Answer: (d) All of these

Answer: (a) South India

Answer: (a) Kaveri River Valley

Answer: (a) Chiefs and kings

Answer: (a) Three chiefs

Answer: (b) About 2,300 years ago

Answer: (a) Gautamiputra Sri Satakarni

Answer: (c) Gautamiputra Sri Satakarni

Answer: (a) Rulers of Iran

Answer: (c) Peepal

Answer: (a) Mathura and Taxila

Answer: (b) Pilgrims

Answer: (a) In translating manuscripts from Sanskrit to Chinese

Answer: (a) River Indus

Very Short Answer Type

Question 1.
Write two sentences about Puhar, as described in the San gam poems.
Answer:

1. Puhar has been described as an important port on the eastern coast.
2. In Puhar different types of things were brought by traders and people from different places. For example, swift, prancing horses by sea in ships and bales of black pepper in carts, etc.

Question 2.
For which articles of trade was South India famous during ancient period?
Answer:
South India was famous for gold, spices especially pepper and precious stones.

Question 3.
Write two-three sentences about Indo-Roman trade during the ancient age.
Answer:

1. India’s Black-pepper was particularly valued in the Roman empire so much that it was known as black gold.
2. Traders carried many other Indian articles along with black-pepper in ships, across the sea, and in caravans to Rome.
3. Many Roman gold coins have been found in south India.

Question 4.
Discuss in brief the contribution of traders and sailors in exploration and use of sea routes in ancient age.
Answer:
Traders explored several sea routes. Some of these followed the coasts. There were others across the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, where sailors took advantage of the monsoon winds to cross the seas more quickly. So, if they wanted to reach the western coast of the Indian subcontinent from East Africa or Africa, they chose to sail with the south west monsoon.

Traders, Kings and Pilgrims Class 6 Extra Questions Short Answer Type

Question 1.
Write a short note on the Satavahanas of the western India.
Answer:
1. Around 200 years later (of the muvendar or three new dynasties of the south India) a dynasty known as the Satavahanas became powerful in western India.

2. The most important ruler of the Satavahanas was Gautamiputra Shri Satakarni. We know about him from an inscription composed by his mother, Gautami Balashri. He and other Satavahanas rulers were known as lords of the dakshinapatha, literally the route leading to the south, which was also used as a name for the whole southern region. He sent his army to the eastern, western and southern coasts.

Question 2.
Discuss in short the Xuan Zang’s visit to India.
Answer:

• Xuan Zang came to India about 1400 years ago. He came to visit places associated with the life of the Buddha as well as famous Buddhist monasteries.
• He took the land route back to China (through the north-west, and Central Asia). He carried back with him statues of the Buddha made of gold, silver and sandalwood, and over 600 manuscripts on the backs of 20 horses.
• Over 50 manuscripts were lost when the boat on which he was crossing the Indus capsized.
• Xuan Zang spent the rest of his life translating the remaining manuscripts from Sanskrit into Chinese.

Question 3.
Write a short note on Nalanda.
Answer:
Nalanda was a unique centre of learning when Xuan Zang, the Chinese pilgrim visited the subcontinent. He and other pilgrims spent time studying in Nalanda, (Bihar) the most famous Buddhist monastery of the period. This is how he describes it.

• The teachers of Nalanda are men of the highest ability and talent. They follow the teachings of the Buddha in all sincerity.
• The rules of the monastery are strict, and everyone has to follow them.
• Discussions are held throughout the day, and the old and the young mutually help one another.
• Learned men from different cities come here to settle their doubts.
• The gate keeper asks new entrants difficult questions. They are allowed to enter only after they have been able to answer these. Seven to eight out of every ten are not able to answer.

Question 4.
Mention important historical events against the following given dates:

1. About 7000 years ago
2. About 2300 years ago
3. About 2000 years ago
4. About 1900 years ago
5. About 1600 years ago
6. About 1400 years ago

Answer:

Question 5.
Give answer to each of the following only in one word or one sentence;

1. Mehendra
2. Sanghamitra
3. The Third Sangam was held at
4. The Capital of the Chalukyas
5. The greatest ruler of Chola dynasty
6. The greatest ruler of Satavahana dynasty
7. The greatest religious event related with lives of Mahendra and Sanghamitra.

Answer:

1. Mehendra, son of the greatest Mauryan ruler, Ashoka.
2. Sanghamitra, daughter of Ashoka
3. Madurai
4. Badami or Vengi
5. Karikalp
6. Gautiputra Satakarm,
7. They went to Sri Lanka to spread Buddhism during the reign of their father, Ashoka.

