as ‘Samantas’. At this time ‘Smantas system’ became the important part of army.

Question 4.
What were the new administrative arrangements during this period?
Answer:
New administrative arrangements came into existence during this period. Although the village remained the basic emit of administration, some new developments emerged. Kings adopted several steps to get the support of powerful and influential persons.
→ Some important administrative posts were now hereditary. This means that son succeeded fathers to these posts. For example, the poet Harishena got the post of maha-danda-nayaka or chief judicial officer from his father.

→ Sometimes, one person handled the responsibility of many offices. For example, Harishena was not only a maha-danda-nayaka, but also a kumar- amatya, meaning an important minister and a Sandhi-Vigrahika, meaning a minister of war and peace.

→ Some influential persons like nagara- shreshthi or chief banker or merchant of the city, the Sartharaha or leader of the merchant a caravans, the prathamakulika or the chief craftsman and the head of the kayasthas or scribes had a say in the local administration.

Let’s Discuss

Question 5.
What do you think Arvind would have to do if he was acting as Samudragupta?
Answer:
If Arvind was acting as Samudragupta, he would do what is written on the Ashokan pillar at Allahabad. He would dress up like a warrior. Sometimes, he would sit on the throne in Raj Darbar and would seem busy doing his administrative jobs.

Question 6.
Do you think ordinary people would have read and understand the Prashastis ? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer:
“Prashasti” is a Sanskrit word which means ‘in praise of. Hence, the prashastis are composed in praise of contemporary kings (rulers). They were written by either royal poet or written by the visitors who visited India during this time.

We think ordinary people must read these k prashastis because they can know the glimpse of their recent past and know what was the economic, social and political condition of the state that time.

HBSE 6th Class Social Science Solutions History Chapter 11 New Empires and Kingdoms

Let’s Do

Question 7.
If you had to make a genealogy for l yourself, who are the people you would include in it? How many generations would like to show? Make a chart and fill l it. t
Answer:
The word ‘genealogy’ means to make the list of ancestors. Make the list of persons to whom you know 1 very well as with whom your blood relation. The I people I would like to include in my genealogy:

  • My father.
  • My grandfather.
  • The old-grandfather (grandfather of my I father).

At least two generations we would like to include. Related to the above genealogy try to make the chart with the help of your teacher.

Question 8.
How do you think wars affect the lives of ordinary people today?
Answer:
The wars affect the lives of the ordinary people today in the following ways:

  • The war causes tremendous loss of life and property.
  • Number of people lose their lives during war.
  • Daily routine of the life gets affected.
  • It gives birth to number of diseases.
  • It increases the rate of poverty.

HBSE 6th Class History New Empires and Kingdoms Important Questions and Answers

Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Mention the expedition led by Harsha.
Answer:
Harsha conquered both Magadha and Bengal. He tried to cross the Narmada to march into Deccan but was stopped by Pulakesin II, the ruler of the Chalukya dynasty.

Question 2.
What is prashasti?
Answer:
A prashasti is a special kind of inscription written in praise of a ruler or a king.

Question 3.
What happened to the rulers of Aryavarata under Samudragupta’s empire?
Answer:
The nine rulers of Aryavarata were uprooted and their kingdoms were made a part of Samudragupta’s empire.

Question 4.
When did the Arabs conquer Sind?
Answer:
The Arabs conquered Sind (in present Pakistan) about 1300 years ago.

HBSE 6th Class Social Science Solutions History Chapter 11 New Empires and Kingdoms

Question 5.
What information we get in the biography of Harshacharita?
Answer:
In the biography of Harshacharita, we came to know about the genealogy of King Harsha and ends with his becoming king.

Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
What do we know about Pulakeshin II from his prashasti?
Answer:

  • Pulakeshin II’s prashasti tells us about his ancestors who are traced back through four generations from father to son.
  • Pulakeshin evidently got the kingdom from his uncle.
  • He led expeditions along both the west and the east coasts.
  • He checked the advance of Harsha.

Question 2.
What do you know about Allahabad Pillar Inscription?
OR
State the military achievement of Samudragupta as given in the Allahabad inscription.
Answer:
The most authentic source of information about Samudragupta’s conquests are given in Allahabad Pillar inscription, composed by his poet Harisena. It tells us that Samudragupta was not only a conqueror but also an able administrator. It also tells us detailed about the rulers against whom he waged campaigns.

Question 3.
Why did Harsha change (shift) his capital?
Answer:
When Harshavardhana ascended the throne his kingdom was threatened by the rulers of Bengal and Gujarat. After the accession his first task was to rescue his sister Rajyashri. Then he united the kingdoms of Thanesar and Kannauj. Thereafter, he change his capital from Thanesar to Kannauj. Harsha then strengthened his position and then set out on a long campaign of conquests in north-India.

HBSE 6th Class Social Science Solutions History Chapter 11 New Empires and Kingdoms

Question 4.
What were the kinds of‘Assemblies in the Southern Kingdom’?
Answer:

  • The Sabha: The inscriptions of the Pallavas mention a number of local assemblies. Sabha was an assembly of Brahmin land owners. The sub-committees of Sabha looked after irrigation, agricultural operations, making roads, local temples, etc.
  • The Ur: The ‘Ur’ was a village assembly found in areas where the land owners were not Brahmins.
  • Nagram : ‘Nagram’ was an organisation of merchants. These assemblies were probably controlled by rich and powerful landowners and merchants.

