HISTORY

5. PREHISTORIC PERIOD
Inian, a student of standard six was reading the newspaper. He was astonished. An amazing discovery! An animal called Dinosaur lived many million years ago. The eggs of the Dinosaur were excavated near Ariyalur. They belonged to the prehistoric 'prehistoric period. What is period'?
Can you tell us the history of your family?
1. What is your father's name? 2. What is your grandfather's

The Earlymen

name? 3. What is your great grandfather's name? 4. What is your grandfather's grandfather's name? 5. What is your grandfather's grandfather's father's name?
You can answer the first two questions only. But we don't know the answers to questions such as the names of our grandfather's father and grandfather's grandfather. If this is the case, what are the evidences to find about the people who lived hundred, two hundred, five hundred and thousand years ago. The sources about these are known as History. What is History? History tells about the people who lived in the past with evidences according to the ages.

From where do we get these old things? Who has discovered all these? Read this news and find out. The archaeological excavation has been going on for 100 years in Athichanallur, which is in Tirunelveli District in Tamil Nadu.Recently in 2004,they excavated more than 160 burial urns in one place. This proved that people lived in that place long ago.
The written and archaeological evidences that tell us about the period in which people lived, events, food habits, customs, culture, forms of government and literature are known as historical evidences. History can be divided into pre-history and historical period. Historical period has proof of written evidences and other evidences. The written evidences are literary work, historical notes, stone edicts, copper plates and palm leaves.

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Evidences to know about pre-historic period: To know about the pre-historic period, there are evidences such as the things that belonged to that period, ruins,fossils, horns and bones of animals, tools made of stones, skulls and deposits (impressions) which are found in different places around the world as well as in India. With the help of all these we know about the pre-historic period of India.
The Pre-historic period can be classified

He ate vegetables, fruits, roots and meat of animals which he gathered

from the jungle. Since he could not find food in one place he went from place to place in search of food.

as:
PalaeolithicAge - Old StoneAge

Early men - Making Tools

Words giving the same meaning with little difference :

(BC 10000 years ago) Neolithic Age- New StoneAge (BC 10000 -BC 4000) ChalcolithicAge- Copper Stone Age (BC 3000-BC 1500) Iron Age - IronAge (BC 1500-BC600)
With the help of the tools used by early man, we can divide the stone age into Old stone age and New stone age. 1. Old StoneAge: ( PalaeolithicAge ) He was a nomad. He lived in the jungle. He took shelter on the branches of trees, in holes and caves. He discovered fire by using the flint stone. The primitive man was scared of thunder and lightning and worshipped them. He had to protect himself from cold, Sun and rain. He wore dresses made out of leaves, skin of animals and barks of trees. He used stones, branches of trees, bones and horns of the animals as weapons.

some years ago, many years ago, ancient, long long ago, from time immemorial, primitive.
Era of some important events

>
>

Beginning of the Earth 4.6 Billion years ago Appearance of man - 4000 years ago (Homosepians) Beginning of agriculture-8000 years ago Beginning of the cities 4700 years ago
- Before Christ -Anno Domini - Common Era - Before Common Era - Birth of Thiruvalluvar - Before Thiruvalluvar -After Thiruvalluvar

BC AD CE BCE BC 31 BT AT

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Social Science

Did the primitive man store the food?

Where and how did he store? Did he share?

Did he preserve the food?

Why should the food be preserved?
Name the food items that we preserve and store nowadays.

Places in India where the Old stone age tools were found: Madyapradesh - Soan River bank, Pimpet Ca, Mageshwa. Rajasthan - Luni Valley. Karnataka - Pagalkhat. Andhrapradesh - Karnool caves, Renigunta. Tamilnadu - Vadamadurai, Athirambakkam, Pallavaram, Kanchipuram, Vellur, Thiruvallur.

When he did not find vegetables,

fruits and roots, he hunted animals. He used stones, branches, bones, horns of animals etc. to hunt animals. In the beginning he hunted small animals all alone. Then they hunted in groups. Both men and women involved in hunting.
In the Pimpet Ca cave in Madhya

2. New Stone Age: (NeolithicAge)

Old stone age man went from place to place in search of food and for hunting animals. Then he learnt to produce his food. He domesticated animals like goat, cow and hen. The first animal he tamed was dog, which helped him in hunting. He reared goats and cows and had milk as his food. The next stage in the evolution of man is known as New Stone Age. During this age, he used polished, carved, sharp stone weapons. In this period, he started to produce food. Wheel was invented. As a result of this, he was able to transport things from one place to another easily. With the help of wheels he made pots. He sharpened the crude weapons and attached them with handles made up of wood and bones. Metal was in use. Copper was the first metal used by him.

Pradesh we see a painting. This depicts a woman with her child tied to her waist throwing an arrow. From this we know that women were also involved in hunting.
What for the early man hunted the wild animals? Is it to protect himself

from the wild animal orforfood?

Why did the government amend

laws to protect the wild animals?

178

built mud houses with thatched roofs and began to live in groups in small villages. The houses were round or oval shaped. They were built below the ground level and thatched with wooden planks.

They

the pots they used. The Harappan culture belonged to this age. Let us learn in detail about this in the next lesson.

Agriculture was their main occupation. They domesticated and reared animals. Axes, handles made out of bones, fishing hooks, needle and chopper were in use.
During the New stone age they had
the practice of burying the dead. The dead were buried along with their tamed animals in the frontyard of their houses. Places where New stone age weapons were found:

/,( 1

ChalcolithicAge weapons

List the tools made out of iron which are in use now. Compare them with the tools used before.

Madhyapradesh - Pimpet Ca Alloys:

Tirunelveli, Thandikkudi, Pudukottai, Tiruchirapalli and Salem.

. , Stainless Iron + Chromium = steel Copper + Lead = Bronze

Copper + Zinc

3. CopperAge : (ChalcolithicAge) At the end of the New stone age, man came to know the use of copper. He made tools out of copper as well as small stones. So this age is known as Chalcolithic Age. They drew colourful pictures with geometrical patterns on

Iron

= Brass + Maganese = Steel

Important words from the lesson: Excavation Archaeology Stone Primitive Age CopperAge Iron Age Historical evidences Deposits Million Bronze

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Social Science

4. Iron Age : The period when the tools were made up of iron was called Iron Age. Household articles and agricultural implements were made out of iron. They learnt to melt the metal and make weapons. They were creative. Vedic period belonged to the Iron Age.

Evaluation:
I . Choose the correct answer :

1. Pre-history means
a) period having written evidences

b) period having no written evidences c) period which have all the 3 evidences like time, place and events
2. Old stone age people

a) wore cotton clothes b) wore leaves, barks of trees and skin of animals c) wore woollen clothes
3. The first animal tamed by primitive man was

a) cow b) horse
c) dog
II. Fill in the blanks :

1. The early man.

.depending on nature.

2. To know the truths of ancient period, we must read _ 3. The Old stone age man used_ stones. 4. The primitive age is _ than the ancient period. 5. We must read _ to know about the primitive age.
6. The period when the tools were made up of Iron was called. 7. New stone age man used _ to make pots.

Match the following : I.Tamil Nadu

2.Andra Pradesh
3. Madhya Pradesh
4. Karnataka

Pagalkhat

Athirampakkam Karnool PimpetCa

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IV. Answerthe following:

1. What is history?
2. List the evidences to know about history.

3. What do you mean by pre-historic period?

4. What are the four classifications of the pre-historic period?

5. What were the dresses of the early man?

6. Draw and compare any fourtools of Old stone age and New stone age.
7. Write a short note on new stone age.

Prepare a table of details from the informations you have gathered from this lesson.

