manav mangal school

Class : VI
Subject : Social Science (History)
Chapter 8: The First Empire: The Mauryas

A. DEFINE THE FOLLOWING:

1. Empire : An Empire is a state or group of states under the authority of a single ruler.

2. Dynasty : A series of rulers belonging to the same family.

3. Coronation : The ceremony of crowning a king, queen or other sovereign.

4. Emperor : A sovereign ruler of an Empire.

5. Inscriptions : These are writings or texts carved on solid objects such as pillars, walls,
temples, forts, caves, palaces and stone or copper tablets.

6. Ambassador : An accredited diplomat sent by a state as its permanent representative in a

foreign country.

7. Ahimsa : It means respect for all living things and avoidance of violence towards
others.

8. Monasteries : A building or buildings occupied by a community of monks living under

religious vows.

B. SHORT ANSWERS:
1. Who was the founder of the Mauryan Empire?
Ans. Chandragupta Maurya

2. Which dynasty replaced the Nanda dynasty?

Ans. Mauryan dynasty

3. Who was Chanakya?

Ans. He was an Indian philosopher, teacher and royal advisor of Chandragupta Maurya.

4. Name the book written by Chanakya.

Ans. Arthashastra

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5. Who was Megasthenes?
Ans. Megasthenes was the ambassador of Seleucus in the court of Chandragupta Maurya.

6. Which book was written by Megasthenes?

Ans. Indika

7. Who was Seleucus Nicator?

Ans. The Greek general

8. Who adopted the policy of ahimsa?

Ans. Ashoka

9. Whose teachings inspired Ashoka?

Ans. Buddha’s teachings inspired Ashoka.

10. What are our main sources of knowledge about Ashoka?

Ans. The edicts of Ashoka

11. Why did Ashoka tour his Empire?

Ans. Ashoka toured his Empire to make sure that people in his kingdom were happy.

12. Who assisted the king during the Mauryan administration?

Ans. Council of Ministers

13. What is the ancient name of modern Patna?

Ans. Pataliputra

14. Which war made Ashoka to devote the rest of his life to non-violence?
Ans. Kalinga war

15. What was the ancient name of coastal Orissa?

Ans. Kalinga

16. Name a gateway to the Northwest including Central Asia.

Ans. Taxila

17. When did Ashoka finally attack Kalinga?

Ans. In 261 BCE

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18. Name the countries where Ashoka sent his messengers to spread Dhamma.
Ans. Syria, Egypt, Greece and Sri Lanka

19. Who was Alexander?

Ans. Alexander was the great king of Macedonia, who wanted to conquer India for its wealth.

20. How did Alexander’s invasion help Chandragupta Maurya in expanding his empire?
Ans. Alexander’s invasion weakened the smaller kingdoms in northern India and paved the way
for Chandragupta to conquer them and expand his empire.

21. Why was the Great Wall of China constructed?

Ans. The Great Wall of China was constructed to protect the northern frontiers of the empire
from the pastoral people.

22. Name three important rulers of Maurya dynasty.

Ans. i. Chandragupta Maurya
ii. Bindusara
iii. Ashoka

C. ANSWER IN DETAIL:
1. List out the principles of Ashoka's Dhamma.
Ans. Main principles of Ashoka's Dhamma were:
i. To respect and obey parents, teachers and elders.
ii. To be polite and kind to youngsters, dependents, slaves and subordinates.
iii. To practice ahimsa or non violence and abstain from killing or injuring any living
being.
iv. To be tolerant towards others sects or religions.
v. To give money to the poor and education to the illiterate.
vi. To have a truthful, honest, pure and simple life.

2. What were the effects of the Kalinga war on Ashoka?

Ans. The effects of Kalinga war on Ashoka:
i. The death, destruction and suffering of the people at the battlefield filled Ashoka's
heart with sorrow.
ii. In this war lakhs of people were killed and wounded, the sight of such a carnage
and massacre of human lives made a deep impression on Ashoka's mind.
iii. He was shocked at what he had done and decided not to fight any more wars and
became a Buddhist.
iv. He adopted the policy of non violence or ahimsa and decided to devote the rest of
his life to spread ‘Dhamma’.

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3. What is the importance of Ashoka's edicts and inscriptions?
Ans. Importance of Ashoka's edicts and inscriptions:
i. They help us to form an idea about the extent of Ashoka's Empire .
ii. Through the edits, we come to know about his religious beliefs and religious
tolerance.
iii. We get a glimpse of Ashoka's personal qualities and character.
iv. The edicts and pillars of Ashoka are excellent specimens of Mauryan art.
v. They also tell us about his friendly relations with other countries.

4. Explain the administration of Pataliputra.

Ans. Administration of Pataliputra:
i. The area around Pataliputra was under the direct control of the emperor and it was
very well organized.
ii. There was a committee of 30 people divided into 6 groups looking after the
different departments .
iii. The Nagarika or the city governor looked after the law and order and cleanliness of
the city.
iv. Land revenue was the main source of income, other sources of income were mines,
forests, custom duties and fines.
iv. The money collected through taxes was used for maintaining the army, salaries of
government officials and welfare activities. Spies kept a watch on the officials.

5. Describe the welfare measures undertaken by Ashoka in his Kingdom.

Ans. Welfare measures undertaken by Ashoka:
i. He built good roads and got trees planted along the road.
ii. Public gardens with medicinal plants were developed so that the public could
benefit from them.
iii. He built many hospitals for people as well as animals.
iv. He constructed wells, rest houses for the travellers and monasteries for the monks.
v. He himself toured his empire to make sure that people in his kingdom were happy.

6. Mention the steps taken by Ashoka to spread Dhamma .

Ans. Ashoka took the following steps to spread Dhamma :
i. He himself set an example by following dhamma in daily life as he gave up
hunting and eating meat.
ii. Ashoka got his messages inscribed on rocks and pillars in different parts of his
empire and instructed his officials to read the message to those who could not read
it themselves.
iii. For his edits, he used Pali, the language of the common people at that time.
iv. He appointed officials, known as the dhamma mahamatras who went from place to
place teaching people about dhamma.
v. He sent messengers to spread ideas about dhamma to other lands. He sent his own
son and daughter to Sri Lanka to spread Buddhism.
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7. What were the causes of the decline of the Mauryan Empire ?
Ans. Causes of the decline of the Mauryan Empire:
i. Ashoka’s Successors were weak and were unable to control such a vast Empire.
ii. Large grants given to Buddhist monks and huge expenses on the army and
administration emptied the royal treasury.
iii. The Brahmanas went against Ashoka because of his criticism of rituals and
sacrifices.
iv. Distance from the central capital Pataliputra encouraged the provincial governors
to behave independently.

D. MAP WORK:
On the political map of India mark the following:
i. The state invaded by Ashoka: Kalinga( modern Orissa)
ii. Capital of Ashoka: Pataliputra

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