SolveItClass 9 · NCERT

NCERT Solutions · Class 9 Social Science State and Society up to 1000 CE

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Questions and activities 5.11–5.14 (part 7 of 7)

  1. Exercise 5.11

    Many ideas about governance come from texts composed by scholars and advisors of the king. What might be some limitations of relying only on such sources?

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    Such texts tell us what governance was supposed to be, not always what it actually was.
    NCERT_Solution_Class9_SocialScience_Ch5_QA_Q5-11
    They were written by and for the court. The Arthaśhāstra, for instance, is a treatise on training a king — it gives the ideal design of a state, not a record of one.
    They mostly carry the voice of the powerful — kings, ministers, priests and scholars — and rarely the voice of farmers, artisans, labourers or women.
    They are prescriptive: rules about the duties of the varṇas say what ought to happen, while practice differed. The chapter notes that śhūdras, though expected to assist the others, were in fact engaged in agriculture, animal husbandry, trade and crafts.
    An advisor's text may also flatter the ruler or defend the interests of the group that wrote it, so it is not a neutral witness.
    One tradition may not fit the whole subcontinent — the Tolkappiyam and the Pattinappalai show a Tamil society organised more by occupation and economic function than by rigid varṇa.
    Many such texts are hard to date and grew over long periods, so it is not always clear which century a passage describes.
    What historians do instead
    They read these texts alongside other kinds of evidence — inscriptions such as Junagadh, Uttaramerur, Mandsaur and Nāśhik; copper plates such as the Damodarpur plates; coins; and archaeology such as iron finds, PGW and NBPW pottery.
    Where the two kinds of evidence agree, we can be confident; where they disagree, the disagreement is itself information.

  2. Exercise 5.12

    Read the source and answer the questions: The Nāśhik cave inscription (2nd\displaystyle 2^{nd} century CE) of Uṣhavadāta records: “Uṣhavadāta, son of Dinika, son-in-law of king Nahapāna … has bestowed this cave on the Saṁgha generally; he has also given a perpetual endowment, three thousand—3000\displaystyle 3000 kāhāpaṇas, which, for the members of the Saṁgha of any sect, and any origin dwelling in this cave, will serve as cloth money and money for outside life (kuśhaṇa); and those kāhāpaṇas have been invested in guild dwelling at Govadhana—2000\displaystyle 2000 in a weavers’ guild, interest one pratika (monthly) for the hundred, (and) 1000\displaystyle 1000 in another weaver’s guild, interest three quarters of a paḍika (monthly) for the hundred.” a. What does this source tell us about the economic role of guilds? b. Why were guilds trusted with money deposits? c. Identify the donor and the donees from the given source.

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    a. What this source tells us about the economic role of guildsNCERT_Solution_Class9_SocialScience_Ch5_QA_Q5-12
    Guilds acted as banks: money was deposited with them and they were obliged to pay a fixed rate of interest on the endowment.
    The inscription records a perpetual endowment of $\displaystyle 3,000$ kāhāpaṇas invested with guilds dwelling at Govadhana — $\displaystyle 2,000$ in one weavers' guild at one pratika a month for the hundred, and $\displaystyle 1,000$ in another weavers' guild at three quarters of a paḍika a month for the hundred.
    Only the interest was spent, not the capital — it served as cloth money and money for outside life (kuśhaṇa) for those dwelling in the cave, which is what makes the endowment 'perpetual'.
    The two rates differ, which shows guilds negotiated their own terms rather than following one fixed rule.
    So guilds were not merely associations of craftspersons and traders: they were banking and credit institutions, able to invest funds securely and generate a steady income.
    b. Why guilds were trusted with money deposits
    A guild was a lasting institution — far more likely than any individual to survive long enough to keep paying in perpetuity.
    Guilds were well established and influential; the Jātaka literature refers to as many as eighteen types of them.
    They regulated the quality of goods and often fixed prices, so they had a public reputation to protect.
    Their members' conduct was supervised through guild courts, which enforced professional standards and discipline — a built-in guarantee of good behaviour.
    A weavers' guild had a steady income from its craft, so it could meet the interest payments regularly.
    The chapter says guilds already functioned as banks, financiers and trustees, so holding an endowment was ordinary business for them.
    c. The donor and the donees
    Donor: Uṣhavadāta, son of Dinika and son-in-law of king Nahapāna.
    Donees: the Saṁgha — the Buddhist monastic community — on whom the cave was bestowed "generally".
    More precisely, the beneficiaries are the members of the Saṁgha of any sect and any origin dwelling in this cave, who receive the cloth money and the money for outside life.
    Note carefully: the weavers' guilds at Govadhana were not donees. They were the depositories — they held the money and paid the interest.

  3. Exercise 5.13

    Mark and locate on the map of India the following important centres: Pāṭaliputra, Nāśhik, Ujjayinī, Vikramśhila, Kānchipuram, Mathurā, Rājgṛiha.

