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

NCERT Solutions for Class 6 Social Science History Chapter 5 Kingdoms, Kings and an Early Republic contains the answers to the exercise questions. These solutions are easy and accurate that helps with the questions asked in the examinations. The Class 6 History Chapter 5 solution covers all the questions of the chapter in detail. These solutions are prepared by our subject experts in very easy language. All our Class 6 NCERT solutions are updated as per the latest CBSE Syllabus and Guidelines.

NCERT Solutions for Class 6 Social Science History Chapter 5

Question 1: State whether true or false:

1. Rajas who led the ashvamedha horse pass through their lands were invited to the sacrifice.
2. The charioteer sprinkled sacred water on the king
3. Archaeologists have found palaces in the settlements of the janapadas
4. Pots to store grain were made out of Painted Grey Ware
5. Many cities in mahajanapadas were fortified

Answer: (a) True
The Rajas who allowed the ashvameda horse to pass through their lands showed that they accepted the supremacy of the Raja performing the sacrifice. These Rajas were then invited to attend the sacrifice.

(b) False
The charioteer was the raja’s companion in the battlefield and bore witness to many of his deeds and exploits. Thus, it was the charioteer who sang poems and recounted tales glorifying the deeds of the Raja

(c) False
It has been discovered by archaeologists that people lived in huts and kept cattle and other animals in the many settlements of the janapadas

(d) True
Some of the earthen pots used to store grain were grey in colour and hence known as grey ware

(e) False
Only the capital city was fortified, as they were the main nerve centres of the mahajanapadas

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

Answer: Hunter-gatherers: They had to provide forest produce such as elephants, furs and other items as a tribute to the raja.

Farmers: They gave one-sixth of the produce to the state.

Traders: There were taxes on goods that were bought and sold, through trade.

Crafts persons: Taxes on crafts persons could have been in the form of labour.

Herders: They paid taxes in the form of animals and animal produce.

Question 3: Who were the groups who could not participate in the assemblies of the ganas?

Answer: The following groups couldn’t participate in the assemblies of the ganas:

• Women
• Dasas, the slaves
• Kammakaras, the landless labourers

Question 4: Why did the rajas of mahajanapadas build forts?

Answer: The rajas of mahajanapadas built forts in order to protect their capital city and their people from attacks by other rajas. It is also likely that they wanted to show how rich and powerful they were by building large, powerful and impressive walls around their cities. Another prominent reason could be that it was easier to control the land and the people living inside the fortified cities.

Question 5: In what ways are present-day elections different from the ways in which rulers were chosen in janapadas?

Answer: Present-day elections are conducted based on a democratic system in which all the citizens above 18 years have the right to vote for their favourite candidates. The candidate who wins the majority of votes becomes the public leader.

On the other hand, in janapadas, there was no such system of voting. During this period, the men who performed the Ashvamedha sacrifice were chosen to be the kings.

Question 6: Were there any janapadas in your state? If yes, name them. If not, name the janapadas that would have been closest to your state, and mention whether they were to the east, west, north or south.

Answer: The answer is subjective to the region and area you live in. Take the assistance of your subject teacher and also the help of the map given on page 57 in the textbook to prepare your answer.

Question 7: Find out whether any of the groups mentioned in answer 2 pay taxes today

Answer: Out of the groups mentioned in answer 2, traders are the ones who pay taxes today.

Question 8: Find out whether the groups mentioned in answer 3 have voting rights.

Answer: Today, voting rights are not decided by gender or profession. Women, ‘kammakaras’ and ‘dasas’ – all are entitled to vote today.

Extra Questions

VERY SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

1. Name a ritual used to recognise someone as a ‘raja’.
Answer: ‘Ashvamedha’ was one ritual used to recognise kings.

2. Which category of people was excluded from the rituals?
Answer: The ‘Shudras’ were excluded from rituals,

3. Name two ‘janapadas’ in North India.
Answer: Hastinapura and Atranjikhera.

4. How were cities fortified?
Answer: Cities were fortified by building huge walls of wood, brick or stone around them.

5. For what did rulers need taxes?
Answer: Rulers needed taxes to build huge forts and to maintain big armies,

6. Name two rivers that flowed through Magadha.
Answer: Ganga and Son were two rivers that flowed through Magadha.

7. Name some places conquered by Alexander.
Answer: Alexander conquered parts of Egypt and West Asia.

8. Which rulers conquered the last of the ‘ganas’ or ‘sanghas’?
Answer: The Gupta rulers conquered the last of the ‘ganas’ or ‘sanghas’.

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

1. Write a short note on the ‘Ashvamedha’ ritual

Answer: The ‘Ashvamedha’ (horse sacrifice) was a ritual used to recognise men as ‘rajas’. A horse was left to wander freely. If it wandered into another kingdom and the king of that kingdom stopped it, they had to fight. The ‘raja’ who succeeded in the challenge was recognised as stronger. He would then perform the sacrifice, in which other kings would also come.

2. What were the different roles of different persons in the sacrifice? [V. Imp.]

Answer: The ‘raja’ was the central person in the sacrifice. He was given a special seat, like a throne. His charioteer would tell others tales of the ‘rajas’ exploits. His wives and sons would perform several minor rituals. Other ‘rajas’ would sit and watch. Priests sprinkled sacred water on the king. Ordinary people brought gifts.

3. What is known about the ‘janapadas’ and their people?

Answer: Archaeologists have excavated a number of settlements in ‘janapadas’. They have found that people lived in huts. The people kept cattle as well as other animals. They grew a variety of crops like rice, wheat, barley, pulses, etc. They made earthen pots, some of which were grey in colour and some red.

4. Write a short note on the governance system in ‘ganas’ or ‘sanghas’? [V. Imp.]

Answer: In ‘ganas’ or ‘sanghas’, these were not one but many rulers. Even if there were several men together, each was called a ‘raja’. They performed rituals together. They met in assemblies and took decisions. Women, ‘dasas’ and ‘kammakaras’ were not allowed to participate in these assemblies.

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

1. What was the important feature of the capital cities of ‘mahajanapadas’? Why were they fortified? How were they fortified? [V. Imp.]

Answer: Capital cities of ‘mahajanapadas’ were mostly fortified by building huge walls of wood, brick or stone around them. There were various reasons for building forts. They were probably built because people were afraid of attacks from other kings and needed protection.

Some rulers probably built forts to make their cities impressive and to show how rich and powerful they were. Moreover, by making forts, controlling the fortified area became easier for the kings. Buildings forts required a great deal of planning. Hundreds of thousands of brick or stone had to be prepared. An enormous amount of labour and resources were required.

2. What changes took place in agriculture around this time? [V. Imp.]

Answer: There were two significant changes in agriculture around this time:
(i) Growing use of the iron ploughshares helped in yielding better grain produce. Heavy, clayey soil could be turned over better with an iron ploughshare than with a wooden ploughshare.

(ii) People began transplanting paddy. This meant that instead of scattering seed on the ground, from which plants would sprout, saplings were grown and then planted in the fields. Production developed due to this since many plants survived.

Class 6 History Chapter 5 NCERT Questions and Answers

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