Maharashtra Board Class 11 History Solution Chapter 8 – India during Mauryan period
Balbharati Maharashtra Board Class 11 History Solution Chapter 8: India during Mauryan period. Marathi or English Medium Students of Class 11 get here India during Mauryan period full Exercise Solution.
Std |
Maharashtra Class 11 |
Subject |
History |
Chapter |
8 |
Chapter Name |
India during Mauryan period |
Q.1 (A) Choose the correct alternative and write the complete sentences.
(1) The first well-known king of the Haryank dynasty is ………………..
(a) Chandragupta Maurya (b) Bimbisara
(c) Ajatashatru (d) Mahapadma
Answer – The first well-known king of the Haryank dynasty is .(b) Bimbisara
(2) The Nanda dynasty was established by …………….
(a) Dhanananda (b) Shishunaga
(c) Mahapadma Nanda (d) Emperor Ashoka
Answer – The Nanda dynasty was established by (c) Mahapadma Nanda
(3) The great drama in Sankrit literature, Swapnavasavadatta, was written by …………
(a) Kautilya (b) Bharat
(c) Kalidasa (d) Bhasa
Answer – The great drama in Sankrit literature, Swapnavasavadatta, was written by (d) Bhasa
(B) Find out the incorrect pair from set B and write the correct ones.
Set ‘A’ Set ‘B’
(1) Built the foundation Bimbisara of Magadha Empire
(2) Brought an end to rule Chandragupta Maurya of the Nandas
(3) Chinese traveller who Megasthenes visited India during the period of Chandragupta Maurya
(4) Changed his mind Emperor due to the destruction Ashoka in Kalinga war
Answer – The incorrect pair is
(1) Built the foundation Bimbisara of Magadha Empire
The correct answer would be –
(1) Built the foundation Ajatashatru of Magadha Empire
Q.2 Choose the correct reason and complete the sentence.
Emperor Ashoka erected many pillars.
Reason…………………
(a) Spread of Art
(b) Spread of ‘Dhamma’
(c) Growth of trade
(d) For recognition of his work
Answer – Spread of Dhamma
Q.3 Explain the following statements with reasons.
(1) Ashoka’s victory at Kalinga proved to be a turning point in history as well as the life of Ashoka.
Answer – During the early period of his rule, Ashoka adopted his ancestors’ policy of Digvijaya and expansion of kingdom. He attacked Kalinga and conquered it. Ashoka’s victory at Kalinga proved to be a turning point in history as well as in the life of Ashoka. There was a great human loss in this war. Ashoka became victorious. The destruction caused due to the Kalinga war brought about a great change in the mind of Ashoka. His mind got diverted towards the non- violent, peaceful Buddhist religion. The desire of digvijaya was replaced by Dharmavijay (Dhammavijay). His career proved to be important because of the religious ideals propagated by him and the creation of a mechanism to until it in people’s life. For the implementation of dhammavijay, Ashoka introduced some new policies, for example, appointment of ‘Dharmamahamatras’, ban on intoxicating drinks, guiding principles regarding code of conduct etc. Ashoka’s policy of ‘Dhamma’ meant virtuous conduct based on moral values. He sent monks to various countries for the spread of Buddhism. The first Buddhist council was held at Rajgriha after the mahaparnibban of Gautama Buddha. King Kalashoka organised the second council at Vaishali. Ashoka organized the third Buddhist council at the capital Pataliputra. The kings who succeeded Ashoka were not efficient. This led to the decline of the Mauryan empire. Brihadratha was the last king of the Mauryan dynasty. He was killed by his General Pushyamitra who then came to power.
(2) The war between Chandragupta and the Greek king Seleucus was very important.
Answer – Chandragupta Maurya defeated the Nandas and established the Mauryan dynasty. In the text of Mahavamsa, Chandragupta is referred as ‘the emperor of Jambudvipa i.e. emperor of Bharatvarsh’. The Mauryas created a huge empire by conquering the big and small states in northwest, north and southern regions.
The war between Chandragupta and the Greek king Seleucus was very important. As a consequence of that war, the boundaries of Mauryan Empire extended to the Hindukush in the northwest. The Mauryan Empire extended from Hindukush to the Bay of Bengal in the east and Gujarat in the west, as well as Himalayas in the north to the Krishna river in the south. Chandragupta Maurya died around 298 B.C.E. His son Bindusara became the king. During his tenure he sent his son Ashoka to subdue the revolt in Taxila. During the period of Bindusara the empire established by Chandragupta Maurya remained intact. Bindusara died in 273 B.C.E.
