History

New Empires and Kingdoms

Question:

How do we know about the lives of ordinary people during this period?

Answer:

We come to know about the lives of ordinary people from plays like Kalidasa's Abhijnana Shakuntalam and accounts left by Chinese pilgrims like Fa Xian.

previuos
next

New Empires and Kingdoms

Q 1.

What do you know about Harshavardhana? Describe the main events of his career.[V. Imp.]

Q 2.

Name the four different kinds of rulers described by Samudragupta's court poet, Harishena.             [V. Imp.]

Q 3.

Where is this poem inscribed?

Q 4.

What was the condition of ordinary people in the kingdoms? Describe in brief.

Q 5.

Who controlled the local assemblies?

Q 6.

Name the capital of the Chalukyas.

Q 7.

How do we know about him?

Q 8.

What was the difference between the way in which Samudragupta treated the rulers of Aryavarta and Dakshinapatha?

Q 9.

How do we know about the lives of ordinary people during this period?

Q 10.

Who was Samudragupta? [Imp.]

Q 11.

Name the capital of the Pallauas.

Q 12.

What does Samudragupta's prashasti tell us?

Q 13.

What happened when Harshavardhana tried to cross the Narmada?

Q 14.

What was the nagaram?

Q 15.

Who were the Pallauas and Chalukyas? Describe them in detail.                             [V. Imp.]

Q 16.

Match the items in column A correctly with those given in column B.

Column A                                                                                                                 Column B

(i) Kalidasa                                                                                     (a) The court poet of Pulakeshin II

(ii) Aryabhatta                                                                               (b) The court poet of Samudragupta

(iii) Ravikirti                                                                                   (c) A renowned poet during this period

(iv) Harishena                                                                               (d) The court poet of Harshavardhana

(v) Banabhatta                                                                               (e) An astronomer

Q 17.

What were prashastis?

Q 18.

Describe Samudragupta as a warrior as mentioned in the prashasti?

Q 19.

From whom did Pulakeshin get the kingdom?

Q 20.

When did Harshavardhana become the ruler of Kanauj?

Q 21.

Harishena held more than one offices? Name them.

Q 22.

In which language is Harshacharita written?

Q 23.

The king's army on the move has been vividly described by Banabhatta. Write the whole description in your own words. [V. Imp.]

Q 24.

During which dynasty did prashastis gain importance?

Q 25.

State whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F).

(i) The military leaders collected revenue from the land granted to them and spent this on their families.

(ii)  The rulers of dakshinapatha surrendered to Samudragupta after being defeated and were never allowed to rule again.

(iii) The descendants of the Kushanas and Shakas ruled the outlying areas during this period.

(iv) Harshavaradhana became the king of Thanesar after both his father and elder brother died.

(v) Harshavardhana never got success in the east.

(vi) Aihole was an important centre of trade.

(vii) The capital cities of the Pallavas and Chalukyas were not very prosperous. (uiii) The prathama-kulika meant the chief craftsman.

Q 26.

Fill in the blanks with appropriate words to complete each sentence.

(i) Kumara Devi, the mother of Samudragupta belonged to the ……………………  gana.

(ii) ……………..,a Chinese pilgrim, spent a lot of time at Harsha's court and left a detailed account of what he saw.

(iii)Harshavardhana's success was checked by ………………. , a chalukya ruler.

(iv)  The two important ruling dynasties in south India during this period were the ……….  and the ………..

(v) The Raichur Doab was situated between the rivers ………………….  and ………….

(vi) The ………  and ……….. were the new dynasties which took place of the Pallavas and the Chalukyas.

(vii) Whenever the Samantas found the ruler weak and inefficient, they tried to become

(viii) The untouchables during this period were treated badly and were expected to live on the    of the city.

Q 27.

Describe Samudragupta's policies towards the

  • rulers of Aryavarta
  • rulers of Dakshinapatha
  • inner circle of neighbouring states, and
  • rulers of the outlying areas. [V. Imp.]

Q 28.

What do you know about the genealogies of the Guptas? Mention in brief.

Q 29.

How does Samudragupta's prashasti describe him? [V. Imp.]

Q 30.

Banabhatta wrote Harshavardhana's biography. What is the name of this book? [V. Imp.]

Q 31.

Pulakeshin II was the best-known ChaLukya ruler. Explain in brief. [V. Imp.]