Traders, Kings and Pilgrims Class 6 Extra Questions Long Answer Type

Question 1.
Describe the development of New Kingdoms along the coasts.
Answer:
Development of New Kingdoms along the coasts:

1. The southern half of the Indian subcontinent is marked by a long coastline, hills and plateaus, and river valleys, of which that of the Kaveri is the most fertile.

2. Chiefs and rulers who controlled the river valleys and the coasts became rich and powerful.

3. Sangam poems mention the muvendar. This is a Tamil word meaning three chiefs, used for the heads of three ruling families, the Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas, who became powerful in south India around 2300 years ago.

4. Each of the three chiefs had two centres of power: one inland, and one on the coast. Of these six cities, two were very important: Puhar or Kaveripattinam, the port of the Cholas, and Madurai, the capital of the Pandyas.

5. The Chiefs (of these new Kingdoms) did not collect regular taxes. Instead, they demanded and received gifts from their subordinates. They also went on raids, and collected tribute from neighbouring areas. They kept some of the wealth and distributed the rest amongst their supporters, including kinsmen, soldiers and poets.

6. Many poets whose compositions are found in the Sangam collection composed poems in praise of chiefs who generally rewarded them with gold, horses, elephants, chariots, precious stones and line as well as very costly cloth.

Question 2.
Discuss in short the story of the Silk making and Silk Route in your own words.
Answer:
The Story of the Silk Making and of Silk Route is given below:

• The rich, glossy colours of silk, as well as its smooth texture, make it a highly valued fabric in most societies.
• Making silk is a complicated process. Raw silk has to be extracted from the cocoons of silk worms spun into thread and then woven into cloth.
• Techniques of making silk were first invented in China around 7000 years ago.
• While the techniques remained a closely guarded secret for thousands of years, some people from China who went to distant lands on foot, horseback, and on , camels, carried silk with them. The paths they followed came to be known as the Silk Route.
• Sometimes, Chinese rulers sent gifts of silk to rulers in Iran and West Asia and from there, knowledge of silk spread further west.
• Nearly 2000 years ago, wearing silk became the fashion among rulers and wealthy people in Rome.

It was very costly, as it had to be brought all the way from China, along dangerous roads, through mountains and deserts. People living along the route (i.e., the Silk Route) often demanded payments for allowing traders to pass through.

Some rulers tried to control large portions of the route. This was because they could benefit from taxes, tributes and gifts that were brought by traders along the route. In return, they generally protected the traders who passed through their kingdoms from attacks by robbers.

In history the best known of the rulers who controlled the Silk Route were the Kushanas, who ruled over central Asia and northwest India around 2000 years ago. During their rule, a branch of the Silk Route extended from Central Asia down to the Indus Valley, from where silk was shipped westwards to the Roman empire.

Question 3.
Describe new7 developments and the spread of Ruddhism dining the Kanishka’s period and afterwmrds.
Answer:
1. The most famous Kushana ruler was Kanishka, who ruled around 1900 years ago. He organized a Buddhist council, where scholars met and discussed important matters.

2. Ashvaghosha, a poet who composed a biography of the Buddha, the Buddhacharita, lived in court of Kanishka.

3. A new form of Buddhism, known as Mahayana (the Big ship) Buddhism, developed during the age of Kanishka. This had two distinct features. Earlier, the Buddha’s presence was shown in sculpture by using certain signs. For example, his attainment of enlightenment was shown by sculptures of the peepal tree.

4. Now, statues of the Buddha were made. Many’of these were made in Mathura (a city in modern Uttar Pradesh), while others were made in Taxila (located in modern Pakistan).

5.The second change was a belief in Bodhisattvas. These were supposed to be people who had attained enlightenment, but, instead of giving up worldly existence, they remained in the world to help other people.

6. The worship of Bodhisattvas became very popular and spread throughout Central Asia, China, and later to Korea and Japan.

7. Buddhism also spread in western and southern India where dozens of caves were built for monks. Some of these were built by kings and queens, others by merchants and farmers. These were often built near passes through the Western Ghats. Roads connecting prosperous ports on the coasts with cities in the Deccan ran through these passes. Traders probably halted in these cave-monasteries during their travels.

8. Buddhism also spread south eastwards, to Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand and other parts of Southeast Asia including, Indonesia. The older form of Buddhism, known as Theravada Buddhism was more popular in these areas.