Period
Old stone age
New stone age

Stages of man/occupation

Tools used

Primitive man Gathering food, Hunting

Crude stones
Polished and carved stones

Stone age man - Rearing of animals, Agriculture

Copper age
Iron age

Write the names of your family members Write the name

1. Father

Write the name

2. Father's father : (Grandfather)

Mother :

Mother's father : (Grandfather) _

Father's mother : (Grandmother). 3. Grand father's father : _

(Great grandfather) : _

Mother's mother: (Grandmother). Grandmother's mother : _

Grandmother's father : _

Grand father's mother : (Great grandmother) _

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Social Science

( Formative Assesment )
1. Find out whether there are any inscriptions and monuments in your area and collect information about them. 2. Are stones still used as tools? List them. 3. Collect information and photos from the news paper about the excavations. 4. Howdoyou feel about that ancient man got the idea to invent the wheel. 5. Visit the nearest place where the stonage instruments are found. 6. Mark the places in the India map, from where the stone age instruments were discovered.

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6. INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

Why do we call the modern age as Computer age? After the invention of electricity, computer is regarded as the most important one and so it is called Computerage.

This is the beginning of the Indian civilization.

Harappa:

In 1856, when the British ruled India, they laid railway lines on the banks of River Ravi, a branch of Indus river. They found a mound of sand. There they saw well- burnt bricks and ruins.

This civilization flourished in India about 4700 years ago. Likewise, the ruins of the cities were found in Mohenjo-daro, Chanhu-daro, Kalibangan and Lothal. The Great Bath: The most important structure found in the citadel was the Great Bath. It was built of kiln-fired bricks and sealed with a lining of bitumen.

183

Social Science

In the previous lesson, we studied about the early man. The period when early man used stone was known as stone age. The first metal known to man was copper. So he used both copper and stone. That age was known as Copper Stone Age. During that period there existed an ancient civilization in India which was the Indus Valley Civilization. (Harappa)

They took those bricks and constructed the railway lines. So they destroyed many such walls of the buildings.

In 1921 , archaeologists found out that it was the ancient city of India. Harappa in Sindhi means 'Buried City'. The cities discovered after the Indus Valley Civilization were named as Harappan Civilization.

Indus Valley Civilization

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Bolan

Rupar

R.Sutlei
Kalibangan

Lothal

There were steps on both the sides of the pool. There were rooms on all the sides of the pool for changing clothes. It was fed by water from a well and the dirty water was emptied by a huge drain.
Buildings :
Houses were built in grid system. There were houses which had two rooms and multistoried houses, public hall, granary and public buildings built out of bricks. There were no windows in the houses. Every house had a well and a bathroom. There were dustbins in front of the houses.

Town planning :

The Indus valley cities were well planned. The northern part of the town was narrow and elevated. The excavators considered that those were constructed on security basis. The eastern side was broad and lowered. We get more information from this town planning.
Mohenjo - daro in Sindhi means 'Mound of Dead'

The town was built with experts who were well versed in the art of town planning. There would have been an administrative committee in the city to administer it.

184

Houses were built on both the sides of the broad streets in systematic order.
The houses had flat roofs and were many storied. Administration:

We have an idea about ancient man from the archaeological evidences. This is the place where you can write your ideas.

The public drainage system, the Great Bath, the public hall, street lights and the provision of dustbins show that the administrative system was well organized.
Drainage system:

They had manholes at regular intervals for cleaning.

Life style of Indus Valley people :

Row houses were built for the employers of town administration. People exported and imported things like metals, precious stones, ornaments and various useful products.

Applied Science:

The science and technology such as

construction, selections of lands ,

measurement of plots, foundation,

selection of quality building materials and geometrical figures were in use.

Drainage system - Mohenjo-daro

Statue of a man with beard made of limestone

185

Social Science

The drains from the houses were covered. They ran along the sides of the streets which were connected to the street drains.

List the similarities and the differences between the Great Bath of the Indus Valley and the ponds that are seen in the temples of Tamil Nadu. What types of machinery would they have used to fill the ponds?

Dancing girl

Pasupathi

Pieces of broken pots excavated from Harappa

Pots: They made pots with the help of potter's wheel. They were polished and coloured.

186

Handicrafts:
There would have been workers like document writers, seal makers, carpenters, doll makers, masons and other artisans.

They also found out dolls made out of terracotta and other playing articles out of shells, brass, copper, silverand gold. They used copper and bronze to make weapons, household articles and tools. Gold and silver were used to make ornaments. Weights were made out of a kind of stone.

Ornaments found in Harappa

Terracotta seals:
Hundreds of rectangular seals were discovered here. Pictographic writings were written on them. The script had not been deciphered yet. On the terracotta seals, bulls, cart, dove, boats and a figure of a human meditating are seen.

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Seals
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Script:
The terracotta planks discovered here were engraved with letters. The figures that were engraved on the seals and the pictorial writing showed their skill of writing. They were pictographic writing. Each picture depicts a specific meaning. Each page was written from right to left and left to right. These writings are related with the ancient Tamil writings. There are varied opinions regarding this.

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Pictorial writing

187

Social Science

Occupation : In the Indus Valley there were agriculturists, artisans, traders, weavers, potters and blacksmiths. Agriculture was their main occupation, They cultivated wheat and barley. They stored the surplus grains in the granary.

Sculpture:

The statue of a dancing girl made out of bronze found in Mohenjodaro and the statue of a man with beard made out of limestone are examples of the excellent sculptures.
Religion:
The articles excavated in Mohenjo-daro tell us about their religious Practices and the love towards their religion. They worshipped Lord Shiva represented as Pasupathi, Mother Goddess, Lingam, Trident and trees.

1. List the various occupations in your area. 2. Do we store grains? If yes, where and how? 3. Gather evidences to prove that Indus Valley people traded by sea.
Dress :

They buried the dead in urns along with food and ornaments.

People wore cotton and woollen dresses. Men wore a garment similar to the 'dhoti' as lower garment and a shawl as uppergarment.
Ornaments :
To make ornaments they used gold, silver, ivory, and precious stones. Poor people wore ornaments made out of shells and copper. Both men and women wore many ornaments.

Causes forthe decline of the towns:

1.Wooden articles would have got destroyed by fire.

2. Rivalry because of the civil war.

3. Natural calamities and the change in the course of River Indus would have buried things.

Art:
They were experts in making pots out of terracotta. The figures of birds, animals, images of male and female, bullock cart driven by a man, pots and bowls were discovered.

4.The Aryans would have destroyed these towns in orderto succeed.

5.The heap of bones discovered in Mohenjo-daro is evidence of the invasion of the foreigners.

188

Evaluation:

I. Choose the correct answer: 1. Which of these help you to know about Indus Valley Civilization? a. stone inscriptions b. archaeological evidences c. copperplates 2. Mohenjo-daro means a. Garden city c. Mound of Dead b. Port city 3. Port Lothal of the Copper Stone Age is in
a. Punjab b.Sindu c.Gujarat 4. Harappan Civilization was a. Civilization of village b. Civilization of town c. Civilization of corporation 5. The metal unknown to Indus Valley people b.iron a. gold c. copper
6. Harappa in Sindhi means _

II. Fill in the blanks:

III. Match the following: - pots 1. Great Bath - burnt clay 2. Excavation - Ravi 3. Wheel - Mohenjo-daro 4. Terracotta - 1921 5. Punjab IV. Answer the following: 1. List the occupation of the Flarappans. 2. Write about the Great Bath. 3. What are the causes for the decline of the Indus Valley Civilization? 4. Explain the writings of the Indus Valley people.

4.
a. Buried City

b. City of Fort

c. City of Rivers

1. The main God of the Harappans was _

2. The excavation of the Indus Valley Civilization was done in _

3. The Great Bath is situated at _ .

was the writing used bythe Indus Valley people.

