Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 63 views

    Kingdoms, Kings and An Early Republic

    Uploaded by

    Nayanika Verma
    This document provides information about kingdoms and early republics in ancient India around 3000 years ago. It discusses how some men were chosen as rulers or rajas through rituals like the ashvamedha or horse sacrifice. It also describes the janapadas and mahajanapadas settlements that emerged, including important ones like Magadha and Vajji. The document lists some of the features of mahajanapadas like fortified cities and taxation systems. It provides details on administrative and social aspects of these early kingdoms.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Kingdoms, Kings and An Early Republic

    Uploaded by

    Nayanika Verma
    63 views16 pages
    This document provides information about kingdoms and early republics in ancient India around 3000 years ago. It discusses how some men were chosen as rulers or rajas through rituals like the ashvamedha or horse sacrifice. It also describes the janapadas and mahajanapadas settlements that emerged, including important ones like Magadha and Vajji. The document lists some of the features of mahajanapadas like fortified cities and taxation systems. It provides details on administrative and social aspects of these early kingdoms.

    Original Description:

    Notes

    Original Title

    kingdoms,kings and an early republic

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    This document provides information about kingdoms and early republics in ancient India around 3000 years ago. It discusses how some men were chosen as rulers or rajas through rituals like the ashvamedha or horse sacrifice. It also describes the janapadas and mahajanapadas settlements that emerged, including important ones like Magadha and Vajji. The document lists some of the features of mahajanapadas like fortified cities and taxation systems. It provides details on administrative and social aspects of these early kingdoms.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    63 views16 pages

    Kingdoms, Kings and An Early Republic

    Uploaded by

    Nayanika Verma
    This document provides information about kingdoms and early republics in ancient India around 3000 years ago. It discusses how some men were chosen as rulers or rajas through rituals like the ashvamedha or horse sacrifice. It also describes the janapadas and mahajanapadas settlements that emerged, including important ones like Magadha and Vajji. The document lists some of the features of mahajanapadas like fortified cities and taxation systems. It provides details on administrative and social aspects of these early kingdoms.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 16

    KINGDOMS ,

    KINGS AND EARLY


    REPUBLICS
    C H 5 ( H I S T O RY )
    CHOOSING RAJAS ABOUT 3000
    YEARS AGO
    Q1 How were some men chosen as rajas about 3000 years ago ?
    • A1 About 3000 years ago men were chosen as rajas by performing big sacrifices .
    • One such sacrifice was the Ashvamedha or horse sacrifice .
    Q2 what was Ashvamedha or horse sacrifice ?
    • A2 Ashvamedha or horse sacrifice was one such ritual in which a horse was let loose to
    wander freely and it was guarded by the raja’s men.
    • If the horse wandered into the kingdoms of other rajas and they stopped it, they had to fight.
    • If they allowed the horse to pass, it meant that they accepted that the raja who wanted to
    perform the sacrifice was stronger than them. These rajas were then invited to the sacrifice.
    The raja who organised the sacrifice was recognised as being very powerful and all those who
    came brought gifts for him.
    JANAPADAS
    • Q what were Janapadas?
    A The rajas who performed big sacrifices were then recognised as being rajas of janapadas
    rather than janas . The word janapada means the land where the jana set its foot and settled
    down.
    Q list the settlements excavated by archeologists in these janapadas ?
    • A Purana Qila in Delhi, Hastinapura near Meerut, and Atranjikhera near Etah.
    Q what did archeologists found in these settlements ?
    • A They found that people lived in huts, and kept cattle as well as other animals.
    • They also grew a variety of crops such as rice, wheat, barley, pulses, sugarcane, sesame and
    mustard.
    • They made earthen pots. One special type of pottery found at these sites is known as Painted
    Grey Ware.
    MAHAJANAPADAS
    Q what were mahajanapadas ?
    • A About 2500 years ago, some janapadas became more important than others, and were known
    as mahajanapadas .
    Q list features of a mahajanapada ?
    • A Most mahajanapadas had a capital city, many of these were fortified which means that huge walls
    of wood, brick or stone were built around them.
    • Mahajanapadas had powerful rajas as rulers .
    • They were rich and had abundant resources .
    • Rajas of mahajanapadas kept huge armies .
    Q why were forts built?
    • A . Forts were probably built because:
    • People were afraid of attacks from other kings and needed
    protection.
    • Some rulers wanted to show how rich and powerful they were by
    building large, tall and impressive walls around their cities.
    • The land and the people living inside the fortified area could be
    controlled more easily by the king.
    • Building such huge walls required a great deal of planning.
    WHY WERE TAXES COLLECTED ?

    1. The rulers of the mahajanapadas were building huge forts and maintaining big armies so they
    needed more resources. To meet their requirement they started collecting regular taxes.

    2. TYPES OF TAXES
    • Taxes on crops were collected from peoples because most people were farmers. Usually, the tax
    was fixed at 1/6th of what was produced. This was known as bhaga or a share.
    • There were taxes on crafts persons as well. These could have been in the form of labour.
    • Herders were also expected to pay taxes in the form of animals and animal produce.
    • There were also taxes on goods that were bought and sold through the trade.
    • Hunters and gatherers also had to provide forest produce to the raja as tax.
    WHAT WERE THE CHANGES THAT
    OCCURRED IN AGRICULTURE DURING THE
    TIME OF MAHAJANAPADAS ?
    • There were two major changes in agriculture around mahajanapadas
    time.
    • Growing use of iron ploughshares: This means heavy, clayey soil
    could be turned over better than with a wooden ploughshare so that
    more grain could be produced.
    • People began transplanting paddy. This meant that instead of
    scattering seed on the ground, saplings were grown and then planted in
    the fields.
    MAGADHA AS AN IMPORTANT
    MAHAJANAPADA
    Q list the features of Magadha ?
    • Magadha became the most important mahajanapada in about 200 years. Many rivers such as the Ganga and
    Son flowed through Magadha which play an important role for:
    • Transport
    • Water supplies
    • Making the land fertile
    • Parts of Magadha were forested which was used for building houses, carts and chariots. There were iron ore
    mines in the region that could be tapped to make strong tools and weapons.
    • Magadha had two very powerful rulers, Bimbisara and Ajatasattu, who used all possible means to conquer
    other janapadas.
    • Rajagriha (present-day Rajgir) in Bihar was the capital of Magadha for several years. Later the capital was shifted
    to Pataliputra (present-day Patna).
    VAJJI
    • Q how was Vajji different from other mahajanapadas ?
    • Vajji, with its capital at Vaishali (Bihar), was under a different form of government, known
    as gana or sangha. In a gana there were many rulers.
    • Each one was known as a raja. These rajas performed rituals together.
    • They also met in assemblies, and decided what had to be done and how, through discussion
    and debate.
    WORKSHEET
    • 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.
    • Q20. Name the 4 varnas ?
    • Ans. Brahmin , kshtriya ,Vaishya and shudras .

    You might also like