NCERT 6 HISTORY CHAPTER 5

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 5. KINGDOMS, KINGS AND EARLY REBUBLIC


  • Around 3000 years ago, new kinds of rajas emerged, performed sacrifices (Horse sacrifice / Ashvamedha - one such rituals)
     VARNAS
  • Priests divided people into four groups
  • Brahmins - expected to study and teach the vedas
  • Kshatriyas - expected to fight battles and protect people
  • Vish / Vaishyas - expected to be farmers, herders and traders
  • Shudras - to serve the other three groups, later they treated some as untouchable(those who perform burials and cremations)
  • Non-acceptance : Kings thought that they were superior to Brahmins, some felt that birth and occupation should not be the basis, some felt everybody can perform rituals and condemned untouchability
     JANAPADAS
  • Janapada - the land where jana (people) settled down
  • Settlements found at Purana Qila in Delhi, Hastinapura near Meerut and Atranjikhera near Etah in Uttar Pradesh
  • one special type of pottery - Painted Grey Ware(plates and bowls - for important people to serve special food)
     MAHAJANAPADAS
  • 16 Mahajanapadas - Anga, Assaka, Avanti, Chedi, Gandhara, Kamboja, Kashi, Kosala, Kuru, Magadha, Malla, Matsya, Panchala, Surasena, Vajji, Vatsa/ Vamsa
  • more important Janapadas (about 2500 years ago) had fortified capital city, Kings maintained armies and used Punch marked coins
  • Forts - built for Protection, to show how rich and powerful, people can be controlled easily
  • Kaushambi fortification wall - built about 2500 years ago (Uttar Pradesh)
     TAXES
  • To maintain all these, they need resources(taxes)
  • Bhaga or a share, (1/6 th of the produce) from the farmers 
  • in the form of labour - craft persons had to work for a day every month
  • in the form of animals and animal produce - herders 
  • in the form of forest produce - hunter and gatherers
     CHANGES IN AGRICULTURE
  • use of iron ploughshare instead of wooden ploughshare
  • they planted paddy instead of scattering seeds 
  • these were done by slave men and women (dasas and dasis) and landless labourers (Kammakaras) 
     MAGADHA
  • Most important Mahajanapada
  • Capital - Rajagriha (Rajgir) later to Pataliputra
  • River Ganga and Son - transport water supplies, fertile land, forests, elephants trained for army, iron mines to make strong tools and weapons
  • Rulers - Bimbisara, Ajatasattu and Mahapadma Nanda
  • Ruler Alexander(>2300 years ago),conquered parts of Egypt and West Asia and reached only upto banks of Beas
  • His soldiers refused to march further, heard that Indian rulers had vast armies of foot soldiers, chariots and elephants
      VAJJI 
  • Different form of government, ganas(group of members) or sanghas (organisation of rulers)
  • Both Buddha and Mahavira belonged to ganas or sanghas 
  • lasted till about 1500 years ago, the last ganas or sanghas were conquered by Gupta rulers
  • Digha Nikaya, famous Buddhist book, written about 2300 years ago, contains some of the speeches of the Buddha


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