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Kings, Farmers And Towns
Mention any two ways in which the inscriptions of land grants help us to understand rural society in ancient times.
The ways are:
(i) The land grants give us a glimpse of relationship between the state and the farmers.
(ii) Certain land grants for example gives us details of things and products to be given or not to be given to someone. By this we can deduce what people produced, their subsistence etc.
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Discuss the evidence of craft production in early historic cities. In what ways is this different from the evidence from Harappan cities?
Describe the salient features of Mahajanapadas.
How do historians reconstruct the lives of ordinary people?
Compare and contrast the list of things given to the Pandyan chief (Source 3) with those produced in the village of Danguna (Source 8). Do you notice any similarities or differences?
List some of the problems faced by epigraphists.
Discuss the main features of Mauryan administration. Which of these elements are evident in the Asokan inscriptions that you have studied?
This is a statement made by one of the best-known epigraphists of the twentieth century, D.C. Sircar: “There is no aspect of life, culture and activities of the Indians that is not reflected in inscriptions”. Discuss.
Discuss the notions of kingship that developed in the post-Mauryan period.
To what extent were agricultural practices transformed in the period under consideration?
Compare Maps 1 and 2, and list the Mahajanapadas that may have been included in the Mauryan Empire. Are any Asokan inscriptions found in these areas?
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