The following is an excerpt from the Mahabharata, in which Yudhisthira, the eldest Pandava, speaks to Sanjaya, a messenger:
Sanjaya, convey my respectful greetings to all the Brahmanas and the chief priest of the house of Dhritarashtra. I bow respectfully to teacher Drona ... I hold the feet of our preceptor Kripa ... (and) the chief of the Kurus, the great Bhishma. I bow respectfully to the old king (Dhritarashtra). I greet and ask after the health of his son Duryodhana and his younger brother ... Also greet all the young Kuru warriors who are our brothers, sons and grandsons ... Greet above all him, who is to us like father and mother, the wise Vidura (born of a slave woman) ... I bow to the elderly ladies who are known as our mothers. To those who are our wives you say this, “I hope they are well-protected”... Our daughters-in-law born of good families and mothers of children greet on my behalf. Embrace for me those who are our daughters ... The beautiful, fragrant, well-dressed courtesans of ours you should also greet. Greet the slave women and their children, greet the aged, the maimed (and) the helpless ...
Try and identify the criteria used to make this list – in terms of age, gender, kinship ties. Are there any other criteria? For each category, explain why they are placed in a particular position in the list.
Not only age, gender and kinship ties but there were other factors too which were considered to prepare the list. The Brahmana, the Purohits and the Gums were bestowed the highest honours. They all were widely respected. Fraternal kins were also given respects who were considered like parents. People who were of equal age or younger were placed at the third rank. In the next order, the young Kuru warriors were respected.Women also received their due place. Wives, mothers, daughters-in-law and daughters came in this order. Orphans and handicapped had also been taken care of. Yudhisthira also greets them.
Discuss whether the Mahabharata could have been the work of a single author.
How do historians reconstruct the lives of ordinary people?
Discuss whether kings in early states were invariably Kshatriyas.
How important were gender differences in early societies? Give reasons for your answer.
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.
Discuss the evidence that suggests that Brahmanical prescriptions about kinship and marriage were not universally followed.
Describe some of the distinctive features of Mohenjodaro.
Describe the salient features of mahajanapadas.
Were the ideas of the Upanishadic thinkers different from those of the fatalists and materialists? Give reasons for your answer.
To what extent were agricultural practices transformed in the period under consideration?
Figs. 4.32 and 4.33 are two scenes from Sanchi. Describe what you see in each of them, focusing on the architecture, plants and animals, and the activities. Identify which one shows a rural scene and which an urban scene, giving reasons for your answer.
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?
Discuss whether kings in early states were invariably Kshatriyas.
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.
Describe the salient features of mahajanapadas.
Discuss whether the Mahabharata could have been the work of a single author.
Explain why patriliny may have been particularly important among elite families.
List the materials used to make beads in the Harappan civilisation. Describe the process by which any one kind of bead was made.
Discuss how and why stupas were built.