Question 5.
How did the Gupta administration differ from that of the Mauryan administration?
Answer:
The governors of the provinces were more independent than they had been in Mauryan times. The provinces were divided into districts and the people of the districts were asked to the help in the administration. There were district councils to advise the governor, and these councils consisted not only of the officers out also of citizens from the towns. Paying the salaries of the officers by land grants instead of money which meant that the king did not have much control over the officers as had the Maurya Kings.

Question 6.
Describe the achievement of Gupta period in the Held of science.
Answer:
The Gupta contributed significantly towards the development of science. Aryabhatta, the famous astronomer and mathematician lived during this period. He wrote the Aiyabhatta and Surya’s Siddhanta which describes the details of solar and lunar eclipses. He reaffirmed that the earth revolves round the sun and rotates on its axis.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
The Pallavas and the Chalukya were the most important ruling dynasties in India during Harsha’s period. Explain the statement.
Answer:
Indeed, the Pallavas and the Chalukyas were the most important ruling dynasties in South India during Harsha’s period.
1. The kingdom of Pallavas spread from the region around their capital, Kanchipuram to the Kaveri delta, while that of the Chalukyas was centered around the Raichur Doab, between the rivers Krishna and Tungabhadra.

2. The Pallavas and Chalukyas frequently attacked one another’s areas, particularly they attacked the capital cities, which were prosperous towns.

3. Aihole, the capital of the Chalukyas, was an important trading and commercial centre. Initially this town developed as a religious centre, with a number of temples.

4. During the days of Pulakeshin II the Chalukyas defeated Harsha of Kanauj and Thanesar. But this victory was short lived.

5. Ultimately, both the Pallavas and the Chalukyas gave way to new rulers belonging to Rashtrakuta and Chola dynasties.

Question 2.
What is written about Harshvardhana by Banabhatta and Xu an Zang?
Answer:
Banabhatta wrote about Harshvar-dhana in Harshacharita in Sanskrit. He wrote about the genealogy of Harsha till he became king.
Xuan Zang also spent a lot of time at Harsha’s court and wrote in detail about him.
We come to know that:

  • Harsha was not the eldest son of his father, but became the king of Thanesar after both his father and elder brother died.
  • Harsha attacked the ruler of Bengal as he had killed his brother who was the ruler of Kanauj.
  • Harsha was successful in the east and conquered both Magadha and Bengal.
  • Harsha was, however, not successful elsewhere.
  • Harsha tried to cross the Narmada to march into Deccan, but was stopped by a ruler belonging to the Chalukya dynasty, Pulakeshin II.

HBSE 6th Class Social Science Solutions History Chapter 11 New Empires and Kingdoms

Question 3.
Discuss the life of the ordinary people in Harsha’s period.
Answer:
We come to know about the life of the ordinary people in Harsh’s period through literary sources.
(a) The plays written by Kalidasa depict the life of people in court. The ruler and the Brahmins are shown as speaking Sanskrit while women and men other than ruler and Brahmin use Prakrit.

(b) The most famous play of Kalidasa Abhijanans Shakuntalam, is the story of love between the king named Dushyanta and a young woman named Shakuntala. We find an interesting and impressive description of the plight (condition) of a poor fisherman in this play. This character of the play (i.e., the fisherman) found a costly ring, which the king (Dushyanta) had given to Shakuntala, but which had been accidently swallowed by a fish. When he went to the palace with that ring, the gateman (of the palace) accused him of theft and the chief police officer was rather rude. However, the king was happy when he saw the ring and sent a reward for the fisherman. Then the police officer and the gateman decided to take a share of the reward, and went along with the fisherman to have a drink.

(c) During the reign of Chandragupta II, the Chinese pilgrim Fa Xian noticed the plight of those who were treated as untouchables by the high and mightly people of the Indian society of those days. They were expected to live on the outskirts of the city (capital city-Pataliputra was referred by Fa Xian). He writes, “If such a man enters a town or a market place, he strikes a piece of wood, in order to keep himself separate, people, hearing his sound, know what it means and avoid touching him or brushing against him.”

New Empires and Kingdoms Class 6 HBSE Notes

  • The Hunas : The foreign tribe from Central Asia attacked India in the fifth century A.D.
  • Murals : The wall paintings in the Ajanta caves.
  • Nayannars : The devotees of Shiva.
  • Zend Avesta : The sacred book of the ZoroastriAnswer:
  • Brahmi: A script used in ancient times in India.
  • Maharajadhiraja : The king of kings.
  • Sculptures: A work of art that is solid figure or object made by cutting and shaping woods, stones, clay, metal, etc.
  • Devadasis : The women employed to serve the deities in the temple.
  • Prashasti : It is a Sanskrit word which means ‘in praise of . These were composed in praise of kings.
  • Tribute : Cash paid/gift paid/payment made by one ruler to another in lieu of protection against any other king.
  • Land-grants: Land allotted to some powerful men from where he can collect land revenue and render his military services to the king.
  • Vishyapati : Head of the district during Gupta empire.
  • Kumaramatyas : These were the official incharge at provincial level during Vardhan age.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *