History

Kings, Farmers and Towns

Question:

List some of the problems faced by the epigraphists.

Answer:

The specialists who study inscriptions are called Epigraphists. Some of the important problems they encounter when they try to decipher inscriptions are as follows:
1.Many of the inscriptions are not found in proper shape, they are partly damaged, hence deciphering them becomes a knotty problem.
2.The inscriptions are written from the point of view of those who have created it. Hence, in order to get an impartial understanding, we need to go beyond the written words, get into its interpretations.
3.Many of the inscriptions have descriptions in symbolic words. Hence deciphering them have become difficult.
4.Sometimes the inscriptions are engrafted in very light colors. Hence, deciphering them becomes difficult.

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Kings, Farmers and Towns

Q 1.

List some of the problems faced by the epigraphists.

Q 2.

Describe the salient features of Mahajanapadas.

Q 3.

Compare and contrast the list of things given to the Pandyan chief (Source 3) with those produced in the village of Danguna (source 8). Do you notice any similarities and differences?

Q 4.

Discuss the main features of the Mauryan administration. Which of these elements are evident in the Asokan inscriptions that you have studied?

Q 5.

Describe the salient features of Mahajanapadas.

Q 6.

Discuss the evidence of craft production in Early Historic cities. In what ways is this different from the evidence from Harappan cities?

Q 7.

How do historians reconstruct the lives of ordinary people?

Q 8.

To what extent were agricultural practices transformed in the period under consideration?

Q 9.

This is a statement made by one of the best-known epigraphists of the twentieth century, D.C. Sircar: "There is no aspect of life, culture, activities of the Indians that is not reflected in inscriptions."Discuss.

Q 10.

Discuss the notions of kingship that developed in the post-Mauryan period.

Q 11.

List some of the problems faced by the epigraphists.

Q 12.

Discuss the main features of the Mauryan administration. Which of these elements are evident in the Asokan inscriptions that you have studied?