Social Science

ALLEN

Buildings, Paintings and Books

"India under its various

rulers progressed singficantly
in the fields of art, literature,
science and education. The
kings often created buildings
in the form of forts, stupas
and temples to commemorate
events and to exert their
supremacy over the people."

N
24.1 Introduction

E
The most enduring legacy of ancient India is the rich tradition of culture,
art and architecture, literature, sculpture, science and mathematics that

L
we have inherited from our ancestors.
24.2 Literature

L
(a) Writings in Sanskrit:
• Sanskrit is the forerunner of a large number of India languages. Several
works of religious and literary significance were written in this language,
for instance, the Vedas.

A
• The Rig Veda, which is the earliest known body of literature in Sanskrit,
is a collection of prayers offered to various gods like Varuna, Agni and
Surya.
• The Vedas also give detailed descriptions of the geography of the land
and the flora and fauna of the time. The other Vedas that followed are
the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda and the Atharva Veda.
• Apart from these, there are the Vedangas, the Aranyakas and
CBSE-2021\Module\Foundation\SET-2\6th\SST-4\24_Buildings, Paintings and Books.p65

Ramayana and the Mahabharata, are the religious cornerstones of the

faith of Hindus even today.
• The Bhagavat Gita is a part of the Mahabharata which continues to be
studied by scholars even today. In Indonesia, both the Ramayana and
the Mahabharata are studied in many universities.
• There are 18 main Puranas, which deal with myths legends, religious
rites and customs. Law books or Smritis were also written, such as the
Manusmriti, which laid down laws for society.
Fig.1 Rig Veda
• The Sanskrit grammarian Panini wrote the Ashtadhyayi Panini- a
masterful study of Sanskrit grammar. Another great grammarian,
Patanjali, wrote the Mahabhashya– a commentary on the Ashtadhyayi.
• An old surviving work of Sanskrit poetry is Ashvaghosa's Buddhacharita,
which narrates the life story of Buddha.

21
CBSE : Class VI
Fig.2 Cover Page of Bhagavad Gita
THE
SPOT P 24.3 Mauryan Art
LIGHT
During the ancient period there were
many famous and important centers
of learning in India- Taxila and
Nalanda , where thousands of
students from all over studied
different subjects.
A Fig.3 The ground plan of the Karle Chaitya hall– the half-ellipsodial shape of
Fig.4 An image of the Buddha
from Mathura.
22
ALLEN
• The most outstanding poet of the Gupta period was Kalidasa. His works,
like the Abhigyanshakuntalam, Meghadutam and Ritusamharam are
known for the rich quality of their poetry.
• The Panchatantra is a well-known collection of fables originally written
in Sanskrit. The stories contain moral messages especially of relevance
to kings and rulers.
(b) Writings in Pali and Prakrit: The language most commonly used by the
common people during the ancient period was Pali. Several Buddhist
religious texts were written in Pali. Jain teachings were later compiled into
the Purvas and the Angas (sections). They were written in Prakrit. The
Tripitakas, i.e., the Sutta Pitaka, the Abhidhamma Pitaka and the Vinaya
Pitaka, are three important Buddhist texts that contain the teachings of
Buddha. They are known as Sutras in Sanskrit and Suttas in Pali. The
Dhammapada is a collection of Buddhist verses. The Jataka Tales is a large
collection of fables and their characters are mainly talking animals. Most of
N
the stories deal with previous births of Buddha and usually carry a moral.
E
(a) Cave Temples: Cave temples were made out of rock for prayer and to
house Buddhist monks. The earliest example from the Ashokan period is
Barabar Caves near Gaya. Monasteries or Viharas also sprang up in various
L
parts of India. They housed a number of monks. Sometimes a cave monastery
proved too small to house all the monks. And so, a complex of caves grew
L
over centuries. The complex of caves at Ajanta, near Aurangabad, is the
best example of this type of architecture. Exquisite paintings and splendid
sculptures can be found here.
the chaitya is characteristic of almost all Buddhist chaityas of ancient India.
CBSE-2021\Module\Foundation\SET-2\6th\SST-4\24_Buildings, Paintings and Books.p65
(b) Stupas: After the death of Buddha, his body was cremated and the remains
were divided among his followers. These relics or remains of Buddha (and
those of other respected monks) were placed in sealed caskets and kept in
small chambers. Over these chambers, hemispherical domes were built.
These domes are called stupas. Over a period of time, wooden railings (later
replaced by stone railings) were built around the stupas. Gateways were
added at the four cardinal points of direction (east, west, north and south).
Intricate carvings on the railings and gateways narrated stories from the
life of the Buddha. Some of the finest stupas are those at Sanchi in Madhya
Pradesh and Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh.
 Social Science
ALLEN

