Answer: (b) Samudragupta

Answer: (c) Sanskrit

Answer: (a) Minister

Answer: (c) Banbhatta

Answer: (a) Harshavardhana

Answer: (a) Kanchipurm

Answer: (b) Pulakeshin II

Answer: (b) Harisena

Answer: (b) Yavanas

Answer: (a) Samantas

Answer: (a) Dushyanta

Answer: (a) Fisherman

Very Short Answer Type

Question1.
Mention the names of two main historical sources of Harshu.
Answer:

1. Harshachai ita, the biography of Harshavardhana, written by his court poet, Banabhatta, and
2. Travel description of the Chinese pilgrim, Xuan Zang, are two important historical sources of Harshavardhana.

Question 2.
Write important historical happenings or events against the following important dates:
1. About 1700 years ago
2. About 1400 years ago.
Answer:

New Empires and Kingdoms Class 6 Extra Questions Short Answer Type

Question 1.
Who was Samudragupta? What is main source of history about him?
Answer:
Samudragupta was a famous ruler of a dynasty known as the Guptas.
We know about Samudragupta from a long inscription actually a poem in Sanskrit, composed by his court poet, Harisena. This was inscribed on the Ashokan pillar at Allahabad. This inscription is of special kind known as prashasti, a Sanskrit word, meaning ‘in praise of. The poet praised the king in glowing terms – as a warrior, as a king who won victories in battle, who was learned and the best of poets. He is also described as equal to the gods.

Question 2.
Discuss about genealogies of the Guptas. Write some sentences of Chandragupta II of the Gupta dynasty.
Answer:
Genealogies of the Gupta Rules

1. Most prashastis mention the ancestors of the ruler. Allahabad—prashasti mentions Samudragupta’s great grandfather, grandfather, father and mother. His mother, Kumara Devi, belonged to the Lichchhavi gana, while father Chandragupta, was the first ruler of the Gupta dynasty to adopt the grand title of maharajadhiraja, a title that Samudragupta also used. His great grandfather and grandfather are mentioned simply as maharajas. It seems as if the family gradually rose to importance.

2. Samudragupta in turn figures in the genealogies of later rulers of the dynasty, such as his son, Chandragupta II. We know about him from inscriptions and coins. He led an expedition to western India, where he overcame the last of the Shakas. According to later belief his court was full of learned people, including Kalidas the poet, and Aryabhata the astronomer.

Question 3.
Describe in short about Harshavardhana and the Harshacharita.
Answer:
Harshavardhana and the Harshacharita:
1. Harshavardhana ruled nearly 1400 years ago. His court poet Banabhatta, wrote his biography, The Harshacharita is in Sanskrit. This gives us the genealogy of Harsha, and ends with his becoming King.

2. Xuan Zang (the Chinese Buddhist Pilgrim) spent a lot of time at Harsha’s court and left a detailed account of what he saw.

3. Harsha was not the eldest son of his father but became king of Thanesar after both his father and elder brother died. His brother-in-law was the ruler of Kanauj. When he was killed by the ruler of Bengal, Harsha took over the kingdom of Kanauj and then led an army against the ruler of Bengal.- Although he was successful in the east, and conquered both Magadha and Bengal he was not as successful elsewhere. He tried to cross the Narmada (river) to march into the Deccan, but was stopped by a ruler belonging to the Chalukya dynasty, Pulakashin II.

Question 4.
Write a short note on the ‘Assemblies in the Southern Kingdoms’.
Answer:
1. The Sabha: The inscriptions (prashasties) of the Pallavas mention a number of local assemblies. These included the Sabha, which was an assembly of Brahmin land owners. This assembly functioned through sub-committees, which looked after irrigation, agricultural operations, making roads, local temples, etc.

2. The Ur: Second important assembly in the southern kingdom was the Ur. This was a village assembly found in areas where the land owners were not Brahmins.

