GSEB Solutions Class 10 Social Science

Chapter 4 Literary Heritage of India

September 12, 2020 / By Prasanna
I. Answer the following questions in detail:
Question 1.
How many Vedas are there in India and which are they?
Answer:
There are four Vedas in India.
(1) Rigveda: It is the oldest of all the four Vedas and hence the oldest of the
Indian literature. It consists of 1028 verses. It is a wonderful work divided into
10 divisions. Most of the verses are prayers of God. These prayers were used
during the yagnas. Among them, the verses that preach about worshipping
Usa (The Goddess of drawn) are fascinating. This work was composed by
people residing in Sapt Sindhu region.
(2) Samveda: It was composed to focus on the process of recitation of verses.
Hence, it is known as the Gangotri of music.
(3) Yajurveda: It is called a veda of Yognas. It is composed in both the forms:
prose and verse. This describes the hymns recited at time of Yogyas, the
religious practices and rituals.
(4) Atharvaveda: It describes various types of rituals and sanskaras.

Question 2.
Write a note on Takshashila Vidhyalaya.
Answer:
Takshashila: Ancient university of Takshashila was located at Rawalpindi. It was
the capital city of ancient Gandhar region. It is believed that Takshashila
University got its name after the name of ‘Taksha’, the son of Bharata, brother
of Lord Rama. Takshashila was a renowned center of learning during the 7th
century. The university imparted education in 64 subjects. The subjects
included teachings of Vedas, military science, Gajvidhya, archery, grammar,
philosophy, warlord, astronomy, astrology, etc. Students were free to study the
subjects of their interest.

The teacher-student ratio was 1:20. Most of the students stayed at the ashram
to study and practice with guru. ‘Jivak’, the disciple of Lord Buddha, studied
Ayurveda at Takshashila. Chanakya, the writer of ‘Arthashastra’ and the mentor
of Chandragupta Mauiya also studied here. Moreover, students from distant
places like Varanasi, Rajgriha, Mithila and Ujjain used to visit Takshashila in
large numbers to study. Princess of Varanasi, Prasenjit, the king of Kaushal, the
great grammarian Panini, etc. studied here. Chinese scholar Fa-Hien visited
Takshashila in the beginning of 5th century.

Question 3.
Describe Medieval literature:
Answer:
The medieval literature is discussed in following points:
Literature developed in North India:
During the beginning of Medieval age, the language of literature in north
India was Sanskrit. Two great works were written in Kashmir namely,
Somdeva’s Kathasaritsagar and Kalhana’s Rajatarangini. Rajatarangini is of
great importance as it depicts the histoiy of Kashmir. It is considered as the
first historical book of India. Jaydeva wrote ‘Geetgovind’.

Literature developed in Apabharams:

Those languages which did not strictly follow the norms of the Sanskrit
language i.e. deviated were called Apabharams. Hindi is one such language
originated from Apabharams. One of the earliest works in the form of Hindi
was ‘Prithviraj Raso’ by Chandbardai. It is about the heroic deeds of Prithviraj
Chauhan.

Literature developed in South India:

Sanskrit and Telugu literature got more encouragement in the region of kings
of Vijayanagar. Raja Krishnadevrai, the great king of Vijayanagar wrote the
‘Amukta Malayd’. Works on Jainism in Kannada language. Poet Pampa
composed ‘Adipuran’ and Vjkramarjun Vijayant’. The poet Ponna wrote
‘Shantipuran’ describing the life of 16th Jain Tirthankaras. The poet Ranna
composed books namely ‘Ajitnathpuran’ and Gada Yudh’. Poet Kamban
composed ‘Ramayana’ in Tamil language. Also, several other famous literary
works were written in Tamil language.

Development of Indian languages during the Delhi Sultanate:

Indian languages and composition got a good encouragement during the
Delhi Sultanate. During that period, two forms of Delhi language namely
‘Khadi Boli’ and ‘Brij Bhasha’ began to be used for writing literature. Many
devotional songs were composed in these two languages.
Moreover, many heroic poems and stories were composed in Rajasthani
language, which is similar to Hindi and Gujarati. The heroic works like ‘Alha’,
Tidal’ and Visaldev Raso’were popular at the time. A book called ‘Chandrayan’
written by Mulla-Daod is the oldest book in Awadhi language.

Literature in Persian language: Persian was the language of court of Delhi

Sultanate. Ziauddin Barani wrote the Tarikh-e-Firoz Shahi which gives an
account of the region of the Khilji and Tughluq kings. He also wrote a book on
political theory called Fatwa- e-Jahangiri.

Amir Khusro was the most outstanding literary figure of the Delhi Sultanate.
He was a poet, historian, mystic saint and composer of music. He did several
works in Persian language. He wrote the ‘Ashiquea’, the ‘Nah’, ‘Sipiher1, the
‘Kiratual Sadayan’, the ‘Khazain-ul-Futuh’ and several other works of poetry.
He also composed verses in many other languages. He wrote a number of
billingual quatrains and verses in Hindi and Persian languages.

Literature in Bhojpuri and Awadhi:

Bhojpuri and Awadhi were the major dialects during those days. Kabir, the
great saint and poet mainly composed his work in ‘Sadhukhadi’. Among them,
Kabir’s dohas have become a part of folklore. Malik Muhammad Jayasi wrote
‘Padmavati’ in Awadhi. Tulsidas wrote ‘Ramcharit Manas’ in Awadhi.

Apart from the main languages, there were several literatures done in other
languages. Some of them are discussed below:

Kritta Vasa wrote Ramayana in Bengali. Famous poet Chandidas wrote

hundreds of lyrics under the patronage of the rulers. Saint Chaitanya began
the tradition of writing devotional songs. Narsinh Mehta wrote devotional
songs in Gujarati and Namdev and Saint Eknath in Marathi. Important
developments took place in Kashmir under Zainulabidin. Under his patronage,
many Sanskrit works like the ‘Mahabharata’ and Rajtarangini were translated
into Persian.

Development of literature during the Mughal period:

Babar, the first Mughal ruler, was one of the most prominent Turkish poets. He
wrote a valuable autobiography Tuzuk-e-Babar’ in Turkish. This was later
translated into Persian under the name Babamama. Gulbadan Begum, sister of
emperor Humayun, wrote ‘Humayunnama’. Jahangir wrote his great
autobiography, Tuzuk-e- Jahangiri. Tulsidas and Surdas wrote during the
Mughal period.

The great poet Keshavdas wrote on love and separation. Rahim’s ‘dohas’ are
still popular all over India. Abul Fazl wrote the ‘Ain-e-Akbari’ and the
‘Akbamama’. Abul Fazl’s brother Faizi was great Persian Poet and he translated
many Sanskrit works into Persian. Akbar had established an independent
department for translation of Sanskrit works like the Mahabharata and
Ramayana, the Atharvaveda, the Bhagwad Gita and the Panchatantra.

Development of literature in Urdu language:

One of the most significant developments during the medieval period was the
birth of Urdu language. Urdu language produced great poets like Wali, Mir
Dard, Mir Taqi mir, Nazir Akbarabadi, Abdullah Khan, Galib, Iqbal and others.
Urdu prose also developed in the early 18th century when the translation of
most of the historical works from Sanskrit into Urdu began. Muhammad
Hussain Azad’s Darbar-e-Akbari’ is one of the best works of Urdu language.

II. Answer the following questions pointwise:

Question 1.
Give information about Vallabhi Vidhyapith.
Answer:
Ancient city of Vallabhi which is presently known as Vallabhipur is located in
Bhavnagar, Gujarat. Vallabhi was a very famous center of education in 7th
century.

