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Kings, Farmers And Towns
Describe how Magadha became the most powerful Mahajanapada.
Between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, Magadha (in present-day Bihar) became the most powerful Mahajanapada. Modern historians explain this in a variety of ways.
(i) It was a region where agriculture was especially productive.
(ii) Besides, iron mines (in present-day Jharkhand), were accessible and provided resources for tools and weapons.
(iii) Elephants, an important component of the army, were found in forest in the region.
(iv) Moreover, the Ganga and its tributaries provided a means of cheap and convenient communication.
(v) Early Buddhist and Jaina writers who wrote about Magadha attributed its power to the policies of a number of ruthlessly ambitious kings of whom Bimbisara, Ajatasattu and Mahapadma Nanda are the best known.
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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?
Collect newspapers for one month. Cut and paste all the statements made by government officials about public works. Note what the reports say about the resources required for such projects, how the resources are mobilised and the objective of the project. Who issues these statements, and how and why are they communicated? Compare and contrast these with the evidence from inscriptions discussed in this chapter. What are the similarities and differences that you notice.
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