Question 4.
Discuss the Quest of the Chinese Pilgrims.
Answer:
The Quest of the Chinese Pilgrims are as follows:

• As traders and merchants journeyed to distant lands in caravans and ships, pilgrims generally travelled with them. Several pilgrims from China visited India from time to time.
• The best-known of the Chinese Buddhist pilgrims, is Fa Xian. He came to the subcontinent about 1600 years ago.
• Another Chinese pilgrim, who is very popular in Indian history is Xuan Zang. He came to the subcontinent around 1400 years ago.
• The third well-known Chinese pilgrim is I-Qing. He came about 50 years after Xuan Zang (or nearly 1350 years ago).
• The above referred to all three Chinese pilgrims came to visit places associated with the life of the Buddha as well as famous monasteries.
• Each of these pilgrims left an account of their journeys of the dangers they encountered on their travels, which generally took years, of the country and the monasteries that they visited, and the books they carried back with them.

Question 5.
Discuss the returning journey of Fa Xian to his country China from the subcontinent.
Answer:

• Fa Xian came to India about 1600 years ago during the reign of Chandraguptall. He remained in his court. After several years he returned to China.
• He boarded a ship belonging to some merchants and started off from Bengal. They had hardly travelled for two days when they were caught in a storm.
• The merchants started throwing their merchandise overboard so as to lighten the load and save the ship from sinking.
• Fa Xian threw away his meagre personal belongings, but clung to his books and the statues of the Buddha that he had collected.
• Finally the storm subsided after 13 days. It took him more than 90 days to reach Java, where he halted for five months, before boarding another merchant ship that took him to China.

Traders, Kings and Pilgrims Class 6 Extra Questions Multiple Choice Questions

Choose the correct answer:

Question 1.
For what was the south India famous for?
(a) Gold
(b) Spices
(c) Stones
(d) All of these
Answer:
All of these

Question 2.
Where did the Romans find Gold?
(a) South India
(b) East India
(c) West India
(d) North India
Answer:
South India

Question 3.
Which river valley is the most fertile?
(a) Kaveri River Valley
(b) Yamuna River Valley
(c) Brahmaputra River Valley
(d) None of these
Answer:
Kaveri River Valley

Question 4.
Who controlled the river valleys?
(a) Chiefs and kings
(b) Poor men
(c) Ordinary people
(d) None of these
Answer:
Chiefs and kings

Question 5.
What does muvendar mean?
(a) Three chiefs
(b) Three kings
(c) Three groups of people
(d) None of these
Answer:
Three chiefs

Question 6.
When did Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas become powerful in South India?
(a) About 1,300 years ago
(b) About 2,300 years ago
(c) About 3,300 years ago
(d)About 4,300 years ago
Answer:
About 2,300 years ago

Question 7.
Who was the most powerful ruler of Satavahanas?
(a) Gautamiputra Sri Satakarni
(b) Krishna
(c) Sidhartha
(d) All of these
Answer:
Gautamiputra Sri Satakarni

Question 8.
Who were known as lord of dakshanipath?
(a) Chandragupta
(b) Raja Ram Mohan Rai
(c) Gautamiputra Sri Satakarni
(d) None of these
Answer:
Gautamiputra Sri Satakarni

Question 9.
To whom did the Chinese rulers send gifts of silk?
(a) Rulers of Iran
(b) Rulers of Iraq
(c) Rulers of Pakistan
(d) Rulers of Kajakistan
Answer:
Rulers of Iran

Question 10.
Which tree was shown in the sculptures?
(a) Neem
(b) Tulsi
(c) Peepal
(d) Mango
Answer:
Peepal

Question 11.
Where were the statues of Buddha made?
(a) Mathura and Taxila
(b) Mumbai and Goa
(c) Bihar and UP
(d) Delhi and Haryana
Answer:
Mathura and Taxila

Question 12.
Men and women who undertook journey to the holy places in order to offer worship are called
(a) Traders
(b) Pilgrims
(c) Buddhism
(d) Theravada
Answer:
Pilgrims

Question 13.
In what work did Xuan Zang spend his life?
(a) In translating manuscripts from Sanskrit to Chinese
(b) Moving here and there
(c) Sleeping
(d) All of these
Answer:
In translating manuscripts from Sanskrit to Chinese

Question 14.
From where did the term ‘India’ derive?
(a) River Indus
(b) River Ganga
(c) River Yamuna
(d) River Mahanadi
Answer:
River Indus