189

Social Science

( Formative Assesment )
1. 2. 3. 4.
Why did civilization orginate at the riverbanks - Discuss. How to you know the cities are planned and constructed? Visit the nearest museum. Mark the following places in the outline map of India. Lothal, Kalibankan, Rupar, Harappa, Mohenjo-daro.

190

1.THE VEDIC PERIOD

The Aryans migrated to India through the Khyber and Bolan passes from central Asia. Being shepherds, they moved in search of pastures for their cattle. They entered about 4000 years ago and settled in the entire north India.

Early Vedic Age or Age of Rig Veda: (BC 1500 - BC 1000)

When Rig Veda was compiled the Aryans lived in Sindu, which is now in Pakistan. They settled in Sabta Sindhu (The Land of Seven Rivers) in Punjab. We come to know through the Rig Veda, the political and social conditions of the Aryans.

The places where they settled in India was called Arya Vardham. Aryans made their livelihood by herding the cattle. They compiled the prayers of their ancestors as Vedas. In History, this was called the Vedic Age. The Vedic Age was classified into two. They were Early Vedic Age and Later Vedic Age.

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The Social life of Aryans Family -Village -Vis ->Jana -Janapatha

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Routes of the Aryans

Routes of the Aryans
R.Chenab

Bolan

Kalibangan
Asthinapuram

Ahichatra
Kusinagar;
Vaish

Mathura Pateshwar"

Kausambi

Ujjaini
Lothal

Rajagriham

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Political Life The basic unit of the society was family. Many families joined and formed the village which was headed by the Grahmini. Many villages formed Visu. (Vis) Vishwapathy was the head of the Visu. The next higher administrative unit was Jana. The head of Jana was Rajan (King). The person who had valour and strength became the Rajan. The people lived in a kingdom were called Prajas. The king was called Prajapathi. Kingship became hereditary.Many chieftains formed the Mahajanapadas.
Find out: Do you have a family name? Ask and find out the family names of your neighbours. Which God/Goddess do you worship?

Social Life
The father was the head of the family. In the beginning womenwere on a par with men in the field s of education and religion. There were women poets like Vishwawara, Abala, Kosa, and Lobamuthra. Caste system was not in existence. Monogamy and Polygamy were in practice. Widows' remarriage was permitted.

Economic Life
Cattle rearing and agriculture were the main occupations of the people during Rig Vedic Age. Iron was used to make tools and instruments. With the help of these tools they destroyed the forests and made them into cultivable lands. Carpentry and weaving were also their occupations.

The Raja (King) was assisted in his administration by officials called Prohit and Senai (Commander). There were two Assemblies called Saba and Samiti. Saba - Group of Elders

Samiti

- Representatives of

People

They produced cotton and woollen clothes. Goldsmiths made ornaments and potters made pots for household use. Barter system was in practice. Rivers were used for transportation. Their unit of currency Nishka.was made of gold.

Duties of Raja (King)

He protected his lands from different

clans. He conducted religious duties according to the advice of the prohits. He protected his people from poverty, war and enmity. During the war he led the people and fought with the enemies. Justice and punishments were given after trial. He extended and strengthened the kingdom.

Mention the origin and growth of the following:

Carpentry, blacksmith, goldsmith, weaving, agriculture, cattle rearing and making weapons.

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Food

They had wheat, barley, milk, curd, ghee, vegetables, fruits and meat as their food. They drank intoxicating drinks like 'Soma' and 'Sura'.
Dresses and ornaments The Aryans used clothes made of cotton and wool. Men wore dhoti and shawl. They also wore turbans. Women wore upper garments and lower garments. Both men and women wore ornaments. They wore earrings, necklaces, bangles, anklets and wore bands on theirforeheads.

Political Life

The important administrative region was the Indus Valley. Kingdoms like Kosala, Videham, Kuru, Magadha, Kasi, Avanthi and Panchala emerged. Kingship became hereditary. The duty of the king was to defend his country from enemies and to maintain law and order. Since the kingdom expanded, he had more responsibility. Sacrifices such as Rajasuya and Ashvamedha were performed to establish his undisputed authority. Saba and Samithi declined.
Economic Life The metal widely used was iron. Handicrafts improved because of this. New tools were made. They grew paddy, sugarcane, barley and wheat. Cow dung was used as manure. Cattle wealth developed. According to the number of cattle owned by a person, his economic status was estimated.

Religion
The Aryans worshipped the forces of nature such as Sun, fire, air, sky and trees. They also worshipped Indira, Varna, Agni and Yaman. There was neither temple nor idol worship in the early vedic age. Religious sacrifices were practised. They wrote religious principles and their explanations. They offered milk, ghee, grains and silk. Yagas like Ashvamedha, Rajasuya and Vajapaya were conducted during poojas. Later Vedic Period: (BC 1000- BC 600) The period of Sama Veda, Atharvana Veda, Yajur Veda are called the Later Vedic Period.

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Broken pots of the Aryan Period

In this period the Aryans spread overthe eastern side. (Pre Vedic Aryans spread from Kabul to Upper Ganges) During this period the kingdoms emerged. During this period Brahmanas, Upanishads and Aranyakas were also written.

101

There were weavers, tanners, carpenters and goldsmith. Gold and silver coins like Nishka, Swarna and Satamana were in use.

Education

Caste system became rigid which was called Varna Dharma. Those who performed sacrifices and religious ceremonies were called Brahmanas. Those who waged war to protect and rule the country were known as Kshatriyas. The Vaishyas were the traders and farmers. The people who served the three upper caste and did all the menial works were called Sudras. Status of Women
During the Later Vedic Period there was no improvement in the status of women. They were subordinate to men. They did not inherit property. They were deprived of administrative power. Child marriage was prevalent. Women who belonged to the royal family enjoyed some privileges. Sati, according to which the widow would throw herself into the funeral pyre of her husband was in practice.

According to the Aryan Dharma, the Brahmin students stayed in the Gurukul ( home of the teacher) and learnt. There were highly educated women like Gargi and Maitreyi. In the Gurukul, they learnt philosophy, logic, religion, grammar, astrology, medicine, discipline, mathematics, Vedas and Upanishads. The royal children alone were taught Danur Veda (military strategy). Religion
There were a lot of changes in the religion according to the Varna Dharma of the Brahmins. The prevedic Gods lost their importance. In this period, Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra (Siva) gained importance. Rituals and animal sacrifices gained importance. People had faith in soul, fate and moksha. By the end of this period there was opposition for the rule of the priests, rituals and sacrifices. It was against these meaningless rituals and costly sacrifices, Buddhism and Jainism originated.

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Qualities of Dravidians and Aryans

S.No.
1.
Qualities of Dravidians Qualities of Aryans

Dark complexion, medium height, dark long hair.

Fair, tall and brown hair.

2.

Main occupation-Trade and agriculture. Wore cotton clothes.

Main occupation-Cattle rearing and war.

Wore woollen, cotton and dresses made out of skin of animals.

3.

4.

Important animal bull. They worshipped bull.

Built houses out of burnt bricks.

Important animal cow. They worshipped cow.

Built houses out of bamboo and clay. No idol worship and temples. Worshipped nature and performed yagas and rituals. Used iron.

5.

6.

Worshipped idols, lingam, trident, sakthi and snake.

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Used copper. They did not know the use of iron.

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Tiger was unknown. Used horses.
Cattle rearing civilization, villages.

8.

Tiger was known. Horse was unknown.

Agricultural civilization, towns.