3. The Nagaram: Third main assembly in the Southern Kingdoms was the Nagaram. It was an organization of merchants. It is likely that these assemblies were controlled by rich and powerful landowners and merchants.

All above mentioned local assemblies continued to function in the southern kingdoms for centuries.

New Empires and Kingdoms Class 6 Extra Questions Long Answer Type

Question 1.
Give an account of Samudragupta as a warrior.
Answer:
Samudragupta as a warrior:

• Samudragupta was a brave ruler of Gupta dynasty.
• He uprooted nine rulers of Aryavarta. Their Kingdoms were made a part of his empire.
• Twelve rulers of Dakshinapatha surrendered to him after being defeated. He then allowed them to rule again.
• The rulers of Assam, Bengal, Nepal etc. paid tributes and followed orders of Samudragupta. They attended his court from time to time.
• The rulers of the outlying areas of the subcontinent, perhaps the descendants of the Kushanas and Shakas, and ruler of Sri Lanka who surrendered before him and offered their daughters in marriage.

Question 2.
Discuss two important ruling dynasties in south India of Harsha’s period of north India.
Or
Describe some of the main achievements of the Pallavas and the Chalukyas.
Answer:
The Pallavas and the Chalukyas:
1. The Pallavas and Chalukyas were the most important ruling dynasties in south India during this period (i.e. the Harash’s reign in north India). The Kingdom of the Pallavas spread from the region around their capital, Kanchipuram to the Kaveri delta, while that of the Chalukyas was centred 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 Pulkashin II, the Chalukyas defeated Harsha of Kanauj and Thaneswar. 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 3.
Who was Pulakeshin II? Mention his main achievements, as described  in his prashasti.
Answer:
Pulakeshin II and his Prashasti:

1. The best known Chalukya ruler was Pulakeshin II. We know about him from a prashasti. This prashasti (inscription) was composed by Pulakeshin’s (II) court poet Ravikirti. This tells us about his ancestors, who are traced back through four generations from father to son.

2. Pulakeshin II evidently got the Kingdom from his uncle. According to Ravikirti, he led expeditions along both the west and the east coast.

3. Pulakeshin II checked the advance of Harsha. Harsha means happiness. The poet Ravikirti says that after the defeat, Harsha was no longer Harsha (happy).

4. Pulakeshin II also attacked the Pallava king, who took shelter behind the walls of Kanchipuram. However, the successors of Pulakeshin II were not very capable and therefore the Chalukyas victory against their political rivals was short-lived. The Chalukyas gave way to new ruling dynasty, the Rashtrakuta.

Question 4.
How were the kingdoms of the northern India administered during the ages of the Guptas and the Harshavardhana?
Answer:
Administration:
1. The two main old administrative features are given as follows:

• As in the case of earlier rulers, land revenue remained important for these i rulers (of the Gupta and Vardhan dynasties), and
• The village remained the basic unit of administration.

2. New Developments in administration. There were some new developments as well. These were:
Support of feudals or lords. Kings adopted a number of steps to win the support of the powerful, either economically or socially or because of their
political and military strength.

Some important administrative posts were made hereditary. The poet Harishena (writer of Allahabad-prashasti) was made the chief judicial officer, like his father.

Sometimes, one person held many offices. For example, besides being a maha- danda-nayaka, Harishena was a Kumar-amatya, meaning an important minister, and a Sandhi-vigrahika, meaning a minister of war and peace.

Besides, important men probably had a say in local administration. These included the Nagara-shreshthi or chief banker or merchant of the city, the Sarthavaha or leader of the merchant caravans, the Prathama-Kulika or the chief craftsman, and the head of the Kayasthas or scribes.

3. Rise of independent kingdoms:
The above mentioned changes introduced in the administrative set up were reasonably effective but sooner or later, some of these powerful men grew strong enough to set up independent kingdoms.

