Table of Contents
Class 6 History Chapter 12 Buildings, Paintings, and Books Important Questions
1. Fill in the blanks.
(i) _________ was a great astronomer.
(ii) Stories about gods and goddesses are found in the ________.
(iii) ________ is recognised as the author of the Sanskrit Ramayana.
(iv) ________ and ________ are two Tamil epics.
(v) Both the Puranas and the Mahabharata are supposed to have been compiled by ________.
(vi) Stories from the ______ were often shown on the railings of stupas and in paintings in places such as Ajanta.
Answer:
(i) Aryabhata
(ii) Puranas
(iii) Valmiki
(iv) Silappadikaram and Manimekalai
(v) Vyasa
(vi) Jatakas
2. Write True/False against each of the following
(i) The Mahabharata is about a war fought between the Kauravas and Pandavas, who were cousins.
(ii) Bhagavad Gita was included in the Ramayana.
(iii) Kannagi, the wife of Kovalan, mentioned in the Silappadikara, destroyed the city of Madurai.
(iv) Devotees walked around the stupa, in an anticlockwise direction, as a mark of devotion.
Answer:
(i) True
(ii) False
(iii) True
(iv) False
Answer the following questions
1. What does the word stupa mean?
Answer: The word stupa means a mound.
2. Who wrote Ramayana?
Answer: Valmiki wrote Ramayana.
3. Who composed Silapadikaram?
Answer: It was composed by a poet named Ilango.
4. What was the capital of Kosala?
Answer: Ayodhya was the capital of Kosala.
5. What are the two great sanskrit epics of India?
Answer: The two Sanskrit epics are Mahabharata and Ramayana.
6. Name two Tamil epics.
Answer: The two Tamil epics are Silappadikaram and Manimekalai.
7. What do you understand by Mandapa?
Answer: Mandapa is place in temples where people could assemble.
8. Who use to decide to build the stupas and temples?
Answer: Kings or queens decided to build these as it was an expensive affair.
9. What do you understand by the term Garbhagriha?
Answer: Garbhagriha is a place where the image of the deity is installed.
10. What is Pradakshina patha?
Answer: Pradakshina patha is a circular path around the stupa.
11. In which language were Puranas written?
Answer: The Puranas were written in simple Sanskrit verse.
12. Who wrote Meghaduta?
Answer: Kalidasa wrote Meghaduta.
13. Where and by whom paper was invented?
Answer: Paper was invented in China about 1900 years ago, by a man named Cai Lun.
14. What colors were used in Ajanta cave paintings?
Answer: The colours used in Ajanta cave paintings were made of plants and minerals.
15. Whose name is inscribed on the iron pillar at Mehrauli, Delhi?
Answer: There is an inscription on the pillar mentioning a ruler named Chandra, who probably belonged to the Gupta dynasty.
16. What is Bhitargaon Temple known for?
Answer: It is an early temple at Bhitargaon, Uttar Pradesh. This was built about 1500 years ago, and was made of baked brick and stone.
17. What is Shikhara?
Answer: A tower-like structure built on top of the garbhagriha, to mark this out as a sacred place is known as the shikhara.
18. What are the various kinds of stupas?
Answer: There are several kinds of stupas, round and tall, big and small, these have certain common features.
19. Who wrote Aryabhatiyam?
Answer: Aryabhata, a mathematician and astronomer, wrote a book in Sanskrit known as the Aryabhatiyam.
20. What are epics?
Answer: Epics are grand, long compositions, about heroic men and women, and include stories about gods.
21. What is the historical importance of Amaravati?
Answer: This was a place where a magnificent stupa once existed. Many of the stone carvings for decorating the stupa were made about 2000 years ago.
22. What is Manimekalai?
Answer: Manimekalai is a Tamil epic which was composed by Sattanar around 1400 years ago. This describes the story of the daughter of Kovalan and Madhavi.
23. Describe the poem Meghaduta written by Kalidasa?
Answer: Meghaduta is a poem written by Kalidasa, in which a monsoon cloud is imagined to be a messenger between lovers who are separated from one another.
24. What is stated in Aryabhatiyam?
Answer: In Aryabhatiyam, Aryabhata stated that day and night were caused by the rotation of the earth on its axis, even though it seems as if the sun is rising and setting every day.