(3) The Mauryan administration acquired a definite form.
Answer – The nature of administrative system during the Mauryan period is clearly understood with the help of Kautilya’s Arthashastra, Megasthenes’ Indica and the inscriptions of Ashoka. Chandragupta Maurya was a valiant king and an efficient administrator. He set up a defined mechanism of state administration, which suited the economic conditions and the needs of the Mauryan empire. The Mauryan emperors created a unified empire. At the same time, they devised a decentralised administrative system for efficient functioning of the vast empire. In the administrative system of the empire, there was a Mantri Parishad (council of ministers) made up of wise, experienced, virtuous and selfless ministers who gave advice to the king. There was a committee of some of these ministers, who were known as ‘Mantrana’ to look after the day to day affairs of the state. Mauryas had created a stable framework of administration by creating various departments of administration and appointing the experienced and expert officers over it. These officers were known as Amatya. Arthashastra mentions total eighteen Amatyas such as Pradhan, Samaharta (revenue), Sannidhata (finance), Senapati, Yuvraj etc. Kautilya has given information about 30 administrative departments. The hierarchical order of the officers in the Mauryan empire started from the Samrat at the head to the lowermost office of the Gramini. At the local level the people were given autonomous rights to a great extent in the internal matters. In this way the administration of Mauryan kingdom was decentralised. The most important feature of Mauryan administration was the effort made for the overall material and moral development of the people. The Mauryan administration is appreciated due to various factors such as keeping the civil and military areas separate from each other, creating an independent judicial system, implementing a specific salary system to the officers, control over the trade in the kingdom etc.
Q.4 State your opinion.
(1) Chandragupta Maurya is the first Chakravarti emperor in the history of India.
Answer – The concept of ‘Chakravarti’ occurs in the literature on ancient Indian polity. The sovereign ruler whose chariot could roll in all four directions without any
obstruction, was known as Chakravarti. It was expected that his rule should be ethical and for the welfare of the State. During his tenure the wheel of ‘Ruta’remains intact. His rule is on an extended territory. Chandragupta Maurya was the first Chakravarti Emperor.
In 321 B.C.E. Chandragupta Maurya attacked Pataliputra and brought an end to the Nanda rule. Mauryan Empire was the first well organised and strongly controlled empire in the history of India. Religious texts and other literature, inscriptions, coins, sculptures etc. are the sources that help us to clearly understand the political, social, economic and religious conditions of this period. The Mauryan empire had spread on a large region of the Indian sub continent and was controlled by a central power. The Mauryan rule brought about consolidation of the political system. Chandragupta Maurya defeated the Nandas and established the Mauryan dynasty. In the text of Mahavamsa, Chandragupta is referred as ‘the emperor of Jambudvipa i.e. emperor of Bharatvarsh’. The Mauryas created a huge empire by conquering the big and small states in northwest, north and southern regions. The war between Chandragupta and the Greek king Seleucus was very important. As a consequence of that war, the boundaries of Mauryan Empire extended to the Hindukush in the northwest. The Mauryan Empire extended from Hindukush to the Bay of Bengal in the east and Gujarat in the west, as well as Himalayas in the north to the Krishna river in the south. Chandragupta Maurya died around 298 B.C.E. His son Bindusara became the king. During his tenure he sent his son Ashoka to subdue the revolt in Taxila. During the period of Bindusara the empire established by Chandragupta Maurya remained intact. Bindusara died in 273 B.C.E.
(2) The rock edicts of Ashoka are important sources of history.
Answer – The rock edicts and Pillar inscriptions of Ashoka are found at many places in the regions of Afghanistan, Nepal and India. In 1750 C.E. Padre Tieffenthaler
rediscovered Meerut pillar inscription of Ashoka. Most of Ashoka’s inscriptions are inscribed in Brahmi script. In 1837 C.E. James Princep deciphered the Brahmi script on the inscriptions. The inscriptions of Ashoka are very important sources of the history of his rule. The boundaries of Maurya Empire can be ensured on the basis of these inscriptions. The description of Ashoka’s efforts for the spread of Buddhism can be obtained from these inscriptions. Even though Ashoka embraced Buddhism but he never tried to forcibly impose it on his subjects. The written evidence of the spread of Buddhism and Indian culture in distant countries through the Buddhist monks sent by Ashoka occurs in these inscriptions. It included Emperor Ashoka’s son Mahendra (Mahinda) and daughter Sanghamitra (Sanghamitta).
