11

NEW EMPIRES AND KINGDOMS

L TEXTBOOK KEYWORDS
Dert shasti: It is Sanskrit word meaning 'in
a
praise of. We know about
Samudragupta, afamous king of Gupta
dynasty, from a long inscription, actually
noem in Sanskrit, composed by his court
a
poet Harisena. This was inscribed on
the Ashokan pillar at Allahabad. This inscription is of a special kind, known as
Drashasti. This prashasti was composed in very long sentences.
Aryavarta: An area of the subcontinent was called Aryavarta. During the reign
of the Gupta specially Samudragupta, the area was under control of nine rulers.
Those nine rulers were defeated by him (i.e., Samudragupta). Their kingdoms
were made a part of Samudragupta's empire.
Dakshinapatha: The southern India (or the Deccan and remote south) was called
Dakshinapatha. The twelve rulers of Dakshinapatha surrendered to Samudragupta
after being defeated and he then allowed them to rule again.
Genealogy: The account of descent from ancestors is called genealogy. Most
prashastis mention the ancestors of the ruler. For example the Allahabad prashasti
mentions Samudragupta's great grandfather, grandfather, father and mother.
5. Hereditary officer: Those officers whose posts are transferred from one generation
to another, is called hereditary officers. Some important administrative posts were

hereditary during the reign of the Guptas. This means that sons succeeded fathers
to these posts. For example, the poet Harishena was a Maha-danda-nayaka or

chief judicial officer, like his father.

duties are
Those persons who are commissioned or appointed to perform public
called officers.
there were military leaders who provided the
6. Samanta: During the Guptas' reign,
needed them. They were not paid regular salaries.
king with troops whenever he of land. They collected revenue from the
Instead some of them received grants
soldiers and horses, and provided equipment for
land and used this to maintain
Samantas. Whenever the ruler was weak,
warfare. These men were known as

Samantas tried to become independent.

number of local assemblies.
of the Pallavas mention a
7. Assembly: The inscriptions
which was an asseembly of Brahmin land owners.
These included the Sabha,
sub-committees, which looked after irrigation,
This assembly functioned through
agricultural operations, local temples, etc. The Ur was a village
making roads,
areas where the land owners were not Brahmins.
assembly found in

101
 8. Nagaram: The Nagaram was an organization of merchants T
BNCR V
these assemblies were controlled by rich and powerful landowriers
and ikely that
kely th.
Many of these local assemblies continued to function for centurieserehant
s.
9. Chandragupta I: Generally, he is accepted as the first great kino
the Gupta dynasty. Many scholars say that he was the real fond

dynasty
10. Napoleon of India: Samudragupta is known as Napoleon (who
vas a
warrior,emperor of France) of India because of his bravery and great
generalshir
11. Chandragupta II (or Vikramaditya): He is known for his justice and
his justice and
administration. He is also known as Vikramaditya. good
12. Fa-Xian or Fahien: The Chinese scholar came to India during the Gupta neet
13. Saketa: The region of Ayodhya.
14. Suvarnabhumi: Myanmar (old name-Burma).
15. Indonesia: Modern country, having three important old
regions-Java,
Sumatra. All three had trade and cultural relations with ancient India.
Bornio
16. Javadip: Java (nowadays part of Indonesia).
17. Kamboja: Cambodia, during ancient times it was a part of Indo-China.
18. Yavanas: The Indian name given to the Greeks and
Romans.
19. The Hunas: A foreign tribe or
invaders from Central Asia, who invaded
during the fifth India
century A.D. Their attack is considered one of the main cause
downfall of the of
Gupta's rule.

I1. NCERT TEXTBOOK EXERCISES

(Pages 120-121)
LET'S RECALL
Q. 1. State whether true or false:
(a) Harishena composed a
prashasti, in praise
(b) The rulers of Aryavarta brought tribute for of Gautamiputra Shri Satakarni.
(c) There were twelve rulers in
Dakshinapatha.
Samudragupta.
(d) Taxila and Madurai were
important centres under the control
(e) Aihole was the capital of the Pallavas. of the Gupta rulers.
(Local assemblies functioned for several centuries in south
Ans. False (b) > True (c)> True (d) » False e )India.
(a)

Q. 2. Mention three authors who wrote about

>
False ( »True
Ans.
Harshavardhana
The following three authors wrote about Harshavardhana: na.
(1) Banabhatta
(2) Xuan Zang (Hien T-Sanga)
(3) Ravikirti
historians that Harshavardhana,
(4) It is claimed by some imself also wrote
some books about
himself and people of his kingdom. rote
(Any three)
 LET'S DISCUSS
5 . What do you think Arvind would have to do if he was acting as
Samudragupta?

Ans. Arvind would have to do the

following things if he
Samudragupta
was acting as

1) He had to march solemnly in splendid robes, to twirl his moustaches and wield
the silver-paper Wrapped sword with gusto.
2)He had to sit on throne and play a veena, and recite poetry.
(3) He had to fight several battles.
4) He had to keep and help Harishena, a poet of Sanskrit in his court.
Q. 6. Do you think ordinary people would have read and understood the
Drashastis? Give for your answer.
reasons

Ans. I think ordinary people would have not read and understood
the prashastis because
which the prashastis were written.
they were illiterate and did not know Sanskrit in
 LET'S DDO

genealogy for yourself, the ne

who a r e the people you
7. 1f you had to make
a
Q.
generations would you
like to show? Make
a show? you
would include in it? How many chart
and fil1 it.
would like to include the
he fal
following
Ans. IfI had to make a genealogy for myself, I
persons in it:

1) Name of my great grandfather.

(2) Name of my grandfather.
(3) Name of my father and mother.
(4) The name/names of son or sons.

(5) The name/names of my grandchildren.

I would like to show the following five generations:
(1) Great Grandfather
(2) Grandfather
(3) Parents
(4) My own name

(5) Names of my son and grandson.

Q. 8. How do you think wars affect the lives of ordinary people today?
Ans. Today wars affect the lives of ordinary people today in the following ways:
(1) They are killed in a large number.

(2) Their property-houses, shops etc. are destroyed.

(3) Wars create violence and disturbances in the society.

(4)Development projects and welfare works undertaken by the governnment for welfare
and benefit of the people are disturbed and postponed.

(5) Wars waste economic and other resources. Government generally imposed more

taxes on the people.

 CHOICE QUESTIONS
Iv. MULTIPLE

Choose the correct answer

known a s Guptas?
Who w a s the famous ruler ofa dynasty
(a) Chandragupta Samudragupta

(c) Ashoka (d) Sidhartha

NEEWMP

does the term Prashasti' belong?

To
hich language
2.
(a) English (b) Hindi
o Sanskrit (d) Tamil

3. What was the meaning of Kumar-amatya?

(a Minister (b) Chief banker
(c) Scribe (d) Judicial officer

4. Who wrote the biography of Harshavardhana?

(a) Surender Sharma (b) Amir Khusro
(c)-Banbhatta (d) None of these

5. Who tried to cross Narmada to march into Deccan?

(a) Harshavardhana (b) Banbhatta
(c) Sidhartha (d) Ashoka