Fig.5 Interior of the rock-cut chaitya at Karle

CHECK YOUR LEARNING 24.1

Fig.6 Mahabalipuram-Shore-Temple
1. Match the books with tyheir respective authors

N
A. Panchatantra p. Panini

B. Mrichchakatikam q. Sudraka
THE
P

E
C. Abhigyan Shakuntalam r. Kalidasa SPOT
D. Ashtadhyayi s. Vishnu Sharma LIGHT

L
A structural temple is one that is built
(c) Temples: The earliest surviving temples are from the Gupta period. Simple, with block of cut stone, unlike
small and with flat roofs, they are neither ornate nor elegant. The brick monolithic or rock-cut temples, which

L
temple at Bhitargaon in Kanpur and the temple at Deogarh near Jhansi are carved out as a single unit from
are important ruins from this time. Shore Temples is one of the earliest surrounding rock.
examples of structural architecture in India. The rathas are rock-cut
structures. The Pallavas also built the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchipuram

A
in the 8th century AD. The Chalukyas built numerous temples at Aihole,
Badami and Pattadikal (in Karnataka). Both the North and the South Indian
temples had some features in common. The heart of the temple was the
main shrine-room or the garbhagriha, where the main idol was placed.
Above the garbhagriha was a shikhara or tower.

(d) Sculpture: After the figure of the dancing girl and the priest-king, the
earliest examples of sculpture are from the Ashokan pillars. These pillars
CBSE-2021\Module\Foundation\SET-2\6th\SST-4\24_Buildings, Paintings and Books.p65

were made of sandstone and were so highly polished that they shine to this
day. These pillars had life-like figures of animals carved on their capitals.
The lion capital at Sarnath is India's national emblem today. During the reign
of the Kushanas, several striking sculptures, mainly of Buddha, were created.
Under the influence of the Greeks two schools of sculpture evolved in
northern India- the Gandhara Buddhas had Greek features and were made
of grey sandstone. The Mathura School of art preferred to use red sandstone
and the statues of Buddha were smaller with Indian features.

(e) Paintings: Paintings was a well-developed art in ancient India. The realistic
cave paintings at Ajanta and Ellora depict scenes from the life of Buddha Fig.7 Lion capital at Sarnath
and the Jataka Tales. Vegetable dyes were used. At the Jain cave temple
complex at Sittanavasal in Tamil Nadu, there are colourful paintings on
the walls and ceiling.

23
CBSE : Class VI
Fig.9 Aryabhatta
A
THE
SPOT P knowledge of mathematics to have built the well-planned cities they did.
LIGHT
The concept of zero : The earliest
inscription of zero was a record on
the Sankheda Copper Plate found in
Gujarat (AD 585-586). this paved
the way for the decimal system,
which simplified counting and
calculations. Arab traders took this
system and Indian knowledge and
skills with them to the West. Over a
period of time, the Indian decimal
system came to be known as the
Arabic number system.
24
ALLEN
Carving on the stupa at Amaravati The Shore Temple, Mamallapuram
Fig.8
(f) Music and Dance: Music, as we know it today, is believed to have its origin
in the chanting of the hymns of the Sama Veda. Later, in the 1st century
BC, a textbook on dance, drama and music was compiled. This is attributed
to Bharata and is called the Bharatanatyashastra. From this common source
emerged the Carnatic and Hindustani music traditions and dance systems
of later times. Musical instruments like the veena, flute and drum were used
N
in ancient India.
(g) Science: In ancient times, science and religion were linked. Planets and
their movements were observed and studied. Aryabhatta and Varahamihira
E
were two outstanding scholars of astronomy. Aryabhatta is believed to have
discovered the causes of solar and lunar eclipses. He is one of the earliest
to have realized that the Earth revolved around the Sun and not the other
L
way round. He also estimated the circumference of the earth. Varahamihira
explained the movements of the planets. Bhaskaracharya knew about gravity
about 1200 years ago and wrote down his findings in the Suryasiddhanta.
L
The extraction of metals, the making of dyes and pigments, the making of
rust-proof iron and the extraction of sugar were successfully carried out.
The iron pillar in Delhi has been standing in the open for more than 1600
years without rusting. It is made of wrought iron, a very pure form of iron.
CHECK YOUR A NSWERS 24.1
1. A-s, B-q, C-r, D-p
(h) Mathematics: The people of the Indus Valley must have had some
They also had a uniform and accurate system of weights and measures.
Later, the Aryans needed to do mathematical calculations for their vedic
rituals. Vedic mathematics dealt with arithmetic, geometry and algebra. The
CBSE-2021\Module\Foundation\SET-2\6th\SST-4\24_Buildings, Paintings and Books.p65
greatest contribution to mathematics by India has been the idea of zero and
decimal system.
(i) Medical sciences: Impressive advances were made in ancient India in
medicine, especially in the fields of plastic surgery, removal of cataracts
and dental surgery. Sushruta was a great surgeon of that time. Ayurveda is
a branch of medicine that relies on herbal medicines to cure illness. Charaka,
who wrote the Charakasamhita, was one of the first physicians to state that
diseases are caused when the balance in the human body is disturbed. Today
ayurvedic medicine is practiced throughout the world. Another major
contribution of ancient Indian to the world was the practice of yoga. Yoga is
a system of exercises for both physical and mental health. Patanjali prepared
the fundamental of yoga as early as the 2nd century BC.
 Social Science
ALLEN
NCERT QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS
1. Match the following. 4. Find out more and tell a story from one of the epics.
Column I Column II Ans. The Ramayana contains the story of Hanuman and
(A) Stupa (p) Mound. other monkeys. They promised to help Ram in his
(B) Shikhara (q) Satavahana search of Sita. Hanuman had special powers which
(C) Mandapa (r) Place in temples enableshim to reach Sri Lanka, inspite of many
where p eople difficulties. He found the whereabouts of Sita,who
could assemble. was kept in Ashok Vatika by Ravan. He also set
(D) Garbhagriha (s) Place where the Lanka on fire. He also brought sanjivini herbs to
image of deity is
treat Lakshman.He served Ram as a his faithful
installed.
and devoted follower.
(E) Pradakshina (t) Circular p ath
Patha around the stupa. 5. List some steps that can be taken to make buildings
and monuments accessible to differently abled
Ans. (a) Stupa – Mound.
people.
(b) Shikhara – Tower.

N
Ans. The steps to make buildings and monuments
(c) Mandapa – Place in temples where accessible to differently abled people are:
people could assemble. (a) Construction of a ramp.

E
(d) Garbhagriha – Place where the image of (b) The steps can be renovated, so that people may
deity is installed. not fall on the slippery ground.
(c) Railing can be placed on the side walls of the
(e) Pradakshina Patha – Circular path around the

L
staircase.
stupa.
(d) Proper lighting system.
2. Fill in the blanks. 6. Try and list as many uses of paper as you can.

L
Ans. (a) Aryabhata was great astronomer. Ans. Paper can be used in many ways:
(b) Stories about goods and goddesses are found (a) It is used as a writing material,books,
in the epics. newspapers, etc.

A
(c) Valmiki is recognised as the authwor of the
sanskrit Ramayana.
(d) Sitappadikar and Manimekalai are two Tamil
epics.
3. Make a list of the chapter in which you find mention
of metal working. What are the metals objects
mentioned or shown in those chapters?
CBSE-2021\Module\Foundation\SET-2\6th\SST-4\24_Buildings, Paintings and Books.p65
(b) It is used for wrapping goods and small articles.
(c) It can be used as a packing material.
(d) In case there is an emergency and war-like
situation, people are advised to cover the
window panes with paper.
(e) Corrugated sheets made of paper can be made
into boxes for carrying goods.
7. If you could visit any one of the places described in
the chapter, which would you choose and why?

Ans. The chapter are:

Ans. If an get an opportunity to visit any one of these
(a) In the Earliest Cities – Copper was used to
make tools and weapons, gold and silver and
used to make ornaments and vessels.
(b) What book & Burials Tell us – Iron tools and
weapons, ornaments of gold.
(c) Kingdoms, Kings and Early Republic – Iron or
mines.
(d) Vital Villages and Thriving Towns – Iron tools
(e) Traders, Kings, Pilgrims – Gold was given as gift.
(f) Buildings, Paintings And Books – Iron pillar,
gold jewellery.
places, I would plan to go to Mahabalipuram. The
main reasons are:
(a) It is built on the water front, near the Bay of
Bengal.
(b) Both monolithic and structural temples are built
in the same complex.
(c) The beauty of temples cannot be surpassed by
others.
(d) Monolithic temples are skillfully chiseled, hewed
and sculpted.
(e) Most of the temples are intact. They have not
been destroyed by vagaries of time.

27