Ashoka became the emperor of Mauryan empire after the death of Bindusara. He got himself coronated in 268 B.C.E. He called himself as ‘Devanampiyo Piyadasi’ (Beloved of the Gods) in many of his rock edicts and pillar inscriptions. During the early period of his rule, Ashoka adopted his ancestors’ policy of Digvijaya and expansion of kingdom. He attacked Kalinga and conquered it. Ashoka’s victory at Kalinga proved to be a turning point in history as well as in the life of Ashoka. There was a great human loss in this war. Ashoka became victorious. The destruction caused due to the Kalinga war brought about a great change in the mind of Ashoka. His mind got diverted towards the non- violent, peaceful Buddhist religion. The desire of digvijaya was replaced by Dharmavijay (Dhammavijay). His career proved to be important because of the religious ideals propagated by him and the creation of a mechanism to until it in people’s life. For the implementation of dhammavijay, Ashoka introduced some new policies, for example, appointment of ‘Dharmamahamatras’, ban on intoxicating drinks, guiding principles regarding code of conduct etc. Ashoka’s policy of ‘Dhamma’ meant virtuous conduct based on moral values. He sent monks to various countries for the spread of Buddhism. The first Buddhist council was held at Rajgriha after the mahaparnibban of Gautama Buddha. King Kalashoka organised the second council at Vaishali. Ashoka organized the third Buddhist council at the capital Pataliputra. The kings who succeeded Ashoka were not efficient. This led to the decline of the Mauryan empire. Brihadratha was the last king of the Mauryan dynasty. He was killed by his General Pushyamitra who then came to power.
(3) Various trade guilds developed during the Mauryan period.
Answer – There was an increase in revenue of the Maurya empire due to well organised taxation system. ‘Bali’ was a tax to be given in the scale of the land under cultivation. ‘Bhag’ was a share from the tax on production. Agricultural land and the tax acquired from the agricultural production was the basic foundation of the administrative system. Industries gained momentum during this period. Cloth production was the most important industry. Apart from that metallurgy, carpentry, ivory art, spinning, weaving and many such professions began.
The prosperous agriculture and flourishing industries led to a flourishing internal and foreign trade. Internal trade was carried through land route and water ways. Many royal ways were built on the trade routes during this period. Many roads such as Pataliputra to Takshashila, Pataliputa to Kashi-Ujjaini, Pataliputra to Tamralipti came into existence. The increasing use of iron and also the different types of iron implements, painted pottery and its distribution upto southern parts of India indicates expansion of trade. Bharuch, Roruk (Rodi), Sopara, Tamralipti and many such ports on the coastal region of India were famous for trade purpose.
Exports were carried out on a large scale from India to countries like Greece, Rome, Egypt, Syria, Bactria, Sri Lanka etc. The commodities such as cotton and silk cloth, linen, jari clothes, spices, diamonds, ivory, perfumes etc. were exported from India to these countries. Glass articles, dyes etc. were imported. The government levied taxes on the production of goods as well as on its import and export. Vartani (transport tax) and shulk (octroi) are found to be mentioned in the contemporary sources. In return the government took up responsibility of security of the goods. For the protection of the trading community the government had appointed officers like Chorarajjuka and Seemaswami.
Q.5 Observe the map on Page number 58 and answer the questions based on it.
(1) Regions included in Ashoka’s Empire
Answer – The regions included in Ashoka’s expire ranged from the Hindukush Mountains in the north west to Delhi, Kachch, Saurastra, Mathura, Ujjayani, Prayag, Nepal, Kasi, Magadha, Champa, Tamralipti, Kalinga, Andhra.
(2) Locations of Ashoka’s rock and pillars edicts.
Answer – The locations of Ashoka’s rock and pillar edicts were found at Taxila, Mansera, Sahabaj Garhi, Girnar, Bairat, Meerut, Kalsi, Topra, Pataliputra, Sanchi, Rupnath, Lauriya Araraj, Lauriah Nandangarh, Nilgiva, Kapilavastu, Toshali, Sannati, Maski, Kupalgal, Brahmagiri
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