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Evaluation
Choose the correct answer

1. The period of Rig Veda

b. BC 1000 - BC 600 a. BC 1600- BC 1000 2. The unit of currency used during Rig Vedic period b. Rupee a. Nishka
a.Gargi
Fill in the blanks

c. BC1500 - BC 1000
c. Dollar

3. The woman who excelled in education in the Later Vedic Period.

b.Abella

c. Kosa

1. The head of the village was _ .

2. Widows'

3.
4-

_ was in practice during the Early Vedic Period. Assembly that consisted of the Representatives of People was_ . According to _ , the widow would throw herself into the funeral
pyre of her husband.
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III. State whether the following statements are True or False

1. Sabta Sindu is called the 'Land of Seven Rivers' 2. The commander- in- chief was the Senai.

3. Widows' remarriage was not allowed in Rig Vedic Age.

4. The basic unit of the society was family.

5. Tiger was unknown to the Dravidians.

IV. Matchthe following

1. Satamana 2. Praja 3. Rudra 4. HeadofJana 5. HeadofVisu
V. Answer the following
- Shiva - Rajan - Vishwapathy - coins - people of the kingdom

1 . List the ornaments of the Rig Vedic people. 2 . What did the Brahmin students learn during the Later Vedic Period?
3- Compare and contrast the qualities of the Aryan and the Dravidian Civilization.

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
1. Search from the Internet

i. ii.

Kaibarand Polen passes.

Know their role in Indian history.

2. Collect various kinds of coins and listoutthe information known from them.
3. Compare the status of women during the Vedic period and the present day.

4. On the outline map of India mark out the route of Aryans to India and the following places.
i.

Kalibangam
Mohenjo-Daro

v.

RajaGiraham

ii.

vi. vii.

Vaishali Mathura

iii. Lothal
iv. Ujjaini

viii. Asthinapuram
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2. JAINISM AND BUDDHISM

The 6th century was a period of intellectual awakening. During that period, Jainism and Buddhism arose in India. These two religions existed to reformed the s o c i o - re I i g i o u s organizations. The aim of these religions is to remove the superstitious beliefs, unwanted religious rituals and the caste discrimination. Vardhamana Mahavira was the founder of Jainism. Gautama Buddha was the founder of Buddhism.

"Jina" which means the "Conqueror". People also called him as "Mahavira". Mahavira went to many places preaching his principles for 30 years.

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JAINISM
In Jainism, 24 Thirthangaras were worshipped. The first Thirthangara was Adhinathar, who was known as Rishabadevar. Vardhamana Mahavira is the last Thirthangara. (24th) He gave a strong formation to Jainism.

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Vardhamana Mahavira lived during B.C.534 - B.C.462. He was born in Kundagramam near Vaishali Nagar, which is now in Bihar. His father was Siddhartha and mother was Trisala. His wife was Yasodha and he had a daughter called Anoja Priyadharshana. At the age of 30, he gave up all the worldly pleasures and became an ascetic. He performed penance for 12 years, seeking answerforthe problems during these days. He treated both joy and sorrow equally. He won in his search for truth. So he was called

Mahavira

Why are people born? Why do they die? What are the causes for their sufferings? - These were the important questions that arose in him. He started thinking why people are troubling others and cheating each other. One set of people said that it was because of the sin they did in the previous birth. But Mahavira never accepted this. He thought that how people could not commit sin in this birth.

105

So he said that one should not harm others. Human beings are responsible for their own problems. We should not harm any living being. He preached a restricted life. He asked his followers to follow his principles of 'Ahimsa' or 'Non-Violence'. To attain the spiritual goal the Jains starved and subjected themselves to all bodily hardships.

Jainism stressed that no one should kill any living creature. They eliminated clothes. It insisted that they should not wage war or do agriculture. Trade and commerce was their occupation. The religion preached that they should lead a restricted life.

Contribution of Jains to Tamil Literature: Epics Sillapathigaram, Chivgachinthamani, Vallayapathi and Soodanani. Literature and Grammar worksYapperungalaviruthi, Neminatham, Nannool, Agaporulvillakam, Naladiar, Nanmanikadikai, Pazhamozhi, Thinaimalai Noorthiyampathu and Tamil Nigandu. Contribution of Jains to architecture: Rajasthan - Dilwara temple at Mount Abu. Kajiraho - Chittoor, RanakpurTemples of Jains.

Three Gems orTriratna:

Right Knowledge

Right Belief

Right Action

The Five Doctrines

1. Ahimsa (Non-Violence) 2. Satya(Truth)

3. Asatya(Non Stealing)
4. Aparigraha(Non-possession)
5. Brahmacharya(Celibacy)

Dilwara
"Kollaan pulaalai marutthaanai kaikoopi Ella uyirum thozhum" - Thirukkural

His principles spread far and wide when superstitious beliefs, quarrels and fightings prevailed.

Kings who followed Jainism: Chandragupta Maurya Kalingathu Karavelen Koon Pandian Mahendravarma Pallava I

Sculpture: Udaiyagiri Hathigumpa Girnar Saravanabelagola Kazhugumalai

The statue of Gomatheswara at Saravanabelgola is at Karnataka.

106

BUDDHISM Gautama Buddha was the founder of Buddhism. His original name was Siddhartha. He lived during 563 B.C.- 483 B.C. He was born at Kapilavastu in Nepal. His father, Siddhodana belonged to the Sakya dynasty. His mother, Mayadevi died at the seventh day of his birth, so he was brought up by his step-mother. He got married at the age of 16. His wife was Yasodha and Rahul was his son.
Even at his early age, he was anxious to know about what was happening in the world. He never showed any interest in hunting and luxury. The miseries and poverty of the poor people affected him very much.

hunger and thirst. But he never got the answerfor the question. Since he could not get an answer, he stopped torturing himself and ate food. To find out the truth, he started thinking. He was enlightened.
Siddhartha, who was enlightened under a pipal tree at Gaya became Buddha.

The meaning of the word 'Buddha' is a person who knows what is and what is good, what is bad suffering. He preached his first sermon at Deer Park in Sarnath near Banares in Uttar Pradesh.
Principles of Bhuddhism
Life is full of miseries. The reasons for the sufferings are not because of fate orthe deeds of our previous birth. There are other reasons for sorrows. We should strive to overcome the sorrows by not being greedy, not telling lies and not harming others. To avoid miseries one should have right thinking, right speech and right livelihood. He opposed caste discrimination. Man need not have any fear for God, soul and fate. One should depend and live on his own ideas and knowledge. We should show compassion towards animals, birds and human beings.

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Buddha

He was disturbed by the luxury on one side, poverty, sickness and old age on the other side. He disowned his parents, wife and son. He went to the forest and meditated. He controlled his

107

Buddha's principles on suffering are the Four Noble Truths and the principles on conduct are the 'Eight Fold Paths'. The Four Noble Truths are:
1. Life is full of sorrow. 2. Desire is the cause of sorrow. 3. Sorrow can be ended by giving up desire. 4. The eightfold path is the way to

Many kings followed Buddhism like Jainism. The most important among them was King Ashoka. Jainism and Buddhism were at their zenith till the 6th century. They started to decline when Flinduism regained its earlier position. Buddhism split into Hinayana and Mahayana.
(
Accepted Buddha's principles.
Mahayana

end sorrow.

Worshipped Buddha as God.

Idol worship

Eight - Fold Paths to overcome desire:

V Right belief
S Right speech

No idol worship.

V Right effort
S Right thought

V
Art and Architecture
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V Right living
S

V Right action

Right memory

/ Right meditation

In order to spread the truth he went from place to place. Wherever he went, he discussed his ideas with various groups of people. Buddhist monks came forward to spread the principles of Buddha. The organization of the monks was called as 'Sangam'.

The agriculturists, poor people, women, menial labourers and those who were affected by the society accepted the principles of Buddha. The idea that all are equal was new to them. So Buddhism spread far and wide.
Sanchi Stupa

Even today Buddhism is followed in Ceylon, Burma, Tibet, China, Japan and Thailand. The kings who followed Bhuddism - Ashoka, Kanishka and Flarsha.