 The rulers and people of Vansh dynasty together made Vallabhi a well
renowned and a huge center of education.
 It was a world-renowned university preaching knowledge of arts and
science.
 Vallabhi was the center of Hinayana cult of Buddhist religion.
 Buddhist scholars like Sthirmati and Gunmati were among the most
renowned and leading principals of Vallabhi University in the middle of
7th century.
 The brahmin students from the distant areas of plains of Ganga and
Yamuna used to come here for higher studies. Chinese traveler ‘I-Tsang’
noted that Vallabhi competed with famous education center Nalanda.
  Vallabhi was also a capital and an international port from480AD to
775AD.
 The rulers of Vallabhi belonged to Maitrak dynasty.
 It is important to note that even though these rulers were not Buddhists,
they helped the development of Vallabhi University.
 In 775 AD, the Arabs attacked Maitraks and defeated them. This led to
the closure of the university.
 The university had a tradition of writing names of famous scholars on
the university gate.
 Scholars passing from this university used to display their intelligence
and skills to the kings and earn higher ranks in the Court.
 Knowledge, worship and a specific system of education made the
university famous all over India and abroad. Hence, students from India
and abroad used to come to study here. It was an international
university in the real sense.
 Almost all the branches of knowledge were taught here.
 The expenses of university were taken care through the charity obtained
from the kings and landlords.
Question 2.
Give information about Nalanda Vidyapith.
Answer:
The ancient Nalanda University was situated at Badgaon village of Patna
district in Bihar.

 The university was divided into seven huge halls or say rooms or
sections.
 There were 300 rooms for delivering lectures.
 Special monasteries were built so that students could stay in the
university.
 Many villages were donated to the university so that it could survive,
teach maximum students and flourish.
 Whatever the university earned from the donation of these villages it
used to spend it for the free food and clothing facilities for the students.
 The area where the books were kept was known as ‘dharmgunj’.
 During 5th to 11th century BC, Nalanda was a very reputed center of
learning.
 Nalanda gave more importance to Buddhism and Jainism.
 Mahavir Swami had performed fourteen chaturmas in Nalanda. Hence,
this ancient university also became an important pilgrimage centre for
Jains.
  In the 5th century Kumar Gupta built a monastery here. Since then fame
of Nalanda increased more.
 The university had a collection of thousands of precious manuscripts.
 The university had the best of education as well as books.
 Such was the glory of Nalanda that its students were considered the
ideal students of India.
 Nalanda was a pious place of Indian culture.
 Students from various parts of the country as well as world used to
come here for study and research.
 The great traveller Huen-Tsang came from China to study at Nalanda in
7th century.
 While returning he took 657 books from the university.
 Today, the great university exists only in ruins. But amidst the ruins, one
can visualize the glorious culture of India.
III. Answer the following in short.
Question 1.
Write a note on Yajurveda.
Answer:
Yajurveda is called a Veda of yagnas. It is composed in both the forms namely,
the prose and verse.

Question 2.
Write information is given in Yajurveda.
Answer:
Yajurveda describes the hymns recited at time of Yagnas done during the
religious rituals.

Question 3.
Which philosophical principles have been explained in Shrimad Bhaqwad Gita?
Answer:
The Bhagwad Gita is a part of India’s greatest epic Mahabharata. Geeta is the
holy book of Hindus. It describes deep philosophical principles. It conveys the
message of achieving ‘moksha’ or salvation through ‘Gyana’, ‘Karma’ and
‘Bhakti’.

IV. Answer the following questions selecting the correct option from these
given below:
Question 1.
______ is the most ancient book of Indian literature.
(a) Rigveda
(b) Yajurveda
(c) Samveda
(d) Atharvaveda
Answer:
(a) Rigveda

Question 2.
In which language is Buddhist literature written?
(a) Pali
(b) Hindi
(c) Brahmi
(d) Gujarati
Answer:
(a) Pali

Question 3.
Which is the oldest language of Dravidians?
(a) Tamil
(b) Telugu
(c) Kannada
(d) Gujarati
Answer:
(a) Tamil

Question 4.
Which is the first literary composition of poet Chandbardai in the Hindi
literature?
(a) Prithviraj Raso
(b) Vikramankdev Charit
(c) Kaviraj Marg
(d) Malayalam
Answer:
(a) Prithviraj Raso
Question 5.
Which is the literary composition of Maharshi Panini?
(a) Ashjtadhyayi
(b) Prithviraj Raso
(c) Vikramankdev Charit
(d) Chandrayan
Answer:
(a) Ashjtadhyayi

Gujarat Board Class 10 Social Science Literary Heritage of India

Additional Important Questions and Answers

I. Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

Question 1.
Which of the following statements is incorrect?
(a) Sanskrit was the chief language of knowledge, science, religion and
philosophy.
(b) Maharshi Panini created Ashtadhyayi.
(c) Sanskrit is called the language of sages or sholars.
(d) Maharshi Panini was the great Sanskrit grammarian.
(e) All are correct.
Answer:
(b) Maharshi Panini created Ashtadhyayi.

