Class 6 History Chapter 9 Practice Question Answers - New Empires and Kingdoms

Q1: Who was given title “Maha-danda-nayaka”?
Ans: Minister of war and peace.

Q2: Who is called as Indian Shakespeare?
Ans: Kalidasa.

Q3: The Sabha was an assembly of ________.
Ans: Brahmin land owners.

Q4: Harisena Prashasti refers to the exploits of ________.
Ans: Samudragupta.

Q5: Name an Indian king who was known as ’musician king’.
Ans: Samudragupta.

Q6: Who was Pulakeshin II?
Ans: Pulakeshin was one of the famous Chalukyan rulers. A prashasti, composed by his court poet Ravikirti, is an important source of information regarding his early life and his expeditions. This provides us with the information about his ancestors for four generations.It tells us that Pulakeshin evidently got the kingdom from his uncle. According to Ravikirti, he led expeditions along both the west and east coasts. He also checked the advance of Harsha.

Q7: What was the Sabha during the Pallavas rule?
Ans: A number of local assemblies have been mentioned in the inscriptions of the Pallavas. The Sabha was one of the local assemblies. It was an assembly of brahmin land owners. This assembly had sub-committees that looked after irrigation, agricultural operations, making roads, and local temples, etc.

Q8: What do you think were the causes of the downfall of the Gupta Empire?
Ans: The administration was decentralised and land grants were given to administrative officers in lieu of regular salaries. At times, these officers became powerful and started fighting for their independence. Also during Skandagupta’s reign, the empire was attacked by the Huns, the nomadic tribes from Central Asia. These attacks proved to be the death knell on the Gupta Empire.

Q9: What was the political scenario after the fall of the Gupta Dynasty?
Ans: The end of the Gupta Empire saw a period of disorder which prevailed for a while. There were many small kingdoms that became powerful and fought against each other. These were finally conquered by Harshavardhana who established a powerful empire.

Q10: How was the money spent which was collected in the form of revenue?
Ans: The money collected was spent on facilitating good administration. Grants and donations for religious and educational establishments were made. A portion of the revenue was also spent on maintaining the armies.

Q11: Who were Samantas?
Ans: Samantas were military leaders who provided the king with troops whenever he needed them. For their service they were not paid regular salaries. Instead, they received the grants of land from the king. They collected revenue from the land and used it for the maintenance of soldiers and horses and to provide war equipments. Whenever the king was weak they tried to become independent.

Q12: Write short notes on Banabhatta.
Ans: Banabhatta was a poet laureate in Harshavardhana court. He was a prolific Sanskrit writer, lived during the 7th century as the court chronicler of King Harshavardhana. 'Harshacharita' and ’Kadambari’ are among his renowned works. In 'Harshacharita', Banabhatta has narrated the complete life of King Harshavardhana.

Q13: What were the changes in the army after the Gupta period?
Ans: The protection of an Empire required huge and strong army. Thus, special attention was paid to maintain a huge and efficient army.

• Infantry, cavalry and elephants were the main divisions of the army.
• Besides, there were military leaders known as samantas, who provided troops to the king whenever required.
• Samantas 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, horses and provide equipment for warfare.

Q14: How did the poet of Prashastis praise Samudragupta?
Ans: The poet praised the king as warrior and as a king who won victories in battle. He was learned and the best of poets. He is also described as equal to the gods.

Q15: Write a short note on Chalukyas.
Ans: The Chalukyas were one of the important dynasties in south India during 3rd -5th A.D. The kingdom of the Chalukyas centered around the Raichur Doab, between the rivers Krishna and Tungabhadra. Their capital city was Aihole. It was an important trading centre. It was also an important religious centre, with a number of temples. Pulakeshin II was the famous Chalukya ruler.

Q16: Write a short note on Pallavas.
Ans: The kingdom of the Pallavas spread from the region around their capital, Kanchipuram, to the Kaveri delta. They were one of the most important ruling dynasties in south India during the 3rd to 5th A.D.

Q17: What do you mean by prashastis and how did they help?
Ans:

• Prashastis is a special kind of inscription meaning "in praise of". They were composed in praise of the rulers.
• An important example is a prashasti of Samudragupta. It is a poem in Sanskrit, composed by his court poet Harisena, nearly 1700 years ago. It is inscribed on the Ashokan pillar at Allahabad. The poet has praised the king in glowing terms. He is described as equal to God. It tells about his conquests.
• Most prashastis also mention the ancestors of the ruler.
• Samudragupta’s great grandfather, grandfather, father and mother are mentioned by Harisena in the prashasti.

Q18: Mention four different kinds of rulers as described by Harisena. What was Samudragupta’s policy towards them?
Ans: Harisena, the court poet of Samudragupta has mentioned the four different rulers in the prashasti. Samudragupta’s policy toward them is as:

• The rulers of Aryavarta (Kanauj, Pataliputra, Prayaga, Mathura and Nalanda) were some nine rulers. These kingdoms were made part of Samudragupta’s empire.
• The rulers of Dakshinapatha were twelve rulers. These rulers were defeated by Samudragupta and then allowed to rule their kingdoms.
• The neighbouring states such as Assam, coastal Bengal, Nepal and a number of gana sanghas brought tribute, followed his order and attended his court.
• The rulers of north-west and the ruler of Sri Lanka submitted to him and offered daughters for marriage.

Q19: Mention three authors who wrote about the King and the lives of the ordinary people.
Ans: Kalidasa, Fa Xian and Banabhatta wrote about the lives of the ordinary people in the kingdom.

• In his plays, Kalidasa has shown the king and most brahmins speaking Sanskrit, while women and men other than the king andbrahmins use Prakrit. There is a remarkable description of the plight of a poor fisherman in his play Abhijnana Shakuntalam.
• The Chinese pilgrim Fa Xian has given a detailed account of the plight of the untouchables. They were mistreated by the high and mighty and were expected to live on the outskirts of the city.
• Banabhatta provides us with a vivid picture of the king’s army on the move.

Q20: Briefly describe assemblies in the Southern kingdoms.
Ans: A number of local assemblies were mentioned in the inscriptions of the Pallavas. Most probably these assemblies were controlled by rich and powerful landowners and merchants.

• Sabha was an assembly of brahmin land owners. It performed various roles and functioned through subcommittees, which looked after irrigation, agricultural operations, making roads, local temples etc.
• There was a village assembly found in areas where the land owners were not brahmins.
• The nagaram was an organisation of merchants.