108

Do you Know?
Our National Emblem (The figure of four lions) is taken from the capital of Ashoka Pillar.

Manimekalai and Kundalakesi are Buddhist literature.

The books written by Jain monks.

The Chakra in our National Flag which has 24 spokes is taken from the 'Dharma Chakra' of the Ashoka Pillar. Bihar is the place where there are many Buddha Viharas.

Sillapathikaram , Nannool

(Grammar)

Chivagacinthamani; Vallayapathi (Literature).

Religious text: Angas and Purvas .

Historical Monuments

The Jataka tales describes the history of Buddhism. The Jataka stories are depicted at Gaya, Sanchi and Burcut.
Ajantha and Ellora Cave paintings which are in Aurangabad at Maharastra describe the fame of Buddha. Gandhara art also belongs to Buddhism.
The prayer halls of the Buddhist monks are called Chaityas and their monastries are called Viharas. They are of rock cut structures.

To know

Mahavamsam, a book of Sri Lanka says that Tripitakas was written during the reign ofVattakkamini Abayan. In Pali language it is called as Tripitakam which means three baskets.

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Water cannot enter into a Properly constructed house; Evil thoughts cannot enter into the hearts of those who have good thoughts. - Buddha.

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Literature

The Buddhist religious texts are called Tripitakas. They are

Vinaya Pitaka, SuttaPitaka and Abhidamma Pitaka.

Evaluation
I.

Choose the correct answer.

The one who laid strong foundation to Jainism a) Vardhamana Mahavira b) Athinathan The principles stressed by Jainism
a) idol worship b) not to kill c) untouchability c) Rishabadeva

1. 2.

109

3.
4.

A place in Tamil Naduwhere you can see Jain sculptures

5.

a)Girnar b) Kazhugumalai c) Hathigumba The place where Buddha was enlightened a) Kundagrammam b) Deer Park c)Gaya One of the most important kings who followed Buddhism a) Chandra Gupta b)Ashoka c) Bindusara

Fill in the blanks.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

was known as Conqueror or Jina. The principles stressed by Jainism are called _ is the place where Gomatheswara statue is situated. The principles of Buddha are called _ . The organization of the Buddhist monks is called _ The Dharma Chakra in our National Flag is taken from the pillar.

1. 2. 3.

State whether the following statements are True or False Mysore is the place where Gomatheswara statue is situated. The son of Buddha was Rahul. The founder of Jainism was Buddha.
Mahavira was the 24th Thirthankara. There are 24 spokes in the Ashoka Chakra. Match the following.

4. 5.
IV.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
V. 1. 2. 3. 4.

Tripitakam Hinayana Sillapathigaram Deer Park Mahayana

- worshipped Buddha as God

- Buddha's first sermon

- who accepted Buddha's prinicples - Jain literature

- religious text of Jains

5.
VI. 1. 2.

Answer in five lines. What are the causes for the rise of Jainism and Buddhism? Describe the Triratnas insisted on by Jainism. Write short notes on the contribution of Jains to Tamil literature. Write the Four Noble Truths of Buddha. Mention the Eight Fold Paths to overcome desire. Answer in detail. Explain the distinctive features of Jainism. Explain the ideas you like in Buddhism.

110

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

1. Which of the principles of Jainism and Buddhism do you like to follow? By following such principles what are the good changes that can happen? Think it over and explain. 2. Jainism and Buddhism which originated in India are now being followed only in the foreign countries. Examine the reasons.
3. Know the special features of Ajanta and Ellora or to visit a library and know these things through books.

4. On the outline mapof India mark out the following places:

Saravanapelakola
Vaishali MountAbu
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iv.
v.
vi. vii.

Kabilavasthu
Sanchi

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Gaya
Ajanta and Ellora

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111

'I can, I did'

Student's Activity Record
Subject:
Sl.No Date Lesson No. Topic of the Lesson Activities Remarks

112

7. ANCIENT TAMIL NADU

The land mass between the Himalayas and Cape Comorin is hailed as our Grand Old Country of Bharath by Bharathiyar in his "Ode to Child". (Pappa Pattu) Historians conclude that the land to the south of the Vindhyan Range is the most ancient in the world .

"Senthmizh naadenum poothinilae-inba Thean vandhu paayuthu kathinelae-yengal Thanthaiyar naadenum poothinilae-oru Sakthi pirakuthu moochinilae."

In the southern state there are people who speak different languages like Tamil, Telugu,Kannada, Malayalam and Tulu. The people who live in the south ofTirupathi speakTamil.
Bavanandhi Munnivar.the author of Nannool describes Tamil Nadu as follows.

Tamil Nadu was ruled by the descendants of Chera, Chola and

Pandya who were called Mooventhars during the ancient time. The southern
part of south India was ruled by

Pandyas, west by Cheras and north

east by Cholas.

Venkata hills on the North, Cape Comorin on South and the land between these two isTamil Nadu.
During the British rule, most of the parts of south India was called 'Madras Presidency'. After independence, the state which had Tamil as its language was separated. Arignar Anna, the then Chief Minister in 1967 named the state as Tamil Nadu.

The Prehistoric Tamil Nadu :

Before prehistoric period, the Indian Ocean on the south of Cape Comorin was a land mass. It was called as 'Kumari Kandam'. The river Fahruli ran on this land mass which was eight to ten times bigger than South India. There were wide ranges of mountains. It was said that the land had sufficient rain, dense forest, civilized people and efficient kingdom. That kingdom would have been the ancient Pandyan Kingdom.

The Tamil we speak can be appreciated as Senthamizh, Paeynthamizh and Muthamizh. The National poet Subramania Bharathiyar sang

191

Social Science

Three Sangams : The capital of Pandyas was Thenmadurai. Tamizhvalartha Thalai Sangam assembled there. The Pandyas ruled over the land with Kapadapuram as its capital. This place was left over after the tsunami in which Thenmadurai was taken away by the sea. In Kapadapuram the poets gathered and had the Second Sangam. That city also became a prey to tsunami later.
Then the Pandyas ruled with Madurai as their capital. The last Sangam was held in Madurai Muthoor. It was known as Kudal as the Pandya kings patronized the poets and held research on Tamil. It was believed that the First, Second and Third Sangam helped in the development of literature and Tamil flourished under the leadership of Pandyan Kings. These Sangams would have been for a long time. The Continent Lemuria : The conditions were favourable

ancestors of the people of Cape Comorin. There was a big land mass connecting Africa and Australia, which was called Lemuria after the name of the monkey Lemur.

It was believed that human beings evolved from the Lemurs. The language of the people was ancient Tamil. The land where their decendents lived was called Tamil Nadu.
Historic period: The historic period of Tamil Nadu began from the Sangam age. Sangam age is the period during which the poets of the Third Sangam joined together and did research on Tamil. This period lasted for 400 years from BT 200 - AT 200. Some consider that it was between BT 300 -AT 300. Note BT -AT was calculated based on the birth year of Thiruvalluvar ie 31 B.C. According to the decision taken by Tamil scholars that time can be calculated considering that Thiruvalluvar was born 31 years before Christ. This was accepted and announced by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The Sangam literatures, what we got now are Ettuthogai and Pathupattu. The poem in these literature were written by Kapilar, Paranar, Avvayyar, Nakkeerar,

for the growth of living organisms only at Cape Comorin which was submerged after the tsunami. Because of this the evolution of man would have taken place then. The language spoken by those people was the basic of Tamil
language. The researchers believed
that those were the ancient Tamilians.

