Read the following excerpt carefully and answer the questions that follow:

                                                                      In Praise of Samudragupta

This is an excerpt from the Prayaga Prashasti:

He was without an antagonist on earth; he, by the overflowing of the multitude of (his) many good qualities adorned by hundreds of good actions, has wiped off the fame of other kings with the soles of (his) feet; (he is) Purusha (the Supreme Being), being the cause of the prosperity of the good and the destruction of the bad (he is) incomprehensible; (he is) one whose tender heart can be captured only by devotion and humility; (he is) possessed of compassion ; (he is) the giver of many hundredthousands of cows; (his) mind has received ceremonial initiation for the uplift of the miserable, the poor, the forlorn and the suffering; (he is) resplendent and embodied kindness to mankind; (he is) equal to (the gods) Kubera (the god of wealth), Varuna (the god of the ocean), Indra (the god of rains) and Yama (the god of death)….

(15.1) Give the meaning of Prashasti.

(15.2) ‘Samudragupta is compared to gods.’ Justify the comparison.

(15.3) Name two sources used to reconstruct the history of Gupta rulers.

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.