Question 2.
One statement is not correct forRigveda.
(a) It is the most ancient book of Indian literature.
(b) It consists of 1020 verses.
(c) Most of the verses are prayers of God.
(d) It is a wonderful work divided into 18 divisions.
Answer:
(d) It is a wonderful work divided into 18 divisions.

Question 3.
Books and their peculiarities are shown below: What can be there at the place
of question mark?
1. Gangotri of Music – Samveda
2. Ashtadhyayi Book – Panini
3. EJrihdaranya and Chhandogya – Upanishad
4. Ramayana and Mahabharata -?
(a) Vishwakosh
(b) Epics
(c) Religious books
(d) Khand Kavya
Answer:
(b) Epics

Question 4.
Which of the following statements is attached with epic Ramayana?
(a) It possesses approximately one lakh shlokas.
(b) It is the biggest poetic book of the world.
(c) It is veiy bigger than Mahabharata.
(d) It has the story of King Rama.
Answer:
(d) It has the story of King Rama.

Question 5.
Books and their writers are shown below:
What can be there at the place of question mark?
Maharshi Ved Vyas – Mahabharata Maharshi Valmiki – …………………?
(a) Bhagavad Gita
(b) Ramayana
(c) Ayurveda
(d) Panchatantra
Answer:
(b) Ramayana

Question 6.
Literature and literatarist are shown below. What can be placed at the place of
question mark?
(1) Buddhist literature: Tripitaka
(2) Vishakhadutt: Mudrarakshash
(3) Great Poet Kalidas: Kumar Sambhava
(4) Banabhatt: …………………….
(a) Malti Madhav
(b) Aiyabhattiyam
(c) Harsha charit
(d) Rutusamhar
Answer:
(c) Harsha charit

Question 7.
Which of the following is not included in poetic Sanskrit grantha of great poet
Kalidas?
(a) Kumar Sambhav
(b) Raghuvansham
(c) Urubhang
(d) Rutusamhar
Answer:
(c) Urubhang

Question 8.
Which of the following is included in initial Tamil literature granthas?
(1) Shilppadikaram
(2) Vikramovaishiyam
(3) Ajitnathpuran
(4) Manimekhalai
(a) 1 and 2
(b) 2 and 4
(c) 3 and 4
(d) 1 and 4
Answer:
(4) Manimekhalai

Question 9.
Which of the following statements is not correct for Persian language
literature?
(a) Persian was the language of court of Delhi Sultanate.
(b) Amir Khusro was a great scholar of Turkey language.
(c) The important works of Aamir Khusro were ‘Ashiqua’ the Nah, ‘Sipiher and
‘Kiratu Sadayan’.
(d) In Kashmir under Zainul Abidi, Sanskrit works like Mahabharata and
Rajatarangini were translated into Persian.
Answer:
(b) Amir Khusro was a great scholar of Turkey language.

Question 10.
Narsinh Mehta: Gujarati language Saint Chaitanya:
(а) Bengali language
(b) Hindi language
(c) Sanskrit language
(d) Parsi language
Answer:
(а) Bengali language

II. Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
What has contributed the most in the development of language?
Answer:
Script has contributed the most in the development of language.

Question 2.
What is Indian literature known for?
Answer:
Ancient time, Indian literature is known for its diversity and uniqueness.

Question 3.
Indian scholars have divided ancient literature in how many parts? Name
them.
Answer:
Indian scholars have divided ancient literature in two parts:

1. Vedict literature,
2. Classic literature.
Question 4.
How were new languages and literature developed in India?
Answer:
The variety of languages influenced one another and Indian literature became
rich.

Question 5.
Where is Sanskrit language mainly used nowadays?
Answer:
Sanskrit language is mainly used in religious ceremonies and worshipping
rituals.

Question 6.
Which is the most ancient script of India?
Answer:
The script of Harappan civilization is the most ancient script of India. It has not
been deciphered yet.

Question 7.
By which other name is Sanskrit language known as?
Answer:
Sanskrit language is also known as language of sages or scholars.

Question 8.
Whose language was Sanskrit in ancient time?
Answer:
In ancient time, Sanskrit was the language of religion, philosophy, knowledge
and science.

Question 9.
What is the meaning of Veda?
Answer:
Veda means knowledge.

Question 10.
Name the earliest Upanishads.
Answer:
‘Brihadaranya’ and ‘Chhandogya’ are the earliest Upanishads.

Question 11.
Which philosophical subjects are described in Upanishads?
Answer:
Philosophical subjects like the beginning the universe, the mysteries of life and
death, materialistic and spiritual world, etc. are described in Upanishads.
Question 12.
What is ‘Aranyakas’?
Answer:
The Aryans used to spend their last phase of life in ‘aranyas’ (forests) and
spend their life in deep thinking. They composed literature based on the
philosophy which is known as ‘Aranykas’.

Question 13.
Which subject are included in Vedangas?
Answer:
The Vedanga literature includes religious practices and rituals, grammar,
astrology and astronomy.

Question 14.
Mention the role played by the Puranas in the Vedic period.
Answer:
The Puranas played an important role in explaining Vedic religion of earlier
time.

Question 15.
What do the Smrutgranthas explain?
Answer:
The Smrutigranthas explain about the religious teachings, law and customs.

Question 16.
Who composed ‘Arthashastra’? With which subject does it deal?
Answer:
Arthashastra was composed by Kautilya. It is a book on management.

Question 17.
Which subjects are there in Sangam literature?
Answer:
There are subjects like politics, war and love in Sangam literature.

Question 18.
Name the famous works of early Tamil literature?
Answer:
‘Shilppadikaram’ and ‘Manimekhalai are the famous works of early Tamil
literature.

Question 19.
Which two great works were written in Kashmir? Who wrote them?
Answer:
In Kashmir, Somdev wrote ‘Katha- Sarit Sagar’ and Kalhan wrote ‘Rajatarangini.

Question 20.
Name the first historical book of India.
Answer:
‘Rajatarangini’ is the first historical book of India.

Question 21.
Who wrote ‘Geetgovind’? What is its main feature?
Answer:
‘Geetgovind’ was written by poet Jaydev. It is one of the finest poems of
Sanskrit literature.

Question 22.
Who is known as ‘The Trio’ of Kannada literature?
Answer:
The poets Pampa, i.e., Ponna and Ranna are known as The Trio’ of Kannada
literature.

Question 23.
Who wrote ‘Ramayana’ in Tamil language?
Answer:
Poet Kamban (Kambal) wrote ‘Ramayana’ in Tamil language.

Question 24.
Name the two forms of Hindi language during the period of Delhi Sultanate.-
Answer:
Khadi Boli and Brij Boli are the two forms of Hindi language during the period
of Delhi Sultanate.
Question 25.
Which are the heroic works of Rajasthani language?
Answer:
Alha, Udal and Visaldev Raso are the heroic works of Rajasthani language.

Question 26.
Name the oldest book of Awadhi language? Who wrote it?
Answer:
‘Chandrayan’ is the oldest book of Awadhi language. It was written by Mulla
Daood.

Question 27.
Name the court language of Delhi Sultanate.
Answer:
Persian was the court language of Delhi Sultanet.

Question 28.
Who wrote ‘Tarikh-e-Firozshahi? What does it describe?
Answer:
Ziauddin Barani wrote ‘Tarikh-e- Firozshahi’. This book gives information
about Khilji and Tughluk dynasty.

Question 29.
Who wrote the book ‘Fatwa-e-Jaharugiri’?
Answer:
‘Fatwa-e-Jahangiri’ was written by Ziauddin Barani. It is based on political
theory.

Question 30.
Name the major dialects of Hindi of Kabir’s period.
Answer:
Bhojpuri and Awadhi were the major dialects of Hindi of Kabir’s period.

Question 31.
What works of Kabir have become a part of folk-literature?In which language
are they composed?
Answer:
The dohas of Kabir have become a part of folk-literature. The dohas are
composed in Sadhukhadi’s language.
Question 32.
Who wrote Ramayana in Bengali?
Answer:
‘Ramayana’ was written by Kritta Vasa in Bengali.

Question 33.
Who started to write devotional songs in Bengali?
Answer:
Saint Chaitanya started to write devotional songs in Bengali.