People who lived on the southern part of the land mass are considered as the

192

and hundreds of poets. With the help of these we can understand the civilization, customs, culture and political life of Tamilians.
Tolkappium which was a pride to Tamil literature originated before the Third Sangam. Tamil literature would have developed a few thousand years ago. It was a pride to Tamil, that Tirukkural which was hailed by all the religions originated during the Sangam age.

Activity:

Identify the type of land division that you live in. Write down.

Our mother tongue Tamil which is adoptive to grammatical norms and is called Senthamizh. Scholars call Tamil a classical language, because it had developed without the help of other
languages.

This shows their interest in sea trade. There were many ports like Puhar, (Kaveripoompattinam), Korkai, Musiri, Thondi and Vanchi. They had trade contacts with Egypt, Yavanam, Rome, China and other eastern countries. They followed the barter system. Mohenjo-daro and Harappa excavated in the Northern hemisphere were examples of town civilization. They

Five division of Lands

193

Social Science

The people who lived in the south which was surrounded by water on three sides were good sea traders before the Sangam age as per the proverb, "Tiraikadal oodiyum thiraviyam theddu". The language Tamil is abundant with words like Navai, Kalam, Kappal, Thoni, Odam, Padagu, Theppam and Katamaram which are used to denote the mode of travel at sea.

examined thousands of things found there . It was proved that it had connection with the Southern Tamilians for more than four- five thousand years ago. This showed that in those days Tamilians were not only in the south but also in the north.

TheThree Tamil kingdoms : The Pandyas :

During the Sangam, the poets divided the lands into five physical divisions. The mountainous region was called Kurinchi, the forested region was referred as Mullai, the coastal area was Neidel and the sandy regions which suffered drought were called Palai. The occupation of the people depended on the region where they lived.

The Pandyan king Mudathirumaran and

Thalaiyalanganathu

Cheruvendra Neduncheziyan who defeated the combined forces of seven kings, lived in

the Pandya kingdom. The one who

In those days, the most important of the kings duty their was protecting subjects. Apart from the kings there were chieftains and patrons who ruled smaller regions. Conditions were favourable for the poets, pannar, koothar, viraliyar, traders, idayars, uzhavars, maravars to lead a comfortable life.
Agriculture was honored as it provided food to all. Next to agriculture weaving was given importance.

played an important role in Sillapathigaram by saying, "Yano Arrasan; Yanae Kalvan" (I am not a king,

I am the culprit) and established truth was also a renowned Pandya king.
The Cheras :

The famous, Chera kings Imayavaramban Neduncheralathan and Sillambu Pugazh Cheran Senguttuvan reached the Himalayas and hoisted the Chera flag.

194

TheCholas :

According to the Thirukkural mentioned above there was a society without any discrimination.
There were discrimination according to their occupations. There was sect system but they were not discriminated according to their birth. Untouchability was not in practice. In due course, caste discrimination and untouchability came into force.

The famous Chola kings were Karikal Peruvallathan and Killivalavan.

Karikalan who ruled over two thousand years ago conquered Eelam. He made the captives build the bank of river Cauvery. Kallanai which exists even today was built by him. This famous king was called as Karikal Peruvallathan.
The famous kings of the medieval period were Rajaraja Chola and Rajendra Chola. They conquered not only the North but also Java and Kadaram. The seven chieftains were called as Kadaiyelu Vallalgal. The famous among them were Pari, Ori, Kari, Nalli, Elini, Pegan and Aay.

As building of temples was not in practice, the Sangam people worshipped the stones erected in memory of the dead soldiers which were known as Hero Stones or Nadukkal and their ancestors.

They celebrated harvest festival, Pongal festival and the festival of Spring season. In the capital they celebrated Indiravizha. They did not know about the festivals of the Puranas.

Social Life :
"Pirrapokkum ella uirukkum -chirappova

Cheithozhil vettrumai yan"

195

Social Science

Women had the privilege of choosing their life partners. Parents agreed to that. The rituals, raising of holy fire and chanting of mantras were not in vogue. Women were not treated as perthe Vedas.

Evaluation:
I. Choose the correct answer :

1. The area that was considered as the most ancient one in the world a) Ganges Valley b) the area in the south of Vindhyas c) north west valley
2. The land mass on the South Kanyakumari during pre-historic period

a) Continent of Kumari b) Continent of Bharath c) Continent of Africa

3. The place where evolution of man began a) Mediterranean countries b) Asyria c) Lemuria
4. Which year is considered as the birth year of Thiruvalluvar a) AD 31 b) BC 31 c) AD 13
5. The city where the Second Sangam was held a) Thenmadurai b) Kapadapuram c) Koodal Nagar
Fill in the blanks:

1.

was the organisation where the Tamil poets assembled and did the literary research in Tamil.

2. The _ were the ancestors of the people of Cape Comorin.

3. The historical period of the Tamil began from

_ age.

4. The Grammar book, _ originated before the Third Sangam.

5. _ was the most important occupation of the Sangam age.

196

III.

Match the following:

1. Tolkappiam
2. Mullai

- Yano Arrasan; YanaeKalvan

- Hero Stones
- Ravi - coastal area - book before Tamil Sangam - forest area

3. PandiyarNeduncheziyan

4. Heroic death
5. Kurinchi

6. Neithel

1. Why is Tamil known as classical language? 2. Name the Tamil words which are used to denote the mode of travel at sea.
3. Why is Madurai known as Kudal?
4. What are the countries with whom the Tamilians had trade?
5. Mention the physical divisions of the land during the Sangam age.

6. Name the famous Pandya kings.

7. Name the important Chera kings.
8. Write notes on Karikal Peruvallathan.

9. Name the Kadaiyelu Vallalgal. 10. Mention the social status of women during the Sangam age.

V. Answer in detail :
1. Write the characteristic features of the ancient Tamil. 2. Describe the First, Second and Third Sangam.
3. Write about the sea trade of the Sangam Age.

197

Social Science

IV. Answer the following:

Formative Assessment

1. Prepare and display the models of 5 types of lands. 2. Prepare a tabular column based on the trees, flags and flowers of the three tamil kingdoms.
3. Do the festivals of the present time gives only happiness? Discuss.
4. Who am I? Land and areas around the land. Who am I? Mountain and areas around the mountains. Who am I? Forests and areas around the forests. Who am I? Sea and areas around the sea. Who am I? Draught stricken area- Who am I?

198

'I can, I did'

Student's Activity Record
Subject:
Sl.No Date Lesson No. Topic of the Lesson Activities Remarks

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Social Science

200

1. RISE OF KINGDOMS
Mahajanapadas:

Mahajanapadas
1. Anga 2. Magadha
3. Kosala
4. Kasi

At the end of the Vedic period, the Janapadas fought with each other for the new fertile lands and mineral wealth and for the same reason they tried to move towards the east. Because of this, they had clashes with the nonAryans who came from the east and south of the Indus Valley. Ultimately, the small Janapadas either defeated or joined themselves with the Mahajanapadas.
Many Janapadas joined to form the Mahajanapadas. They depended more on the types of lands than on the clans. There are sources to prove that during the period of Buddha there were 16 powerful Mahajanapadas in North India. Some of them were ruled by hereditary kings. The rest were ruled by elected kings. There were 18 groups together in the Vajjian confederacy which had Vaishali as their capital. Kosala, Avanti, Vatsa and Magadha were some of the powerful monarchies of this period. They fought with each other and other republics.Ultimately, Magadha defeated others and became the most powerful Mahajanapada.

