Who were the groups who could not participate in the assemblies of the ganas?

Why do you think ordinary men and women did not generally keep records of what they did?

Read the story on page 122. In what ways is the monkey king similar to or different from the kings you read about in Chapters 5 and 10?

What kind of evidence from burials do archaeologists use to find out whether there were social differences amongst those who were buried?

What were the new administrative arrangements during this period?

Match the following:

Narmada Valley                       The first big kingdom
Magadha                                 Hunting and gathering
Garo                                        hills Cities about 2500 years ago
Indus and its tributaries           Early agriculture
Ganga Valley                          The first cities

What changes do you find in the army at this time?

What were the means adopted by Ashoka to spread the message of dhamma?

What were the problems that Ashoka wanted to solve by introducing dhamma?

Describe the functions of the gramabhojaka. Why do you think he was powerful?

Why did kings want to control the Silk Route?

What kinds of evidence do historians use to find out about trade and trade routes?

Fill in the blanks:
(a) ———————— was a word used for large landowners in Tamil.
(b) The gramabhojaka often got his land cultivated by the ————————
(c) Ploughmen were known as ———————— in Tamil.
(d) Most grihapatis were ———————— landowners.

In what ways are present-day elections different from the ways in which rulers were chosen in janapadas?

Why do you think ordinary men and women did not generally keep records of what they did?

Make a list of the occupations of the people who lived within the Mauryan empire.

What were the new administrative arrangements during this period?

What were the main features of Bhakti?

Find out more and tell a story from one of the epics.

What were the means adopted by Ashoka to spread the message of dhamma?

1. State whether true or false:
(a) Harishena composed a prashasti in praise of Gautamiputra Shri Satakarni.
(b) The rulers of Aryavarta brought tribute for Samudragupta.
(c) There were twelve rulers in Dakshinapatha.

(d) Taxila and Madurai were important centres under the control of the Gupta rulers.
(e) Aihole was the capital of the Pallavas.
(f) Local assemblies functioned for several centuries in south India.