Class 6th History Chapter 5 Kingdoms, Kings and an Early Republic

 NCERT Solutions for Class 6th Social Science History Chapter 5 Kingdoms, Kings and an Early Republic

1. State whether true or false:

• ‘Rajas’ who let the ‘ashvamedha’ horse pass through their lands were irwited to the sacrifice.
• The charioteer sprinkled sacred water on the king.
• Archaeologists have found palaces in the settlements of the ‘janapadas’.
• Pots to store grain were made out of Painted Grey Ware.
• Many cities in ‘mahajanapadas’ were fortified.

Answer.

• True
• False
• False
• True
• False.

2.Fill in the chart given below with the terms: hunter-gatherers, farmers, traders, crafts-persons, herders. ‘

Ans: Hunter-gatherers, farmers, traders, crafts-persons and herders—all paid taxes.

• Farmers—one-sixth of the produce.
• Crafts-persons—in the form of labour.
• Herders—in the form of animals and animal products.
• Traders—taxes on goods brought and sold.
• Hunter-gatherers—forest produce.

3. Who were the groups who could not participate in the assemblies of the ‘ganas’?

Ans: These groups of people were not allowed to participate in the assemblies of the ‘ganas’.

• Women
• ‘Dasas’
• ‘Kammakaras’.

4.Why did the ‘rajas’ of ‘mahajanapadas’ build forts?

Ans:

The rajas of mahajanapadas built forts to protect their capital city.

This means that huge walls of wood, brick or stone were built around them. Forts were probably built because people were afraid of attacks from other kings and needed protection.

It is also likely that some rulers wanted to show how rich and powerful they were by building really large, tall and impressive walls around their cities. Also in this way, the land and the people living inside the fortified areas could be controlled more easily by the king.

5. In what ways are present-day elections different from the ways in which rulers were chosen in ‘janapadas’?

Ans:

Present day elections are conducted by election commission. In janapadas we did not have election commission. Some of the rajas were probably chosen by the jana, the people. But around 3,000 years ago, we find some changes taking place in the ways in which rajas were chosen. Some men now became recognised as rajas by performing very big sacrifices.

In present-day elections, all citizens (including women and dasas etc.) participate in election process after 18 years of their age. But in janapadas all free men over the age of 30 were recognized as full citizens. In janapadas women and slaves were not considered equal free citizens.

Appointments for rulers were made through lottery. All those who wanted to be chosen gave in their names and then some were selected through lottery.