NCERT Class 6 Social Science Chapter 11 New Empires And Kingdoms

NCERT Class 6 Social Science Chapter 11 New Empires And Kingdoms Solutions to each chapter is provided in the list so that you can easily browse through different chapters NCERT Class 6 Social Science Chapter 11 New Empires And Kingdoms and select need one. NCERT Class 6 Social Science Chapter 11 New Empires And Kingdoms Question Answers Download PDF. NCERT SST Class 6 Solutions.

NCERT Class 6 Social Science Chapter 11 New Empires And Kingdoms

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Also, you can read the NCERT book online in these sections Solutions by Expert Teachers as per Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Book guidelines. CBSE Class 6 Social Science Solutions are part of All Subject Solutions. Here we have given NCERT Class 6 Social Science Chapter 11 New Empires And Kingdoms, NCERT Class 6 Social Science Textbook of Our Pasts – I: History, The Earth – Our Habitat: Geography, Social and political Life: Civics. for All Chapters, You can practice these here.

New Empires And Kingdoms

Chapter: 11

OUR PASTS – I [HISTORY]

NCERT TEXTBOOK QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS

LET’S RECALL

Q. 1. State whether true or false:

(a) Harishena composed a prashasti in praise of Gautamiputra Shri Satakarni. 

Ans. False.

(b) The rulers of Aryavarta brought tribute for Samudragupta.

Ans. True.

(c) There were twelve rulers in Dakshinapatha.

Ans. True.

(d) Taxila and Madurai were important centers under the control of the rulers.

Ans. False. 

(e) Aihole was the capital of the Pallavas.

Ans. False.

(f) Local assemblies functioned for several centuries in south India.

Ans. True.

Q. 2. Mention three authors who wrote about Harshavardhana. 

Ans. Three authors who wrote about Harshavardhana are:

(a) Banabhatta (court poet of Harshavardhana).

(b) Xuan Zang.

(c) Harshavardhana himself.

Q. 3. What changes do you find in the army at this time? 

Ans. Kings of that time had a large and well maintained army. There were some military leaders who provided king with troops whenever they required. These military leaders wer not paid salaries. They collect revenue from the land granted by the king and used collected revenue for maintaining good army. Thus, during these days the military leaders who provided army to kings were known as ‘samantas. At that time ‘Samanta system, has become the important parts of army. 

Q. 4. What were the new administrative arrangements during this period?

Ans. The new administrative arrangements during this period were as follows: 

Although the village remained the basic unit of administration, some new emerged. Kings adopted several steps to get the support of powerful and influential persons.

(a) Some important administrative posts were now hereditary. This means that son should developments succeed their fathers for these posts. For example, the poet Harishena got the post maha-danda-nayaka or Chief Judicial Officer from his father. 

(b) Sometimes one person handled the responsibility of many offices. For example, Harishe 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.

(c) Some influential persons like nagarashreshthi or chief banker or merchant of the cit the sarthavaha or leader of the merchant a caravan, the prathama kulika or the chie craftsman and the head of the kayasthas or scribes had a say in the local administration.

LET’S DISCUSS

Q. 5. What do you think Arvind would have to do if he was acting as Samudragupta?

Ans. If Arvind would have to do acting as Samudragupta, he would perform as it is written in the Ashokan pillar at Allahabad. He should dress up like a warrior. Sometimes, he should ait on the throne in Raj Darbar and should seem busy doing his administrative jobs. 

Q. 6. Do you think ordinary people would have read and understood the prashastis? Give reasons for your answer. 

Ans. 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 prashastis because through this we get the glimpse of their recent past and should know what was the economic, social and political conditions of the state at that time.

LET’S DO

Q. 7. If you had to make a genealogy for yourself, who are the people you would include in it? How many generations would you like to show? Make a chart and fill it.

Ans. The word genealogy means to make the list of ancestors. 

The people I would like to include in the genealogy are:

(a) My father. 

(b) My mother.

(c) The grandfather (father’s father) like this at least two generations make a chart with the help of your subject teacher. 

Make the list of persons to whom you know very well as with you have blood relation. 

Q. 8. How do you think wars affect the lives of ordinary people today?

Ans. Wars affect the lives of the ordinary people today in the following ways:

(a) The war led to loss of tremendous life and property.