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    Where the chapter shows each oneNCERT_Solution_Class9_SocialScience_Ch5_QA_Q5-13
    Pāṭaliputra — numbered on Fig $\displaystyle 5.12$ among the early historical cities; it lies in the Magadha region, which the chapter places in present-day Bihar.
    Nāśhik — not marked on any map in this chapter. You know it from the Nāśhik cave inscription (2nd century CE) of Nahapāna and Uṣhavadāta, and from Fig 5.13. Take its position from your atlas (western Deccan).
    Ujjayinī — numbered on Fig $\displaystyle 5.12$, and also named on Fig $\displaystyle 5.10$ as an ancient centre of learning; central India.
    Vikramśhila (printed Vikramśhilā on Fig $\displaystyle 5.10$) — an ancient centre of learning in eastern India; the chapter's timeline dates the university to $\displaystyle 783$–$\displaystyle 820$ CE.
    Kānchipuram (printed Kānchīpuram) — appears on both Fig $\displaystyle 5.12$ and Fig $\displaystyle 5.10$; the chapter places the Uttaramerur inscription in Kanchipuram district of Tamil Nadu, and the Silappadikāram routes ran from Kanchipuram to Poompuhar and to Kanyakumari.
    Mathurā — numbered on Fig $\displaystyle 5.12$; the chapter also names it as an important textile hub, alongside Kāśhī and Kāmarūpa.
    Rājgṛiha (printed Rājagṛiha) — numbered on Fig $\displaystyle 5.12$ among the early historical cities of the Magadha region.
    How to do it well
    Use an outline political map of India and mark each place with a small dot plus its name.
    Copy the positions from Fig $\displaystyle 5.12$ and Fig $\displaystyle 5.10$ in your textbook, then check them against a school atlas.
    Keep the book's spellings and diacritics exactly.
    Add a legend distinguishing capitals, ports, centres of learning and inscription sites, if your teacher allows it.
    Do not colour large areas — this is a point-marking exercise, so the accuracy of each dot matters more than decoration.

  4. Exercise 5.14

    Prepare a short presentation or poster on one of the following— a. Life in the Vedic society b. Early education system (gurukula) c. Trade and guilds in early India d. Role of women in early Indian society

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    Worked example — a poster plan for (c) Trade and guilds in early IndiaNCERT_Solution_Class9_SocialScience_Ch5_QA_Q5-14
    Title: "Roads, Ports and Guilds: How Early India Did Business".
    Panel $\displaystyle 1$ — Routes: the Uttarāpatha and Dakṣhiṇāpatha had emerged by about the 6th century BCE and were maintained and expanded by later dynasties.
    Panel $\displaystyle 2$ — Ports: Muziris, Kāveripaṭṭinam, Arikameḍu, Masulipaṭnam; by the early centuries CE trade with Rome had expanded significantly.
    Panel $\displaystyle 3$ — What was traded: Magadha's textiles, gems, coral, pearls, metals and minerals; salt, strictly regulated by the state.
    Panel $\displaystyle 4$ — Guilds (śhreṇīs): associations of one profession or craft; they regulated quality, often fixed prices, and disciplined members through guild courts; the Jātaka literature names eighteen types.
    Panel $\displaystyle 5$ — Guilds as banks: quote the Nāśhik cave inscription (2nd century CE) — endowments deposited with guilds paid fixed interest that maintained Buddhist monasteries and caves.
    Closing line: your own sentence on why guilds mattered.
    a. Life in the Vedic society
    Units of society: kula (family) → grāma → viśha under a viśhapati → jana, with the rājā as protector.
    Gotra as a patrilineal lineage traced to a Vedic ṛiṣhi, which also regulated marriage.
    The four āśhramas — brahmacharya, gṛihastha, vānaprastha, saṁnyāsa — and the ṣhoḍaśha saṁskāras, the sixteen rites of passage.
    The four puruṣhārthas — dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣha — with artha to be pursued only as guided by dharma.
    Religion: yajñas offered to the sacred fire, deities tied to nature (sun, rain, fire, earth, dawn) with no rigid hierarchy among them; some practices survive in festivals such as Chhath and Makar Sankranti.
    b. Early education system (gurukula)
    Education was holistic — a complete preparation for life, not just a path to a career.
    Inner values: truth, patience, regularity, humility, control of senses, purity of self (sattvaśhuddhi), a sense of the unity of life and nature, reverence for all beings.
    Subjects: the Vedas, grammar, logic, philosophy, ethics, mathematics, science, medicine, astronomy; music, dance, painting, physical education and martial arts such as archery; plus yoga and meditation.
    The teacher's home was the centre of the gurukula, the student lived as a member of the teacher's family, and the guru-śhiṣhya paramparā was regarded as sacred.
    Great centres of learning on Fig $\displaystyle 5.10$ include Takṣhaśhilā, Nālandā, Vallabhī, Vikramśhilā, Ujjayinī and Kānchīpuram; the timeline dates Nālandā to $\displaystyle 427$ CE, Vallabhī to $\displaystyle 480$ CE, and Vikramśhilā to $\displaystyle 783$–$\displaystyle 820$ CE.
    c. Trade and guilds in early India
    Use the worked example above; add that metallic coins, beginning with silver punch-marked coins, came into circulation as trade grew after the rise of the mahājanapadas.
    Add the Sanchi example: the guild of ivory workers from Vidiśhā carved the sculptures on the gateways and railings of the Great Stupa.
    d. Role of women in early Indian society
    Vedic period: women took part in scholarly learning, in certain contexts performed rituals, joined chariot races and attended the sabhā.
    Women sages credited with Ṛigvedic hymns — Apālā, Viśhvavārā, Ghoṣhā, Lopāmudrā; the revered goddesses Uṣha and Aditi.
    Manu-smṛiti $\displaystyle 3.56$: "Where women, verily, are honoured, there gods rejoice."
    Over time the position of women fluctuated and even declined, though they continued to contribute to household management, agriculture, crafts and religious practice.
    Named women: Prabhāvatī Gupta, regent in the Vākāṭaka kingdom, who issued land grants in her own name; the Sangam poetesses Avvaiyar and Vennikuyattiyar; and Sembiyan Mahādevī of the Chola period, who supported temple building.
    What a good poster or presentation must contain
    A clear title and $\displaystyle 4$–$\displaystyle 6$ short points — bullets, not paragraphs.
    At least one named source from the chapter (a text, an inscription, or a dated event).
    The book's spellings and diacritics, copied exactly.
    A sketch, timeline or hand-drawn map that you make yourself, if it helps the point.
    One concluding line in your own words saying why the topic still matters.