7. Kedi

13. Aswakas

8. Vatsa 9. Kuru 10. Panchala

14. Avanti
15. Gandhara 16. Kamboja

5. Vajji
\

6. Malla

today's Bihar is called Magadha. It's first capital was Siravasthi, the second capital was Rajgir and lastly Pataliputra. Bimbisara belonged to Haryanka Dynasty. He expanded the kingdom of Magadha by conquests and by marriage alliances. His son Ajatasatru imprisoned his father and succeeded the throne. He waged war for a long period with Kosala, Avanti, Vaishali and extended his empire. The fort of Pataliputra was laid by Ajatasatru.

-11. Matsya 12. Surasena

X

Sisunaga-Mahapadma Nanda

Rise of Magadha : Bimbisara - Ajatasatru The area around Patna in

151

SOCIAL SCIENCE

Sisunaga defeated the Haryanka Dynasty. The Nanda Dynasty who succeeded Sisunga Dynasty spread the rule of Magadha throughout north India. Mahapadmananda, the first Nanda king crossed the Vindhyas and annexed Deccan. He extended the Magadha Empire beyond Vindhyas to Deccan.

Though Sisunaga and Mahapadmananda, were Sudras they became the kings. It was a great change. The Nandas patronized Jainism.The Macedonian king Alexander came with his troops through the West of India. He had to return since he was aware of the Nanda warfare and his soldiers were tired after a longjourney.
MAURYAN EMPIRE
Chandragupta Maurya :

He invaded parts of West India which were annexed by the Greeks under the leadership of Alexander and extended the Mauryan Dynasty. He defeated the Greek General Selecus Nikator and he annexed Afghanistan and Gandnara with his empire.

Chandragupta of Mauryan Dynasty revolted against the last Nanda king Dhanananda, defeated him and took over the Magadha Dynasty (BC 324-299).

Megasthenese,the ambassador of Selecus stayed at Pataliputra for many years and wrote about India in his book 'Indica'. The Jain religious text says that Chandragupta Maurya became a monk leaving his throne and went with the Jain monk, Bhadrabagu to south India. He ended his life by fast unto death as a devout follower of Jainism at Saravanabelagola.
Ashoka:

Megasthenese

Chandragupta was succeeded by his son Bindusara, who ruled for 25 years. He was succeeded by one of his sons Ashoka. (BC 273-236) For the first four years, he spent his time to suppress his brothers who were his rivals. After the eighth year, he waged a terrible war against Kalinga which was separated and annexed with the Mauryan empire. Ashoka was so upset and grief stricken at the sight of the war that he took a pledge that he would never wage war again.

Chandragupta Maurya

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152

Ashoka's Dharma Vijaya:

Ashoka declared that helping his subjects and leading them in the righteous way is the duty of a king. He spent the rest of his life, meeting people and helping them. He hated 'Dig Vijaya' (Conquest of the World). In order to spread Dharma, he undertook a journey which was called 'Dharma Vijaya'. He constructed inns and hospitals for everyone irrespective of caste and creed. Medical assistance was given to cattle. Sacrifices were banned. The laws were altered on humanitarian basis. Death sentence was reduced. He spread Dharma among people through rock edicts which were inscribed on regional languages. He appointed Dharmamahamatras to help the people. Ashoka was the first emperor who established the welfare state for people.

Ashoka and Buddhism:

Ashoka embraced Buddhism which insisted love, knowledge and discipline. Eventhough he was a Buddhist, he was kind to Brahmins and Agivagirs. He took maximum effort to spread Buddhism. He renovated and expanded the monuments at Kapillavastu, Saranath and Buddhagaya.He constructed hundreds of stupas and pillars. He organized the Third Buddhist Council at Pataliputra. In order to spread Buddhism, he sent Buddhist monks to different parts of his empire and also to foreign countries. Mahendra, the one who spread Buddhism in Ceylon was believed to be his son. Buddhism became a world religion by the efforts of Ashoka.
Ashoka's contribution to art and architecture : Ashoka's stupas and pillars are considered to be the oldest after the monuments of the Indus Valley Civilization. Buddhist stupas at Sarnath and Lumbini are marvellous.The Ashoka's pillar cannot be compared with any other art. The structure of Ashoka's pillar, the bell shaped capital resembling an inverted lotus shows the influence of the Persian architecture.

Ashoka

Sarnath Pillar

153

SOCIAL SCIENCE

Ashoka's Stone Edicts: Ashoka's royal proclamations and messages are inscribed on the walls of the caves, stone pillars and rocks that are kept all through his empire. Most of them are written in Prakrit, Kharoshti in north western India, Greek in Afghanistan. These edicts depict Ashoka's humanitarian love and non-violence.

Mauryan Administration:

For the convenience of administration, the empire was divided into five provinces. Taxilla was the capital of North province, Ujjaini was the capital of West province, Swarnagiri was the capital of South province and Dosali was the capital of East province. The main province, Magadha was ruled by the king himself with Pataliputra as its capital.
A council of ministers and army chiefs were appointed to help the king in his administration. They were appointed without the discrimination of caste.The higher officials called Mahamatras were appointed as superintendents and governors of the big provinces. Princes were also appointed as Mahamatras. There were other officers like Yuktas, Pradeshikas, Ambassdors and Spies. Those who protected the frontier were known as 'Andamahamatras' . Dharma mahamatras looked after the moral life of the public. There were local self government in the cities. Megasthenese described in his Indica that the administration of the city of Pataliputra was maintained by a set of 30 officers who belonged to 6 committees. Each committee had a specific duty. The strong army of Mauryas was administered by a set of 30 officers. Infantry, cavalry, elephants, chariots and navy were controlled by 5 committees. The sixth committee looked after the transport, food, medical facility and production of weapons for the army.

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Ashoka's Stone Edict

The Stone Edict of Ashoka:

"I captured Kalinga after eight years of war. In the war, one lakh people died and one and a half lakh people left the country. It made me very sad when more than a lakh of my people were killed and captured during the war of Janapata. The war separated loved ones. The ruins of the war affected all the people. It troubled me. So I accepted Dharma more than war." -Ashoka

154

The Mauryan Empire during Ashoka's period

vTaxill,

Indraprasth;

Sarnath Sanchi

Girinar

Tamralipti
Dosali

Kalinga

,Swarnai

Siddapur

Kanch

The Mauryan Empire during Ashoka's period

'Pandya:
C.

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Srilanka]

155

SOCIAL SCIENCE

Chola

The judicial administration was very strict. Ashoka brought some changes on humanitarian grounds. Torture was banned. He introduced new methods to console the people who were given death sentence. The tenure of petty cases were reduced.

Kings and ministers went on tours to solve the problems of the people.

Brihadratha, the last king of the Maurya Dynasty was assassinated by Pushyamitra. After this, the Magadha lost its power for more than 500 years.

Evaluation

I. Choose the correct answer

1. The one who built fort Pataliputra
a. Ashoka a. Arthasasthra
b. Bimbisara b. Indica

c. Ajathasatra c. Mudra-rakshasa

2. The book written by Megasthenese

3. Ashoka ascended the throne in

a. BC232 c. BC255 b. BC273 4. The place where the Third Buddhist Council was held c. Kapilavastu b. Kashmir a. Pataliputra

II . True or false
1. Selecus Nikator was the ambassador of Megasthenese.
2. Mahapadmananda was the first king of Nanda Dynasty.

3. Ashoka refused Dharma Vijaya and accepted Dig Vijaya.

4. Ashoka was the first one to establish a welfare state for people.
5. Mahendra spread Buddhism at Ceylon.

III. Answer the following

1. How did the Mahajanapadas establish themselves?
2. To whom does the credit go in establishing the first empire in India? - Explain.