(b) It shocks the entire nation. 

(c) It affects the economic, political and social life of that particular country.

(d) It leads to a number of diseases.

SOME OTHER IMPORTANT QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION

VERY SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Q. 1. Name two qualities of Samudragupta mentioned in the prashasti. 

Ans. The two qualities of Samudragupta mentioned in the prashasti are:

(a) 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. 

(b) He is also described as equal to God.

Q. 2. Define Prashasti.

Ans. The inscription of a special kind is known as a prashanti, a Sanskrit word, meaning in praise of.

Q. 3. Who described about four different kinds of rulers?

Ans. Harisena described about four different kinds of rulers. 

Q. 4. When did the Gupta dynasty rose to prominence?

Ans. The gupta dynasty rose to prominence in 4th century AD. 

Q. 5. Who composed the Allahabad Prashasti?

Ans. It was composed by Samudragupta’s court poet Harisena.

Q. 6. Name an important trading-cum religious center of the Chalukyas. 

Ans. Aihole.

Q. 7. Name the two temples of deities erected by the Chalukyas.

Ans. The Chalukyas erected a number of Vishnu and Shiva temples.

Q. 8. Name the kingdoms who arose after the decline of the Gupta Empire.

Ans. The kingdoms who arose after the decline of the Gupta Empire were the kingdom of Harsha in the North and that of the Chalukyas and Pallavas in the South India..

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Q. 1. Who was Samudragupta? Name the two learned persons in his court.

Ans. Samudragupta was the grandson of Chandragupta. The two learned persons in his court are Kalidasa and Aryabhatta.

Q. 2. Who was Harshavardhana? Who wrote Harshacharita? 

Ans. Harshavardhana who was a great ruler of India ruled nearly 1400 years aga.

Harshacharita was written by his court poet, Banabhatta, in Sanskrit.

Q. 3. What advantage did Chandragupta II gain by defeating the Shakas?

Ans. Chandragupta II defeated the Shakas of Gujarat, Saurashtra and Malwa, and annexed their territories. He thus won control over the busy trading ports of Bharuch and Cambay.

Q. 4. How was the history of Harsha’s time reconstructed? 

Or

What are the sources that tells us about Harsha’s reign?

Ans. We get to know about Harsha’s reign through two main sources:

(a) The first one is Harshacharita, a biography of Harsha written by his court historian Banabhatta. The book lists the military and cultural achievements of Harsha. 

(b) The second is the account of Hiuen Tsang, the chinese pilgrim who visited India during Harsha’s reign. Besides these sources, inscriptions and coins of this period also tells us about Harsha.

Q. 5. What are the sources that tells us about the Gupta period? 

Ans. Information about the Gupta period is available from both archaeological and literary sources.

The most important archaeological source is the Allahabad Pillar Inscription. Paintings temples and coins are some other archaeological sources. The main literary source includes the works of Kalidasa and the accounts of Fa-Xian and Itsing.

Q. 6. What was Prayag Prashasti?

Ans. An inscription engraved on a pillar at Allahabad, popularly called the Allahabad pillar inscription or the Prayog Prashasti is the main source of information on Samudragupta’s reign (the greatest ruler of the Gupta dynasty). 

It lists the regions conquered by the king. It also mentions the ancestors of the king. The prashasti was composed by Samudragupta’s court poet Harisena.

Q. 7. List the military campaigns of Harsha. 

Ans. Military campaigns of Harsha can be listed as follows:

(a) He annexed the region around Delhi, the western part of U.P. and parts of Bengal. 

(b) He wisely decided not to annex territories that would be difficult to rule directly from Magadha. Instead he established indirect control over these territories and drew tributes from them.

Q. 8. What was the main source of Revenue? How was this money spent? 

Ans. Much of the revenue came from land. There were numerous revenue officers to collect the revenue. Merchants and craftsmen also paid taxes. 

The money so collected was used or spent in the following ways: 

(a) It was used to ensure good administration.

(b) To give donations and grants. 

(c) To maintain an army consisting of horses, elephants, chariots and foot soldiers.

