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Kings, Farmers And Towns
Question
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Explain Shrenis or Guilds. Mention the functions performed by the members of the guild.

Answer

Members often shared a common profession and were sometimes originated into shrenis or guilds.
Functions of the members of guilds: The members of the guild pooled the resources they had acquired through the practice of their craft and erected a temple in honour of the sun god in the city.

The inscription provides us a fascinating glimpse of complex social processes. At one level, it documents the movement of skilled craft persons from one part of the subcontinent to another. It also provides insights into the nature of guilds or shrenis. Membership was obviously based on a common craft specialisation, but it is clear that members of the guild had adopted other occupations as well. It also indicates that, at least in this case, members of a guild shared more than a common profession-they collectively decided to invest their wealth, earned through the practice of their craft, in constructing a temple which is described as splendid. This monument, erected in the city that they chose to live in, would have probably reminded other city-dwellers of their presence.

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Some More Questions From Kings, Farmers And Towns Chapter

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.

Collect five different kinds of currency notes and coins in circulation today. For each one of these, describe what you see on the observe and the reverse (the front and the back). Prepare a report on the common features as well as the differences in terms of pictures, scripts and languages, size, shape and any other element that you find significant. Compare these with the coins shown in this chapter, discussing the materials used, the techniques of minting, the visual symbols and their significance and the possible functions that coins may have had.

What is meant by Janapada?

What were the Mahajanapadas? Name a few important Mahajanapadas.