Class 6th Social Science History Chapter 8 Ashoka The Emperor Who Gave Up War

Class 6th Social Science History Chapter 8 Ashoka The Emperor Who Gave Up War

 1. Make a list of the occupations of the people who lived within the Mauryan empire.
Ans:
A list of the occupations of the people who lived within the Mauryan empire:

1. Trade or Commerce
2. Jobs with emperor
3. Crafts
4. Agriculture
5. Animal rearing
6. Forest produce-gathering
7. Hunting animals for food
8. Fishing.

2. Complete the following sentences:

1. Officials collected…….. from the area under the direct control of the ruler.
2. Royal princes often went to the provinces as………….
3. The Mauryan rulers tried to control…….. and……….. which were important for transport.
4. People in forested regions provided the Mauryan officials with…………

Ans: 

1. taxes
2. governors
3. roads, rivers
4. elephants, timber, honey, and wax.

3. State whether true or false:

1. Ujjain was the gateway to the north-west.
2. Chandragupta’s ideas were written down in the Arthashastra.
3. Kalinga was the ancient name of Bengal
4. Most Ashokan inscriptions are in the Brahmi script.

Ans:

1. False
2. True
3. False
4. True.

4. What were the problems that Ashoka wanted to solve by introducing ‘dhamma’?
Ans:
The problems Ashoka wanted to solve by introducing dhamma were:

1. Communalism (He wanted communal harmony within his state).
2. Violence or killing of animals (He wanted animal protection or Ahimsa or Non-violence).
3. Cruelty (He liked mercy or kindness towards slaves and servants).
4. To maintain peace in families and among neighbours.
5. Respecting one’s elders.
6. Treating all creatures with compassion.
7. Giving gifts to brahmins and monks.
8. Show respect to other religions too.
9. Try to understand the main ideas of other religions.

5. What were the means adopted by Ashoka to spread the message of ‘dhamma’?
Ans: Ashoka appointed officials (called ‘dhamma mahamatta’) to go from place to place and tell people about ‘dhamma’. Ashoka got his messages inscribed on rocks and pillars too, in a language called as Prakrit which was comprehensible to all. Messengers were also sent to other parts of the world.

6. Why do you think slaves and servants were ill-treated? Do you think the orders of the emperor would have improved their condition? Give reasons for your answer.
Ans:

1. I think that slaves and servants were ill-treated because no political authority or socio-economic organisation had favoured proper treatment for slaves and servants. They were supposed to do all manual and hard work but they were not allowed to participate in some rituals and not permitted to recite Vedas or for taking education.
2. Yes, I think the orders of the emperor would have improved condition of slaves and servants. We can give the following reasons:
   • Slaves and servants would have got proper wages and better treatment.
   • Their duty hours and working conditions would have improved.

7. Write a short paragraph explaining to Roshan why the lions are shown on our currency notes. List at least one other object on which you see them.
Ans: The lions are part of the Lion Capital in Samath. These lions are shown on our currency notes in honour of one of the greatest kings of India, Ashoka, who built the Capital. Moreover, on independence, the lion was recognized as the national animal, so the notes also showed the Lion Capital.
Another object which has the lions are shown are the coins of our currency.

8. Suppose you had the power to inscribe your orders, what four commands would you like to issue?
Ans: I would like to issue the following four orders:

1. Everyone should respect the elders and elders should love their youngers.
2. Everyone should respect the other’s religion. One should try to understand the main ideas of another’s religion and respect it.
3. Be kind to your servants and employees.
4. Be loyal to your motherland.

I. MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

Choose the correct option to complete the statements given below:

(i) The founder of the Maurya empire was ………….,
(a) Ashoka
(b) Chandragupta
(c) Bimbisara
(d) Chanakya.

(ii)The capital of the Mauryan empire was………….
(a) Pataliputra
(b) Rajagriha
(c) Ujjain
(d) Taxila.

(iii) According to the Arthashastra, blankets of………… India was famous.
(a) north
(b) north-west
(c) south
(d) north-east.

(iv) The script used for inscription was ……………
(a) Brahmi
(b) Prakrit
(c) Tamil
(d) Roman.

(v) Ashoka was a ………………
(a) Hindu
(b) Jaina
(c) Buddhist
(d) None of these.

Ans.
(i)—(b), (ii)—(a), (iii)—(b), (iv)—(a), (v)—(c).