Q. 9. Why were there frequent conflicts between the Pallavas and the Chalukyas?

Ans. The region ruled by the Chalukyas was fertile and had ports on both the west and the east coast which promoted foreign trade with Persin, Arabia and South-East Asia. The Pallavas, who ruled over modern Tamil Nadu and parts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh from their capital Kanchipuram, fought for control over the region. This resulted in frequent conflicts. 

Q. 10. Write a brief note on Pulakeshin II. 

Ans. Pulakeshin II was one of the greatest ruler of the Chalukyas. He ruled from 608 AD 642 AD Pulakeshin II conquered northern Konkan, the Gujarat and Malwa region. His biggest enemy was Pallava ruler Mahendravarman.

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS 

Q. 1. Mention about the Pallavas, Chalukyas and Pulakeshin’s prashasti.

Ans. The Pallavas and Chalukyas: The Pallavas and Chalukyas were the most important ruling dynasties in South India during ancient period. The kingdom of the Pallavas spread 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 Kaveri. le, the capital of the Chalukyas, was an important trading center. It developed as a religious tre, with a number of temples. The Pallavas and Chalukyas frequently raised one another’s land, especially attacking the capital cities, which were prosperous towns. 

The best known Chalukya ruler was Pulakeshin II. We know about him from a prashasti, posed by his court poet Ravikirti. According to the poet, he led expeditions along both the and the east coasts. He checked the advance of Harsha. Pulakeshin also attacked the ert lived. Both the Pallavas and the Chalukyas gave way to new rulers belonging to the Pas king. He took shelter behind the walls of Kanchipuram. The Chalukyas victory was Ehtrakuta and Chola dynasties.

Q. 2. Write a note on Samantas.

Ans. Some of the kings maintained a well-organized army with elephants, chariots, cavalry and foot soldiers. There were military leaders who provided the king with troops whenever he needed them. They were not paid regular salaries. Some of them received grants of land. They collected revenue from the land and used this to maintain soldiers and horses and provide equipment for warfare. These men were known as Samantas. Whenever the ruler was weak, samantas tried to become independent.

Q. 3. Explain the administration under the Guptas. 

Ans. The administration under the Guptas can be explained as follows: 

(a) The king was the head of the administration and was assisted by a council of ministers They assumed high sounding titles such as Maharajadhiraja to show their supremacy. 

(b) The empire was divided into provinces or ‘bhuktis’. Princes were often appointed as the governor of provinces.

(c) The provinces were further divided into districts or vishayas. The ayuktas administered the districts.

(d) Each district was divided into a group of villages.

HIGH ORDER THINKING SKILLS

Q. 1. Name the types of local assemblies that existed during the reign of Pallavas. 

Ans. During the reign of Pallavas, three kinds of assemblies were prevalent. The sabha, ur and nagaram.

(a) The Sabba was an assembly of brahmin land-owners. This assembly functioned through sub-committees, which looked after irrigation, agricultural operations, making roads, local temples etc.

(b) The ur was a village assembly found in areas where the land-owners were not brahmins.

(c) The nagaram was an organization of merchants. These assemblies were controlled rich and powerful land-owners and merchants.

Q. 2. Why is the Allahabad pillar inscription known as ‘Prashasti’? What information does it provide? 

Ans. Allahabad pillar inscription composed of praises of military achievements of Samudragupta. 

The Allahabad pillar inscription composed by Harisena, the court poet of Samudragupta. has a long list of rulers with their names and territories. It is almost like the Prashasti d Samudragupta. 

Q. 3. Why did the Gupta period came to be known as the Golden age of Sanskrit Literature?

Ans. The Gupta period came to be known as the Golden age of Sanskrit Literature because:

(a) The court of Chandragupta II had Nine Literary Gems. 

(b) Kalidasa was the most brilliant one of them.

(c) Abhigyan Shakuntalam is a master piece of Sanskrit Literature.

(d) The Panchatantra is a collection of stories that teach moral lessons to the children. It was written by Vishnu Sharma.

VALUE BASED QUESTIONS

Q. 1. How Arabia, although a desert, the hub of communication for centuries? 

Ans. Arabia although a desert it was at the hub of communications for centuries. In fac Arab merchants and sailors played an important role in the sea trade between India and Europe. Others who lived in Arabia were the Bedouins, pastoral tribes depending upon main on camels, hardy animals that could survive in the desert. Around 1400 years ago Prophet Muhammad introduced a new religion, Islam in Arabia. Within a hundred years, Islam spread to North Africa, Spain, Iran and India.

Q. 2. How did the Parthians assimilated into Indian society? 

Ans. The Parthians came to India from Iran and the Parthian rule overlapped with that of the Sakas. They ruled over a small portion of north-western India in the 1st century CE. The most well-known Parthian king was Gondophernes who was succeeded by his nephew Abdagases. Gradually, the Parthians assimilated into Indian society. 

Q. 3. Name the kinds of Kingdoms that Samudragupta won.

Ans. The kinds of kingdoms that Samudragupta won were:

(a) Rulers of the Ganga-Yamuna Valley or Aryavarta (ie., Northern India) were defeated and made a part of Samudragupta’s empire. 

(b) Twelve rulers of the Deccan or Dakshinapatra surrendered to Samudragupta after being defeated and he then allowed them to rule again.

(c) Rulers of eastern India, including the frontier states of Assam, Nepal and constal Bengal were made to accept his overlordship.

(d) The descendants of the Kushanas and the Shakas ruling in Afghanistan and the ruler of Sri Lanka also submitted to him and offered their daughters for marriage.

PICTURE BASED QUESTIONS

Look at the picture and answer the following questions:

(a) The picture given above is from which university? 

Ans. The picture given above is from Nalanda University. 

(b) Where is it located?

Ans. It is located in Bihar and about 55 miles north-east of Patna.

(c) Name the countries whose scholars got attracted. 

Ans. It attracted scholars and students from Korea, Japan, China, Tibet, Indonesia, Persian and Turkey.

OBJECTIVE TYPE QUESTIONS

I. MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

Tick (✓) the correct option: 

(a) Harsha was a great supporter of:

(i) Jainism.

(ii) Christianity.

(iii) Buddhism.

Ans. (iii) Buddhism.

(b) Hiuen Tsang visited India during the time of which ruler?

(i) Harshavardhan.

(ii) Pallavas.

(iii) Mauryas.

Ans. (i) Harshavardhan.

(c) Who was the first to adopt Islam religion?

(i) Turks.

(ii) Arabs. 

(iii) Africana.

Ans. (a) Araba.

(d) Poet Kalidasa is said to have adorned the court of ____________.

(i) Harisena. 

(ii) Samudragupta.

(iii) Harsha. 

(iv) Chandragupta II.

Ans. (ii) Samudragupta. 

(e) Harsha established his capital at ________.

(i) Pataliputra.

(i) Vatapi.

(i) Kanauj.

(iv) Ujjain.

Ans. (ii) Kanauj.

(f) Harsha could not expand into the Deccan because:

(i) he did not wish to conquer any more territories.

(ii) he did not have a large army.

(iii) he was defeated by the Chalukyas under Pulakeshin II

(iv) the Deccan Kingdoms were his allies. 

Ans. (i) he was defeated by the Chalukyas under Pulakeshin II.

II. FILL IN THE BLANKS:

(a) The world’s first residential university was ___________.

Ans. Nalanda University. 

(b) __________was the main source of the state’s income besides the fines.

Ans. Land revenue.

(c) Pulakeshin II was a famous king of __________.

Ans. Chalukyas.

(d) Chandragupta I was also known as ___________.

Ans. Maharajadhiraja.

(e) Harsha united the kingdom of _________ and _________.

Ans. Thanesar and Kanauj.

(f) Court poet of Pulakeshin II was ________.

Ans. Ravi Kriti.

(g) ________was a chinese pilgrim who gave a vivid description of Harsha’s times in his accounts.

Ans. Hieun Tsang.

III. WRITE TRUE OR FALSE:

(a) Chandragupta had married a Lichhavi princess. Kumaradevi to enhance his position.

Ans. False.

(b) The Pallavas and the Chalukyas were very friendly with each other. 

Ans. True.

(c) Harisena describes four different kinds of rulers.

Ans. True.

(d) The Sabha and the Ur were village assemblies in the Pallava Kingdom. 

Ans. True.

(e) Kalidasa wrote the world famous stories for children called Panchatantra.

Ans. False.

(f) The twelve rulers of Dakshinapatha were defeated by Chandragupta. 

Ans. False.