Class 12 History - Themes in Indian History - II - Chapter An Imperial Capital Vijayanagara NCERT Solutions | What do you think was the significance o

Fig. 7.33 is an illustration of another pillar from the Virupaksha temple. Do you notice any floral motifs? What are the animals shown? Why do you think they are depicted? Describe the human figures shown.

How were the water requirements of Vijayanagara met?

On an outline map of the world, mark approximately Italy, Portugal, Iran and Russia. Trace the routes the travellers mentioned on p.176 would have taken to reach Vijayanagara.

Discuss whether the term “royal centre” is an appropriate description for the part of the city for which it is used.

What does the architecture of buildings like the Lotus Mahal and elephant stables tell us about the rulers who commissioned them?

What impression of the lives of the ordinary people of Vijayanagara can you cull from the various descriptions in the chapter?

What do you think were the advantages and disadvantages of enclosing agricultural land within the fortified area of the city?

What have been the methods used to study the ruins of Hampi over the last two centuries? In what way do you think they would have complemented the information provided by the priests of the Virupaksha temple?

What are the architectural traditions that inspired the architects of Vijayanagara? How did they transform these traditions?

Write a note on the Kitab-ul-Hind.

What are the problems in using the Ain as a source for reconstructing agrarian history? How do historians deal with this situation?

Explain with examples what historians mean by the integration of cults.

Describe the process of manuscript production in the Mughal court.

Compare and contrast the perspectives from which Ibn Battuta and Bernier wrote their accounts of their travels in India.

To what extent is it possible to characterise agricultural production in the sixteenth-seventeenth centuries as subsistence agriculture? Give reasons for your answer.

To what extent do you think the architecture of mosques in the subcontinent reflects a combination of universal ideals and local traditions?

In what ways would the daily routine and special festivities associated with the Mughal court have conveyed a sense of the power of the emperor?

Discuss the picture of urban centres that emerges from Bernier’s account.

Describe the role played by women in agricultural production.

What were the distinctive features of the Mughal nobility? How was their relationship with the emperor shaped?

On an outline map of India, plot three major sufi shrines, and three places associated with temples (one each of a form of Vishnu, Shiva and the goddess).

Read this excerpt from Bernier:

Numerous are the instances of handsome pieces of workmanship made by persons destitute of tools, and who can scarcely be said to have received instruction from a master. Sometimes they imitate so perfectly articles of European manufacture that the difference between the original and copy can hardly be discerned. Among other things, the Indians make excellent muskets, and fowling- pieces, and such beautiful gold ornaments that it may be doubted if the exquisite workmanship of those articles can be exceeded by any European goldsmith. I have often admired the beauty, softness, and delicacy of  their paintings.

List the crafts mentioned in the passage. Compare
these with the descriptions of artisanal activity in
the chapter.

To what extent do you think caste was a factor in influencing social and economic relations in agrarian society?

To what extent do you think the visual material presented in this chapter corresponds with Abu’l Fazl’s description of the taswir (Source 1)?

Analyse, with illustrations, why bhakti and sufi thinkers adopted a variety of languages in which to express their opinions.

Do you think Ibn Battuta’s account is useful in arriving at an understanding of life in contemporary urban centres? Give reasons for your answer.

Examine the evidence that suggests that land revenue was important for the Mughal fiscal system.

Discuss the major features of Mughal provincial administration. How did the centre control the provinces?

Examine how and why rulers tried to establish connections with the traditions of the Nayanars and the sufis.