II. FILL IN THE BLANKS

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

1. Ashoka was Chandragupta’s ……………………………….
2. Chanakya was …….. ’s minister.
3. The Arthashastra was written by………….
4. …….. was the gateway to the northwest of the empire.
5. ……… were sent as governors to other provincial capitals.
6. South India was important for ………….
7. Ashoka gave up war after winning over…………
8. ‘Dhamma’ is the Prakrit word for the Sanskrit word
9. Ashoka appointed ……..  to spread ‘dhamma’.

Answer:

1. grandson
2. Chandragupta
3. Chanakya
4. Taxila
5. Royal princes
6. gold and other precious stones
7. Kalinga
8. ‘Dharma’
9. officials.

III. TRUE/FALSE
State whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F).

1. The lions on the currency notes come from the Rampurwa bull capital,
2. Ashoka founded the Mauryan empire.
3. Royal princes were sent as governors to provinces.
4. Ashoka gave up war after losing in Kalinga.
5. Ashoka himself went from place to place to preach ‘dhamma’.
6. The ‘dhamma’ also reached other countries.

Ans.

1. F
2. F
3. T
4. F
5. F
6. T

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

V.VERY SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

1. Who was Chanakya?
Ans:  Chanakya (or Kautilya) was a wise man who served Chandragupta Maurya.

2. Who lived in the Mauryan cities?
Ans: Merchants, officials, and craftspersons lived in Mauryan cities.

3. Giue one point of difference between empires and kingdoms.
Ans:  Empires need more resources than kingdoms do as they are larger,

4. Give one point of information given by the Arthashastra
Ans:  The Arthashastra tells that the northwest of the Mauryan empire was important for blankets, and south for stones,

5. What all was given as tribute by people in forested areas?
Ans: People living in the forested areas gave elephants, timber, honey, wax, etc. as a tribute.

6. What was special about Ashoka as a ruler?  [V. Imp.]
Ans: Ashoka was the first ruler who tried to take his message to his subject through inscriptions.

7. What change came upon Ashoka after the Kalinga war?[V. Imp.]
Ans: Ashoka saw that there was a lot of violence in the war and many people were killed. So he decided he would not fight any more wars,

8.What was the purpose of Ashoka’s ‘dhamma’?       [V. Imp.]
Ans:  Ashoka wished to instruct his subjects, for which he introduced his ‘dhamma’.

9. Name some countries where Ashoka spread his ‘dhamma’.
Ans: Ashoka’s ‘dhamma’ reached Syria, Egypt, Greece and Sri Lanka among other sounds.          ,

10. Where has the Rampurwa Bull been placed now?
Ans:  The Rampurwa Bull is now In the Rashtrapati Bhavan.                    •

IV.SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

1. Write a short note to describe the Mauryan people.
Ans:  The Mauryan cities had mainly merchants, officials and craftspersons. In the village farmers and herders lived. In forested areas, people gathered forest produce and hunted animals for food. People in different parts of the empire used various different languages. They also probably ate diverse kinds of food and the same can be said about the clothes they wore.

2. How was Ashoka unique? [V. Imp.]
Ans:  Ashoka was the most famous Mauryan ruler. He was known to take his message amongst the people through inscriptions. His inscriptions were in the people’s language Prakrit. Ashoka also remains the only king in history who gave up war after winning one. This he did after he observed the violence in the Kalinga war. Ashoka then became a Buddhist and got the idea of the ‘dhamma’.

VII. LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

1. Describe governance in the Mauryan empire. [V. Imp.]
Ans:  The Mauryan empire consisted of severed different parts which were ruled over differently.

• The Empire’s capital. The areas adjacent to Pataliputra, the capital of the empire, were under the direct control of the emperor. Officials were supposed to collect taxes from the inhabitants in strict obedience of the ruler’s order.
• The Provincial capitals. There were provinces with their own capitals, e.g. Taxila and Ujjain in the northwest and central India respectively. There was obviously some amount of control from the emperor in Pataliputra: Royal princes were sent as governors.
• Other areas. In the other areas, the Mauryans controlled roads and rivers, , which were vital for transport. Resources, whatever available, were collected as a tribute.

VIII. MAP WORK

1.On the outline map of India Locate and label the following Mauryan cities/regions.
(i) Pataliputra  (ii) Ujjain   (iii) Taxila   (iv) Sanchi   (v) Samath  (vi) Lumbini  (vii) Rampurwa   (viii) Kaushambi           (ix) Meerut    (x)Kalinga.
Ans: