The following is an excerpt from the Mah | Class 12 History - Themes in Indian History - I Chapter Kinship, Caste and Class, Kinship, Caste and Class NCERT Solutions

In what ways was the Buddhist theory of a social contract different from the Brahmanical view of society derived from the Purusha sukta?

This is what a famous historian of Indian literature, Maurice Winternitz, wrote about the Mahabharata: “just because the Mahabharata represents more of an entire literature ... and contains so much and so many kinds of things, … (it) gives(s) us an insight into the most profound depths of the soul of the Indian folk.” Discuss.

Compare and contrast the dharma or norms mentioned in the stories of Drona, Hidimba and Matanga.

Explain why patriliny may have been particularly important among elite families.

Discuss whether the Mahabharata could have been the work of a single author.

Discuss the evidence that suggests that Brahmanical prescriptions about kinship and marriage were not universally followed.

Discuss whether kings in early states were invariably Kshatriyas.

How important were gender differences in early societies? Give reasons for your answer.

How do historians reconstruct the lives of ordinary people?

Look at Fig. 1.30 and describe what you see. How is the body placed? What are the objects placed near it? Are there any artefacts on the body? Do these indicate the sex of the skeleton?

On Map 1, use a pencil to circle sites where evidence of agriculture has been recovered. Mark an X against sites where there is evidence of craft production and R against sites where raw materials were found.

Describe the salient features of mahajanapadas.

Describe some of the distinctive features of Mohenjodaro.

This is a statement made by one of the best-known epigraphists of the twentieth century, D.C. Sircar: “There is no aspect of life, culture and activities of the Indians that is not reflected in inscriptions.” Discuss.

Discuss the role of the begums of Bhopal in preserving the stupa at Sanchi.

Discuss how and why stupas were built.

Discuss the main features of Mauryan administration. Which of these elements are evident in the Asokan inscriptions that you have studied?

Discuss the evidence of craft production in Early Historic cities. In what ways is this different from the evidence from Harappan cities?

List the items of food available to people in Harappan cities. Identify the groups who would have provided these.

Discuss how and why stupas were built.

Discuss the role of the begums of Bhopal in preserving the stupa at Sanchi.

List the materials used to make beads in the Harappan civilisation. Describe the process by which any one kind of bead was made.

List some of the problems faced by epigraphists.

Describe some of the distinctive features of Mohenjodaro.

Describe the salient features of mahajanapadas.

Read this short inscription and answer:

In the year 33 of the maharaja Huvishka (a Kushana ruler), in the first month of the hot season on the eighth day, a Bodhisatta was set up at Madhuvanaka by the bhikkhuni Dhanavati, the sister’s daughter of the bhikkhuni Buddhamita, who knows the Tipitaka, the female pupil of the bhikkhu Bala, who knows the Tipitaka, together with her father and mother.

(a) How did Dhanavati date her inscription?
(b) Why do you think she installed an image of the Bodhisatta?
(c) Who were the relatives she mentioned?
(d) What Buddhist text did she know?
(e) From whom did she learn this text?

Discuss the functions that may have been performed by rulers in Harappan society.

List the raw materials required for craft production in the Harappan civilisation and discuss how these might have been obtained.