4. A New Kind of Army:

• Some of these rulers maintained a well-organized army, with chariots, elephants, cavalry and foot soldiers. Besides, there were military leaders who provided the rulers with troops whenever they required them.
• Feudal lords were not paid regular salaries. Instead, some of them received grants of land. They collected revenue from the land and used this to maintain soldiers and horses.
• They also provided equipment for warfare to the kings. These men were known
  as Samantas.
• Whenever the ruler was weak, Samantas tried to become independent.

Question 5.
Discuss the position of the ordinary people in India in this period, being studied in this chapter (i.e., chapter II).
Answer:
Position of the Ordinary People of India:

1. Literary sources of this period (such as plays and accounts provided by foreign travels) give us glimpse of the lives of ordinary people of India. For example Kalidas (a great Sanskrit poet and writer of the Gupta period) is known for his plays (dramas) depicting life in the King’s court. An interesting feature about these plays is that the ruler and most Brahmins are shown as speaking Sanskrit, while women and men other them the ruler and Brahmins used Prakrit.

2. The most famous play of Kalidasa Abhijanans Shakuntalam, is the story of the love between the king named Dushyanta and a young girl 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 accidentally swallowed by a fish. When he went to the palace with that ring, the gatemen (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 gatemen decided to take a share of the reward, and went along with the fisherman to have a drink.

3. During the reign of Chandragupta II, the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Fa Xian noticed the plight of those who were treated as untouchables by the high and mighty people of the Indian society of those days. They were expected to live on the outskirts of the city (capital city-patliputra 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 this sound, know what it means and avoid touching him or brushing against him”.

New Empires and Kingdoms Class 6 Extra Questions Multiple Choice Questions

Choose the correct answer:

Question 1.
Who was the famous ruler of a dynasty known as Guptas?
(a) Chandragupta
(b) Samudragupta
(c) Ashoka
(d) Sidhartha
Answer:
Samudragupta

Question 2.
To which language does the term ‘Prashasti’ belong?
(a) English
(b) Hindi
(c) Sanskrit
(d) Tamil
Answer:
Sanskrit

Question 3.
What was the meaning of Kumar-amatya?
(a) Minister
(b) Chief banker
(c) Scribe
(d) Judicial officer
Answer:
Minister

Question 4.
Who wrote the biography of Harshavardhana?
(a) Surender Sharma
(b) Amir Khusro
(c) Banbhatta
(d) None of these
Answer:
Banbhatta

Question 5.
Who tried to cross Narmada to march into Deccan?
(a) Harshavardhana
(b) Banbhatta
(c) Sidhartha
(d) Ashoka
Answer:
Harshavardhana

Question 6.
Which was the capital of Pallavas and Chalukyas?
(a) Kanchipurm
(b) Delhi
(c) Agra
(d) Lucknow
Answer:
Kanchipurm

Question 7.
Who was the best ruler of Chalukyas?
(a) Pulakeshin I
(b) Pulakeshin II
(c) Pulakeshin III
(d) None of these
Answer:
Pulakeshin II

Question 8.
Who composed Prayag Prashasti?
(a) Ravikirti
(b) Harisena
(c) Kalidasa
(d) None of these
Answer:
Harisena

Question 9.
What was the Indian name given to Greeks and Romans?
(a) Yadavs
(b) Yavanas
(c) Javas
(d) All of these
Answer:
Yavanas

Question 10.
Who tried to become independent when rulers became weak?
(a) Samantas
(b) Harshavardhana
(c) Ashoka
(d) Chandragupta
Answer:
Samantas

Question 11.
Who was famous for his plays depicting life in the king’s court?
(a) Banbhatta
(b) Ravikirti
(c) Kalidasa
(d) None of these
Answer:
Kalidasa

Question 12.
“Abhijana – Shakuntalam” is the story of love between which king and young girl named Shakuntala?
(a) Dushyanta
(b) Harshavardhana
(c) Ashoka
(d) Pataliputra
Answer:
Dushyanta

Question 13.
Who found the precious ring which the king had given to Sakuntala?
(a) Fisherman
(b) Businessmen
(c) Brahmins
(d) All of these
Answer:
Fisherman