Question 34.
Who wrote devotional songs in Gujarati?
Answer:
Narsinh Mehta wrote devotional songs in Gujarati.

Question 35.
Who wrote devotional songs in Marathi?
Answer:
Saint Eknath and Namdev wrote devotional songs in Marathi.

Question 34.
What was the most significant development of medieval period?
Answer:
The most significant development of medieval period was the birth of Urdu
language.

Question 35.
Name the great poets of Urdu.
Answer:
Wali, Mir Dard, Mir Taqui Mir, Nazir Akbarabadi, Asdulla Khan, Gali etc. were
the great poets of Urdu.

Question 36.
Who wrote the book ‘Darbar-e-Akbari’ and in which language? ,
Answer:
Muhammad Hussain Azad wrote ‘Darbar-e-Akbari’ in Urdu language.
III. Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1.
Give an idea about man’s journey for expressing his thoughts.
Answer:
Facial expressions, gestures, symbols, drawing and sounds were a few of the
first forms of communication that man used to communicate his thoughts,
ideas, feelings and emotions to others. Later, these things led to invention of
dialects and scripts. Over a period of time the scripts led to the development
of language. And finally, man used language and created literature in
thousands of languages emerged, many flourished and use of some vanished.

Question 2.
Give an introduction of Sanskrit as an ancient and contemporary language.
Answer:
Since man started his journey, many languages emerged, many flourished and
use of some vanished. Sanskrit is such a great language which holds” much
importance in India. Many great literary work were done in Sanskrit. In India,
Sanskrit was the main language for knowledge, science, religion and
philosophy. Maharishi Panini was a great Sanskrit grammarian. To understand
Sanskrit grammer and its rules, he prepared a book called ‘Ashtadhyayi” in the
4th century.

Sanskrit is considered the language of Aryans, language of sages and scholars.

Although today, Sanskrit language is less in use but still it is used in religious
ceremonies, worshipping and performing rituals. It is also accepted at the
international level especially in the use of computer.

Question 3.
What do you mean by Vedanga?
Answer:
Vedanga means ‘anga’ or say limbs of Veda. In total there are six Vedangas.
The way the limbs protect and support the body, the Vedangas project and
preserve the Vedas. Vedangas developed towards the end of Vedic period to
teach people the content and theories of Vedas in simpler language. The
Vedangas were part of the ancient vedic education system which aimed at
promoting an all round development of the students along with a better
understanding of Vedas. The literature formed of six Vedangas consists
information about religious practices and rituals, grammer, astrology and
astronomy.

Question 4.
What is Tripitaka?
Answer:
Tripitaka means the three sections of Buddhist literature. The three sections of
Tripitaka consists of

1. Sukta Pitaka,
2. Vinaya Pitaka and
3. Abhidhamma Pitaka.
The earlier Buddhist literature was written in Pali language.

Question 5.
Enlist the famous works of Kalidas and Banabhatt.
Answer:
Famous works of Kalidas: Kalidas Kumarsambhava, Raghu-vansham,
Meghdoot, Abhigyan Shankuntalam and Rutusambhar are highly renowned
for their beautiful poetic and dramatic style.

Famous works of Banabhatt:

Kadambari and ‘Harshacharit’ (the biography of King Harsha) were written
during the Gupta period.

Question 6.
Write a short note on the enrichment of Gujarati literature.
Answer:
Work in Gujarati literature existed since the ancient times. With time, Gujarati
language developed and many literary works were composed. Narshin Mehta,
Mirabai, Dayaram, Premhand, Pritam and others were among the most
important persons who made the heritage of Gujarati literature quite
renowned. These people composed beautiful verses, songs, garba, narrative
poems and chhappas, etc. Later, scholars like Narmad, Navalram, Kishorilal
Mashruwala, Mahipatram, Pannalal Patel, Umashanker Joshi, Mahipatram
Ruparam Nilkanth, Goverdhanram Tripathi and other enriched Gujarati
lierature with their works.
Question 7.
How is a classical typical Tamil literary work divided?
Answer:
A classical typical Tamil literary work refers to a group of three different types
of works which includes:

1. ‘Ethutokoi’ (Composition of 8 poems)

2. the Tolkappiyam’ (Grammer) and
3. the ‘Patthuppattu’ (The 10 songs)

Question 8.
Name the famous south Indian poets and their works on Jainism.
Answer:
Poet Pamp composed ‘Adipuran’ and ‘Vikramarjun Vijayant’. The poet Ponna
wrote ‘Shantipuran’ describing the life of 16th Jain tirthankar. The poet Ranna
composed two books, i.e., ‘Ajitnathpuran’ and ‘Gada Yudh.

