NCERT Class 6 History Chapter 6 - Kingdoms, Kings and an Early Republic

Chapter 6 - Kingdoms, Kings and an Early Republic

Question 1: State whether true or false:
a) ‘Rajas’ who let the ‘ashvamedha’ horse pass through their lands were invited to the sacrifice.
b) The charioteer sprinkled sacred water on the king.
c) Archaeologists have found palaces in the settlements of the ‘janapadas’.
d) Pots to store grain were made out of Painted Grey Ware.
e) Many cities in ‘mahajanapadas’ were fortified.
Answer:
a) True
b) False
c) False
d) False
e) True

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

Answer: Hunter gatherers, farmers, traders, crafts-persons and herders-all paid taxes.
i) Farmers: one sixth of the produce.
ii) Crafts: persons - in the form of labour.
iii) Herders: in the form of animals and animals produce.
iv) Traders: taxes on goods brought and sold.
v) Hunter-gatherers: Forest produce.

Question 3: Who were the groups who could not participate in the assemblies of the ‘ganas’?
Answer: These groups of people were not allowed to participate in the assemblies of the ‘ganas’.
• Women
• Slaves
• Kammakaras

Question 4: Why did the ‘rajas’ of ‘mahajanapadas’ build forts?
Answer: The 'rajas' of 'mahajanapadas' built forts around their capital cities because probably the people were afraid of attacks from other kings and needed protection. It is also possible that some rajas wanted to show that they were rich and powerful by building large, tall and impressive walls around cities. Moreover, by fortifying, the land and its people could be controlled more easily.

Question 5: In what ways are present-day elections different from the ways in which rulers were chosen in ‘janapadas’?
Answer: In modern days; rulers are chosen through popular vote. But in the janapadas, a ruler was not chosen rather a person was supposed to show his supremacy to become the ruler. To do so, the raja had to perform the ashwamedha yajna so that other rajas in the mahajanapada would accept his supremacy.

Question 6: Find the state in which you live in the political map on page 136. Were there any ‘janapadas’ in your state? If yes, name them. If not, name the janapadas’ that would have been the closest to your state, and mention whether they were to the east, west, north or south.
Answer: No, there are no janapadas in my state. The closest janapada to Telangana is Avanti.

Question 7: Find out whether any of the groups mentioned in answer 2 pay taxes today.
Answer: Yes, all of the groups mentioned in answer 2 pay taxes today.

Question 8: Find out whether the groups mentioned in answer 3 have voting rights at present.
Answer: Yes, all the groups (full citizens of a state or country of age 18 or above (including men, women, slaves, kamakaras etc.) have voting rights at present.