25. Write about Monolithic temples.
Answer: There are Monolithic temples at Mahabalipuram. Each of these was carved out of a huge, single piece of stone. While brick structures are built up by adding layers of bricks from the bottom upwards.
26. Where are the stories told by ordinary people preserved?
Answer: Ordinary people also told stories, composed poems and songs, sang, danced, and performed plays. Some of these are preserved in collections of stories such as the Jatakas and the Panchatantra.
27. What do you know about ‘zero’?
Answer: While numerals had been used earlier, mathematicians in India now invented a special symbol for zero. This system of counting was adapted by the Arabs and then spread to Europe. It continues to be in use throughout the world.
28. What is relic casket?
Answer: Generally, there is a small box placed at the centre or heart of the stupa. This may contain bodily remains (such as teeth, bone or ashes) of the Buddha or his followers, or things they used, as well as precious stones, and coins. This box, known as a relic casket, was covered with earth.
29. What are Puranas?
Answer: Purana literally mean old. The Puranas contain stories about gods and goddesses, such as Vishnu, Shiva, Durga or Parvati. They also contain details on how they were to be worshipped. Besides, there are accounts about the creation of the world, and about kings.
30. What is Silappadikaram?
Answer: Silappadikaram is a Tamil epic. It was composed by a poet named Ilango, around 1800 years ago. It is the story of a merchant named Kovalan, who lived in Puhar and fell in love with a courtesan named Madhavi, neglecting his wife Kannagi.
31. How the technique of making paper spread around the world?
Answer: The technique of making paper was a closely guarded secret for centuries. It reached Korea about 1400 years ago, and spread to Japan soon after. It was known in Baghdad about 1800 years ago. From Baghdad it spread to Europe, Africa, and other parts of Asia including the subcontinent.
32. Discuss several stages in building a stupa or a temple.
Answer: First, good quality stone had to be found, quarried, and transported to the place that was often carefully chosen for the new building. Here, these rough blocks of stone had to be shaped and carved into pillars, and panels for walls, floors and ceilings. And then these had to be placed in precisely the right position.
33. What is the Mahabharata all about?
Answer: The Mahabharata is about a war fought between the Kauravas and Pandavas, who were cousins. This was a war to gain control of the throne of the Kurus, and their capital, Hastinapur. The story itself was an old one, but was written down in the form in which we know it today, about 1500 years ago. The Mahabharata are supposed to have been compiled by Vyasa. The Bhagavad Gita was also included in the Mahabharata.
34. What do you know about iron pillar at Mehrauli?
Answer:
- The iron pillar at Mehrauli, Delhi, is a remarkable example of the skill of Indian crafts persons.
- It is made of iron, 7.2. m high, and weighs over 3 tonnes.
- It was made about 1500 years ago. We know the date because there is an inscription on the pillar mentioning a ruler named Chandra, who probably belonged to the Gupta dynasty.
35. Who was Aryabhatta? What was he known for?
Answer: Aryabhata was a mathematician and astronomer, wrote a book in Sanskrit known as the Aryabhatiyam.
His contribution are:
- He stated that day and night were caused by the rotation of the earth on its axis, even though it seems as if the sun is rising and setting every day.
- He developed a scientific explanation for eclipses as well.
- He also found a way of calculating the circumference of a circle, which is nearly as accurate as the formula we use today.
36. Highlight the chief features of stupa architecture.
Answer: Features of stupa architecture
- Generally, there is a small box placed at the centre or heart of the stupa. This may contain bodily remains of the Buddha or his followers, or things they used, as well as precious stones, and coins.
- Often, a path, known as the pradakshina patha, was laid around the stupa. This was surrounded with railings.
- Entrance to the path was through gateways.
- Both railings and gateways were often decorated with sculpture.
37. What are main features of the Hindu temples built around 1800 years ago?
Answer: Main features of the Hindu temples
- Deities such as Vishnu, Shiva, and Durga were worshipped in these shrines. The most important part of the temple was the room known as the garbhagriha, where the image of the chief deity was placed.
- It was here that priests performed religious rituals, and devotees offered worship to the deity.
- Often, as at Bhitargaon, a tower, known as the shikhara, was built on top of the garbhagriha, to mark this out as a sacred place.
- Most temples also had a space known as the mandapa. It was a hall where people could assemble.
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