Class 6 History Chapter 10 Practice Question Answers - Buildings, Paintings and Books

Q1: Who invented paper?
Ans: Paper was invented by Cai Lun in China.

Q2: Kannagi, the wife of Kovalan, mentioned in the Silappadikara, destroyed the city of _______.
Ans: Madurai.

Q3: Shikhara is usually constructed over the top of ________.
Ans: Garbhagriha.

Q4: The stories from the Jatakas were shown on the railings of the ________.
Ans: Buddhist stupas.

Q5: Where the capital of the Kurus is located now?
Ans: Hastinapur at present is located near Meerut in Uttar Pradesh.

Q6: How the colours which were used in the Ajanta caves were made of?
Ans: By plants and minerals.

Q7: Why do we celebrate Dusshera in India?
Ans: Ravana was the king of Lanka. In order to free his wife from Ravana, Rama waged a war against him. This conflict is considered as victory of Dharma over evil and is celebrated in the form of Dusshera in India.

Q8: What is the pradakshina path?
Ans: The path, known as Pradakshina path, was laid around the stupa. This was surrounded with railings and devotees walked around the stupa on this path to show their devotion.

Q9: What were the different stages in building a stupa or temple?
Ans: Since it was expensive to build these stupas or temples, which were usually built by kings and queens.
There were different stages in the construction of these buildings:

• A place was carefully chosen for the new building.
• Good quality stone was found, quarried and transported to the chosen place.
• These rough blocks of stones were shaped and carved into pillars and panels for walls, floors and ceilings. Finally, these were placed in precisely the right position.

Q10: What were Puranas? What do they contain?
Ans: Puranas were Hindu religious scriptures. They were written in simple Sanskrit verse, and meant to be heard by everybody, including women and Shudras. The Puranas were probably recited in temples by priests; people came to listen them.
They contained stories about gods and goddesses, such as Vishnu, Shiva, Durga or Parvati and detailed accounts on how these deities were to be worshipped. The Puranas gave details about the creation of the world and about the kings.

Q11: Write a short note on attractive painting on the wall of Ajanta Caves.
Ans: The Ajanta caves have attractive paintings on the walls. The detailed work on the caves is outstanding. The themes of the paintings on the Ajanta caves depict the life of Lord Buddha. The paintings of Ajanta date from the late Gupta period to early Chalukya period.

Q12: Explain the two greatest Sanskrit epics.
Ans: Mahabharata and Ramayana is the two greatest Sanskrit epics. The Mahabharata is about a war fought between the Kauravas and Pandavas, who were cousins.The Ramayana is about Rama, a prince of Kosala, who was sent into exile. His wife Sita was abducted by the king of Lanka, named Ravana, and Rama had to fight a battle to get her back.

Q13: What do we learn from Aryabhatiyam?
Ans: Aryabhatiyam states that day and night were caused by rotation of the earth on its axis, even though it seems as if the sun is rising and setting everyday.

Q14: Write a short note on Silappadikaram?
Ans: Silappadikaram is a story of a merchant named Kovalan, who lived in Puhar and fell in love with a courtesan named Madhavi, neglecting his wife Kannagi. Later according to the epic, Kovalan and Kannagi left Puhar and went to Madurai, where he was wrongly accused of theft by the court jeweller of the Pandya king. The king sentenced Kovalan to death. Kannagi who still loved him, was full of grief and anger at this injustice and destroyed the entire city of Madurai.

Q15: Write a short note on Valmiki?
Ans: Valimiki is recognized as the author of the Sanskrit Ramayana. He was a Hindu sage who lived around the beginning of the firts millenium BC. He is referred to as the 'adikavi' the original creator of the Hindu slokas.

Q16: Write a short note on Amaravati Stupa.
Ans: The Amaravati Stupa is famous for its Buddhist art and architecture. This stupa was built in the pre Mauryan period. The architecture is decorated with carved panels, with stories of Buddha depicted on them.

Q17: What are epics? Mention two famous Tamil epics which were written around 1800 years ago.
Ans: Epics are grand, long compositions, about heroic men and women, which include stories about gods.

• A famous Tamil epic, the Silappadikaram, was composed around 1800 years ago, by a poet named Ilango.
• The Manimekalai was composed by Sattanar around 1400 years ago. These beautiful compositions were lost to scholars for many centuries, till their manuscripts were rediscovered, about a hundred years ago.

Q18: Who paid for building the stupas and temples?
Ans:

• Stupas and temples were usually built by the kings and queens as it was an expensive affair.
• The kings and queens probably spent money from their treasury to pay the craftsmen who worked to build these splendid structures.
• Besides, when devotees came to visit the temple or the stupa, they often brought gifts, which were used to decorate the buildings.
• For example, an association of ivory workers paid for one of the beautiful gateways at Sanchi. Among the others who paid for decorations were merchants, farmers, garland makers, perfume sellers, smiths, and hundreds of men and women who were known only by their names which were inscribed on pillars, railings and walls.

Q19: How were stupas and temples built? Explain.
Ans: The stupas and the building of temples were usually decided by the queens or the kings, as it was an expensive affair.
Some of the important steps followed during the construction of temples or stupas were:

• A good quality stone had to be found, quarried and transported to the place that was often carefully chosen for a new building.
• Rough blocks of stone had to be shaped and carved into pillars and panels for walls, floors and ceilings.
• All these things had to be placed in precisely a correct and religiously right position.
• The names of the queen and king, and several other persons were inscribed on the pillars, railings and wall of buildings.

Q20: What are monolithic temples?
Ans:

• A monolith is a monument or natural feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock. A monolithic temple is thus a rock-cut temple, carved from a single large rock, and excavated and cut to imitate a wooden or masonry temple with wall decorations and works of art.
• Carving out of monolithic temples is known to have been started during the Pallava dynasty.
• The Pancha Rathas is one of the nine monolithic temples at Mahabalipuram, and is a fine example of monolith Indian rock-cut architecture dating back to late 7th century.
• The Kailash Temple at Ellora is another singular monolithic temple since it was excavated from the top down rather than by the usual practice of carving into the scarp of a hillside. This temple was created through a single, huge top-down excavation 100 feet deep, down into the volcanic basaltic cliff rock.