Question 9.
Write a short note on Amir Khusro and his works.
Answer:
The most outstanding literary figure of the Delhi Sultanate was Amir Khusro.
He was a disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya. He was a poet, historian, mystic saint
and composer of music. He did several works in Persian language. He wrote
‘Ashiqua’, Nah’, Sipiher’, ‘Kiratual Sadayan’, ‘Khazain-ul-Futuh’ and several
works of poetry. He took great pride of his being an Indian and praised India
as the ‘Earthly Paradise’.

He praised India’s flora and fauna, its beauty, its architect, etc. He strongly
believed that in many aspects Hinduism resembled Islam. He considered
‘Hindawali’, the Hindi spoken around the region of Delhi, his mother tonque
and composed many verses in it. He also composed verses in many other
languages. He wrote a number of bilingual quatrains and verses in Hindi and
Persian languages.

Question 10.
Which Bhojpuri and Awadhi literary works were done during the medieval era?
Answer:
Works in Bhojpuri and Awadhi:
During the medieval era, the regional kings gave a great impetus to regional
languages and literature. Bhakti saints started preaching people in local
languages i.e. dialects so that they could understand the preaching. Bhojpuri
and Awadhi were the major dialects during those days. Kabir was one such
great Bhakti saint and poet. The work of Kabir are chiefly composed in
‘Sadhukhadi’. Among them Kabir’s Dohas have become a part of folklore.
Malik Muhammad Jayasi wrote ‘Padmavati’ in Awadhi. Tulsidas wrote
‘Ramcharit Manas’ in Awadhi. There were also many other poets and writers of
Awadhi in this period.

Question 11.
Give a brief idea about the students that studied at Takshashila.
Answer:
Students from all over India and also abroad used to come to Takshashila for
studying. ‘Jivak’, the disciple of Lord Buddha studied Ayurveda at Takshashila.
Chanakya, the writer of ‘Arthashastra’ and the mentor of Chandragupta
Maurya also studied here.

IV. Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
What is Veda? Explain briefly.
Answer:
The word Veda means knowledge. Veda (or Vedas) is a large body of
knowledge texts in the form of verses and hymns that originated in ancient
India. It is composed in Vedic Sanskrit. It is the oldest Sanskrit literature and
also the oldest scripture of Hinduism. Many saints contributed to the addition
of content in the Veda from time to time. Initially, there was only one Veda.
But, with time due to several additions, the Veda became extremely large.
Later, it was divided into four parts.
The four-part of Vedas are:

1. Rigveda
2. Samveda
3. Yajurveda
4. Atharvaveda
Bach Veda was then divided into four sections. These were:

1. Samhita,
2. Brahmana Brahmanical literature,
3. Aranyakas, and
 4. Upanishads.

Question 2.
Give a brief idea of each section in which Veda was divided.
Answer:
(i) Samhita: It is a section of Vedas, consisting of mantras, hymns, prayers, etc.
(ii) Brahmana (Brahmanical literature): The Brahmanas are a collection of
ancient Indian texts with commentaries on the hymns of the four Vedas. Many
Brahmanical epics or say literature were composed to understand the meaning
of Vedic literature.
(iii) Aranyakas: They were texts of those (Aryans) who used to spend the last
phase of life in forests. Aranyakas consisted of literature based on philosophy,
which was the result of the deep thinking of people who spent last days in
forests.
(iv) Upanishads (Vedanta): The Upanishads are commonly referred to as Ved-
anta’ i.e. the end of Veda of say the last chapters or last parts of the Veda. The
Upanishadic literature gives us a vivid description and analysis of the
beginning of the universe, the mysteries of life and death, materialistic and
spiritual world etc. ‘Brihdaranya’ and ‘Chhandogya’ are the earliest of
Upanishads. These are in the form of dialogues. The Muktiko Upanishad tells
that there are 108 Upanishads in total.

