Chapter - 2 (Kings, Farmers and Towns) (Date : 23-04-2022)

Correct Answer : B

Explanation

• Some of the most momentous developments in Indian epigraphy took place in the 1830s. This was when James Prinsep, an officer in the mint of the East India Company, deciphered Brahmi and Kharosthi, two scripts used in the earliest inscriptions and coins.
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  • He found that most of these mentioned a king referred to as Piyadassi – meaning "pleasant to behold"; there were a few inscriptions which also referred to the king as Asoka, one of the most famous rulers known from Buddhist texts. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
  • This gave a new direction to investigations into early Indian political history as European and Indian scholars used inscriptions and texts composed in a variety of languages to reconstruct the lineages of major dynasties that had ruled the subcontinent.
• Inscriptions are writings engraved on hard surfaces such as stone, metal or pottery. They usually record the achievements, activities or ideas of those who commissioned them and include the exploits of kings, or donations made by women and men to religious institutions. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • Inscriptions are virtually permanent records, some of which carry dates.
  • Others are dated on the basis of palaeography or styles of writing, with a fair amount of precision.
• The earliest inscriptions were in Prakrit, a name for languages used by ordinary people. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
  • Names of rulers such as Ajatasattu and Asoka, known from Prakrit texts and inscriptions, have been spelt in their Prakrit forms.
    • Most Prakrit inscriptions were written in the Brahmi script; however, some, in the northwest, were written in Kharosthi.
  • Languages such as Pali, Tamil and Sanskrit, which too were used to write inscriptions and texts.
    • It is possible that people spoke in other languages as well, even though these were not used for writing.

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Correct Answer : D

Explanation

• Hence, option D is correct.

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Correct Answer : D

Explanation

• The sixth century BCE is often regarded as a major turning point in early Indian history. It is an era associated with early states, cities, the growing use of iron, the development of coinage, etc.
• It also witnessed the growth of diverse systems of thought, including Buddhism and Jainism.
  • Early Buddhist and Jaina texts mention, amongst other things, sixteen states known as mahajanapadas.
  • Although the lists vary, some names such as Vajji, Magadha, Koshala, Kuru, Panchala, Gandhara and Avanti occur frequently.
• From c. sixth century BCE onwards, Brahmanas began composing Sanskrit texts known as the Dharmasutras.
  • These laid down norms for rulers (as well as for other social categories), who were ideally expected to be Kshatriyas.
• Hence, option D is correct.

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Correct Answer : A

Explanation

• Between the sixth and the fourth centuries BCE, Magadha (in present-day Bihar) became the most powerful mahajanapada.
• Modern historians explain this development in a variety of ways: Magadha was a region where agriculture was especially productive.
  • Besides, iron mines (in present-day Jharkhand) were accessible and provided resources for tools and weapons.
  • Elephants, an important component of the army, were found in forests in the region.
  • Also, the Ganga and its tributaries provided a means of cheap and convenient communication.
• However, early Buddhist and Jaina writers who wrote about Magadha attributed its power to the policies of individuals: ruthlessly ambitious kings of whom Bimbisara, Ajatasattu and Mahapadma Nanda are the best known, and their ministers, who helped implement their policies.
• Initially, Rajagaha (the Prakrit name for present day Rajgir in Bihar) was the capital of Magadha. It was a fortified settlement, located amongst hills.
  • Later, in the fourth century BCE, the capital was shifted to Pataliputra, present-day Patna, commanding routes of communication along the Ganga. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The growth of Magadha culminated in the emergence of the Mauryan Empire. Chandragupta Maurya, who founded the empire (c. 321 BCE), extended control as far northwest as Afghanistan and Baluchistan, and his grandson Asoka, arguably the most famous ruler of early India, conquered Kalinga (present-day coastal Orissa). Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

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Correct Answer : A

Explanation

• Hence, option A is correct.

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Correct Answer : B

Explanation

• The new kingdoms that emerged in the Deccan and further south, include the chiefdoms of the Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas in Tamilakam.
• Tamilakam was the name of the ancient Tamil country, which included parts of present-day Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, in addition to Tamil Nadu.
• Hence, option B is correct.

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Correct Answer : B

Explanation

	Timeline	Major Political and Economic Developments
1.	c.600-500 BCE	Paddy transplantation; urbanisation in the Ganga valley; mahajanapadas; punch-marked coins
2.	c. 500-400 BCE	Rulers of Magadha consolidate power
3.	c. 327-325 BCE	Invasion of Alexander of Macedon
4.	c. 321 BCE	Accession of Chandragupta Maurya
5.	c. 272/268-231 BCE	Reign of Asoka
6.	c. 185 BCE	End of the Mauryan empire
7.	c. 200-100 BCE	Indo-Greek rule in the northwest; Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas in south India; Satavahanas in the Deccan
8.	c. 100 BCE-200 CE	Shaka (peoples from Central Asia) rulers in the northwest; Roman trade; gold coinage
9.	c. 78 CE	Accession of Kanishka
10.	c.100-200 CE	Earliest inscriptional evidence of land grants by Shaka and Satavahana rulers
11.	c. 320 CE	Beginning of Gupta rule
12.	c. 335-375 CE	Samudragupta
13.	c. 375-415 CE	Chandragupta II; Vakatakas in the Deccan
14.	c. 500-600 CE	Rise of the Chalukyas in Karnataka and of the Pallavas in Tamil Nadu
15.	c. 606-647 CE	Harshavardhana king of Kanauj; Chinese pilgrim Xuan Zang comes in search of Buddhist texts
16.	c. 712	Arabs conquer Sind

• Hence, option B is correct.

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Correct Answer : B

Explanation

• By the fourth century there is evidence of larger states, including the Gupta Empire.
• Many of these depended on samantas, men who maintained themselves through local resources including control over land.
  • They offered homage and provided military support to rulers. Powerful samantas could become kings: conversely, weak rulers might find themselves being reduced to positions of subordination.
• Histories of the Gupta rulers have been reconstructed from literature, coins and inscriptions, including prashastis, composed in praise of kings in particular, and patrons in general, by poets.
  • While historians often attempt to draw factual information from such compositions, those who composed and read them often treasured them as works of poetry rather than as accounts that were literally true.
• The Prayaga Prashasti (also known as the Allahabad Pillar Inscription) composed in Sanskrit by Harishena, the court poet of Samudragupta, arguably the most powerful of the Gupta rulers (c. fourth century CE).
  • The Allahabad pillar, however, is an Ashoka Stambha, one of the Ashoka Pillars erected by Ashoka.
• Hence, option B is correct.

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Correct Answer : D

Explanation

• There was a growing differentiation amongst people engaged in agriculture – stories, especially within the Buddhist tradition, refer to landless agricultural labourers, small peasants, as well as large landholders.
  • The term gahapati was often used in Pali texts to designate the second and third categories.
• The large landholders, as well as the village headman (whose position was often hereditary), emerged as powerful figures, and often exercised control over other cultivators.
• Early Tamil literature (the Sangam texts) also mentions different categories of people living in the villages – large landowners or vellalar, ploughmen or uzhavar and slaves or adimai.
  • Probably, these differences were based on differential access to land, labour and some of the new technologies.
• Hence, option D is correct.

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Correct Answer : C

Explanation

• An Agrahara was land granted to a Brahmana, who was usually exempted from paying land revenue and other dues to the king, and was often given the right to collect these dues from the local people.
• The land grant was made typically by a king or a noble family for religious purposes, to maintain temples in that land or a pilgrimage site and to Brahmans to sustain their families.
• Hence, option C is correct.

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Correct Answer : A

Explanation

• Hence, option A is correct.

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Correct Answer : C

Explanation

• To some extent, exchanges were facilitated by the introduction of coinage. Punch-marked coins made of silver and copper (c. sixth century BCE onwards) were amongst the earliest to be minted and used. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • These have been recovered from excavations at a number of sites throughout the subcontinent. Numismatists have studied these and other coins to reconstruct possible commercial networks.
  • Attempts made to identify the symbols on punch marked coins with specific ruling dynasties, including the Mauryas, suggest that these were issued by kings. It is also likely that merchants, bankers and townspeople issued some of these coins.
• The first coins to bear the names and images of rulers were issued by the Indo-Greeks, who established control over the north-western part of the subcontinent c. second century BCE. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• The Kushanas, however, issued the largest hoards of gold coins, first gold coins c. first century CE. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.
  • These were virtually identical in weight with those issued by contemporary Roman emperors and the Parthian rulers of Iran, and have been found from several sites in north India and Central Asia.
• Coins were also issued by tribal republics such as that of the Yaudheyas of Punjab and Haryana (c. first century CE). Hence, statement 4 is correct.
  • Archaeologists have unearthed several thousand copper coins issued by the Yaudheyas, pointing to the latter’s interest and participation in economic exchanges.
• Some of the most spectacular gold coins were issued by the Gupta rulers. The earliest issues are remarkable for their purity. These coins facilitated long-distance transactions from which kings also benefited.
• Hence, option C is the correct answer.

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