3. Ashoka was the one who established an empire for the welfare of the peopleWhy?

4. What are the causes for the change in Ashoka's life?

5. Explain the inscriptions used in the stone edicts of Ashoka.

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1. The common people were much affected during the wars between kings of the

older days. Enumerate how the people are affected today. 2. Visit a nearby stone edict and try to read the letters on it. 3. Draw a picture of Saranath pillar or Write the details you learnt from the picture of the pillar. 4. Draw the boundaries of Mauryan Empire during Ashoka's period and mark the following places in the given map. Thatsaseelam Indra prartham

Pataliputram Saranath Gaya Kalingam Girinagar

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2. KUSHANA EMPIRE
The powerful empire which was established in India after the decline of the Mauryans were the Kushans. The Kushans were the people who belonged to the Yueh-chi tribe. During the 1st century AD Kadphises I established the kingdom of Kushana in the North west part of India. Kadphises II (AD 65-75) who succeeded Kadphises I conquered Punjab and Indus Valley.
Kanishka:

The new division of Buddhism, Mahayana originated in this council. Groups of monks were sent to Tibet and China to spread Mahayana.

After the death of Kadphises II, Kanishka (AD 78-101) captured the throne. He was considered as the most powerful king of Kushans. He marched to Pataliputra and subdued Saka Satraps. He fought with the Chinese twice. He was defeated by the Chinese commander-in-chief Panchao in the first expedition. In the second war, he won and annexed Kashgar, Yarqand, Khotan and the parts of central Asia with his Empire. He created a new capital called Purushapuram. (Peshawar).
He was impressed by Buddhism. He organized the Fourth Buddhist Council at Kashmir. The famous Buddhist philosophers like Vasupandu, Ashvaghosa and Nagarjuna participated in the Fourth Buddhist Council.

I ii
Ashvaghosha, who was the Mahayana Buddhist scholar wrote large volumes of Sanskrit literature like Buddhacharita, Sutralankar. Vasumithra compiled Mahavibhasa. Nagarjuna wrote books on philosophy. Charaka, a famous physician and the great builder Ajilasim were in Kanishka's Empire.

S3?

The Gandhara art which combined the Indo-Greek style made new statues of Buddha and Bodhisatvas. Kanishka was called Asoka II because of the involvement and the steps he took for the spread of Buddhism. The year that Kanishka ascended the throne was the beginning of the Saka era. He met a violent death in his tent. Thus the Kushan Empire declined.

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THE GUPTA EMPIRE

After the Kushansthe next empire to arise in north India was that of the Guptas with Pataliputra as it's capital. Chandragupta I was the first important king of the Gupta dynasty(AD319-335). The year of his coronation was considered as the beginning of the Gupta Era. The Allahabad inscription describes the conquests and the victories of Samudragupta (AD 335375) who succeeded Chandragupta I. The Gupta empire extended from Bengal to Indus and the Himalayas to Vindhyas. The Allahabad inscription describes that he conquered 9 North Indian kings, 11 Republicans and 12 South Indian kings. The Allahabad pillar inscription was inscribed by his minister Harisena. After Samudra Gupta, Chandragupta II (AD 380 - 414) was considered as a famous king.

The epics like Ramayana, Mahabharatha, 18 Puranas and Panchathanthiras were compiled during Gupta's period. They patronized Sanskrit scholars like Kalidasa, Pasar and Visagathatha. Sanskrit was the official language. They built small temples for Gods and Goddess like Vishnu, Shiva and Durga. The Ajanta cave paintings and sculptures belonged to the Gupta age.
The famous astrologer and mathematician, Aryabhatta, Varahamihira, the famous physicians Saragar, Susurudar and Dhanvantari belonged to the Gupta age. The iron pillar at Mehrauli which is 1500 years old is a specimen of the art of metallurgy that flourished during the Gupta age. Nalanda University was founded by Kumara Gupta. Caste system was worse. The sacrifices which were banned during the period of Ashoka revived. They worshipped Shiva, Sakthi, Vishnu, Kumaran (Murugan) and temples were built for Hindu Gods.

He defeated Sakas, the foreign invaders and captured Ujjain.

Ajanta Cave Painting

Mehrauli Iron Pillar

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Gupta period was considered the Golden Age. The Gupta empire declined because of the invasion of Pushyamithra and Huns. The Chinese traveller Fahien visited the Buddhist pilgrim centres during the period of Chandragupta II. (Vikramaditya)

Nalanda University Harsha

HARSHA DYNASTY

Harshavardhana, the King of Thaneshwar created an empire in north India which was already defeated by the Huns after the downfall of the Guptas. (AD 606 - 647) Harsha fought for a long time with Sasanka, the one who killed his brother. In this war, the king of Kamarubha, (Assam) Bhaskaravarma helped him. After the death of Sasanka, he annexed most of the parts of the kingdom of Bengal. As per his sister's request, he became the king of Kanauj, which became his capital. He conquered Malwa, Sind and Orissa. He also tried to conquer south India which was a failure because Pulikesin II defeated Harsha.
Because of the influence of his sister and Hieun Tsang, the Chinese scholar, Harsha embraced Buddhism. He held religious councils at Kanauj and Prayag. In this, most of the Buddhist and other religious scholars participated. At the end of the council, he generously distributed all his wealth

to the monks, scholars and public. The Nalanda University was the great seat of learning which came to limelight under Harsha's patronage. It attracted not only Indians but also foreigners.

Harsha went on frequent tours to find out the problems and fulfil the needs of his subjects during his administration. He patronized art and architecture. His minister Bana was a Sanskrit scholar.
HARSHA'S EMPIRE

Purushapuram

Himalayas

Kanauj.

Prayag

Vaishali Pataliputra

MARSHA'S EMPIRE

Arabian Sea

Salukyas R. Krishna;

Bay of Bengal

Extent of Harsha's Empire

Indian Ocean

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He wrote the book called 'Harshacharita'. Harsa, who was a scholar wrote Nagananda, Ratnavali and Priyadarshika. The Chinese Buddhist monk Hieun Tsang visited India during his reign. He visited Kanauj, Prayag, Nalanda and

Kanchipuram. He stayed in Harsha's court for sometimes. Si-Yu-Ki, a book on tours tells about

Buddhism and about India on those

days.

Harsha's Empire was the last

Empire in north India before the Islamic

conquest.
Evaluation

I. Fill in the blanks 1. - established the Kushana Dynasty. 2. The book Buddha Charita was written by3. was the physician of the Gupta period. 4. was the king ofThaneshwar. of India. 5. The period of Gupta was called theII. State whether true or false 1. Peshawar was the capital of Kanishka. 2. Si-yu-ki was written by Hieun Tsang. 3. Ajilasim was the Greek architect. 4. Mehruali pillar belongs to the age of the Guptas. 5. Ashvaghosha wrote Sutralankar.

Priyadharshika

IV. Answer the following 1. Explain the background of Gandhara art. 2. Why Gupta's period is known as the 'Golden Age' of India? 3. Mention the foreign invaders who were responsible for the decline of Guptas. 4. Explain -Saka period and Gupta period. 5. Discuss about Fahien and Hieun Tsang.
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III. Match the following 1. Fourth Buddhist Council 2. Samudra Gupta's period 3. Kanishka's period 4. Pannar 5. Harsha 6. Kushan 7. Ashokall 8. Nalanda University 9. Kadphisesl

estabilished Kushan Empire Kumara Gupta Kanishka

Yueh-Chi tribe

AD 335 -AD 375 AD 78-AD 101

Harshacharita Kashmir

Pa ta lip ut ra m
C hi na

1. Fill in the blanks

Scholars

Buddhism Kanishka

Victories

162

Cap

Art

Fourth Buddhist Council Capital

ture dP lace

Religious Division

2. Write the names of the books and authors that you have read in the library. 3. How was it possible for Hieun Tsang to come to India when there was no transport

facilities during those days? Know such travel experience by when reading or listening.
4. What was the main interest of the kings? I.

War

II. Social service discuss.

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