Question 3.
Write a short note on the two greatest epic of India.
Answer:
The “Ramayana’ and the “Mahabharata’ are two great Indian epics. The
present form of these epics can be traced back to the second country.
(1) Ramayana: It is the story of Ramchandra (Lord Rama), the king of Ayodhya.
Compared to the Mahabharata, Ramayana is a smaller epic. It narrates many
interesting and adventurous stories.

(2) Mahabharata: It is the world’s largest epic. It has one lakh verses. It is about
the war between Kauravas and Pandavas. Moreover, it also consists of
numerous stories. The Bhagwad Gita is a part of Mahabharata describes deep
philosophical principles. It conveys the message of achieving ‘moksha’ or
salvation through ‘Gyana’, Karma’ and ‘Bhakti’. Both the epics, the Ramayana
and the Mahabharata have been influencing millions of Indians and literature
time and again. They have implanted motivational seeds of sanskaras in the
Indians. Sanskrit literature grew quite a lot during the era of these two great
epics.

Question 4.
Gupta period was known as the golden period for the growth and
development of Sanskrit poems and drams. Give reason.
Answer:
Many great writers like Kalidas, Bhavbhuti, Bharti, Bhartrihari, Banabhatt,
Manghaand others belonged to the Gupta period. These great writers wrote
about political events, romance, allegories, comedies, and philosophy. Among
all, Kalidas is world-famous. His works, Kumarsambhava, Raghuvansham,
Meghdoot, Abhigyan Shankuntalam, and Rutusamhar are highly renowned for
their beautiful poetic and dramatic style.

Another writer Banabhatt wrote the Kadambari and Harshacharit (the

biography of King Harsha) during the Gupta period. Moreover, Bhavbhuti’s
Utter Ramcharit, Bharavi’s ‘Kirataijuniyam’, ‘Vishakhadatta’s Mudra Raksha’,
Sudrak’s ‘Mrichchhkatikam’ and Dandi’s ‘Dashkumarcharita’ are also great
works in Sanskrit tha,t were compiled during the Gupta period. Hence, Gupta
period is called the golden period.

Question 5.
Describe the classical Tamil literature.
Answer:
The four Dravidian languages Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam
developed their own scripts and literature. Out of these four, Tamil is the
oldest and it belongs to early centuries of the Christian era. According to Tamil
tradition, sages and poets of three literary fields or say three sangams used to
gather and . recite their compositions. Their works contained themes like
politics, war and love. As a result, the early classical Tamil literature is a group
of three different types of works which includes

1. ‘Ethutokoi’, (composition of 8 poems),

2.  the Tolkappiyam’ (Grammer) and
3. the ‘Patthuppattu’ (The 10 songs). Each of these three works belonged
to people of three different ‘sangams’ i.e. literary fields. The
‘Shilppadikaram’ and the ‘Manimekhalai are some of the most famous
works of early Tamil literature.
Thiruvalluvar wrote the famous ‘Kurai’ which in verse deals with many aspects
of life and religion.

V. Fill in the blanks.

1. …………….. gave a major contribution in the development of language.
2. …………….. Indian scholars divided ancient Indian literature into parts.
3. ……………… India’s most ancient script belongs to civilization which has
not been deciphered.
4. …………….. composed the book ‘Astadhyayi’.
5. Rigveda consists of …………….. verses.
Answer:

1. Script
2. two
3. Harappan,
4. Panini
5. 1028
VI. Write whether the following statements are true or false.
1. ‘Geetgovind’ was created by Jaydeva.
2. Awadhi language is known as the language of Aryans or sages.
3. The Buddhist literature is written in Pali.
4. The most ancient language of Dravidian family is Telugu.
5. Kathasaritsagar was created by Kalhan.
Answer:

1. True
2. False
3. True
4. False
5. False
VII. Arrange the following events as per their time.
1. Varanasi was a famous education center of India.
2. Panini created the grant Ashtadhyayi.
3. Fa-Hien visited Takshashila University.
4. Vallabhi was an education center of Gujarat.
5. Urdu prose developed in India.
Answer:
(5), (4), (3), (2), (1)
VIII. Match the following.

Answer:

1. (d)
2. (c)
3. (b)
4. (a)