Solutions for Class 6 History Chapter 7 – Ashoka, The Emperor Who Gave Up War

The Mauryas were a dynasty with 3 important rulers — Chandragupta, his son Bindusara, and Bindusara’s son, Ashoka. King Ashoka, the only King of India to give up violence after winning a war was driven to do so because he was saddened by the aftermath of violence in the war. He saw that many people were killed and so, decided not to fight any more wars. NCERT Solutions for Class 6 History Chapter 7 “Ashoka, The Emperor Who Gave Up War” contains the solutions to the exercises given in the book “History – Our Pasts – I”. This page will help you learn the right NCERT Solutions for the exercises provided at the end of the chapter. The solutions will be useful for school exams, as they are sourced from the NCERT textbooks.

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Q.1 Make a list of occupations of people who lived within the Mauryan Empire.

The following were the occupations of those people who lived within the Mauryan Empire:

1. Farming

2. Handicrafts

3. Trading

4. Herding

5. Hunting and gathering

Q.2 Complete the following sentences:

1. Officials collected_______ from the area under the direct control of the ruler.
2. Royal princess often went to the provinces as____
3. The Mauryan rulers tried to control______ and _____ which were important for transport.
4. People in forested regions provided the Mauryan officials with______

Solution:(a) Officials collected taxes from the area under the direct control of the ruler.

(b) Royal princes often went to provinces as governors.

(c) The Mauryan rulers tried to control roads and rivers which were important for transport.

(d) People in forested regions provided the Mauryan officials with elephants, timber and honey.

Q.3 State whether true or false:

1. Ujjain was the gateway to the north-west
2. Chandragupta’s idea was written down in the Arthashastra
3. Kalinga was the ancient name of Bengal
4. Most Ashokan inscriptions are in the Brahmi script

Solution:

(a) False

The Mauryan province of Taxila was the gateway to the north-west.

(b) False

Arthashashtra is Sanskrit which means economic science. The Ideas of Kautilya, known as Chanakya, were written down in Arthashashtra.

(c) False

Kalinga refers to the coastal region between the Godavari and Mahanadi rivers, in what is modern-day Orissa, not Bengal.

(d) True

Brahmi Script is the parent language of Hindi and many other north Indian languages. Ashokan inscriptions were written in Brahmi script.

Q.4 What were the problems that Ashoka wanted to solve by introducing dhamma?

Solution: Emperor Ashoka wanted to solve the following problems by introducing dhamma:

1.Inter-religious conflicts between his subjects.

2. Animal sacrifice during religious rituals.

3. Ill-treatment of servants and slaves.

4. Constant disputes between neighbours over petty issues.

NOTE: ‘Dhamma’ is a Prakrit word which means dharma.

Q.5 What were the means adopted by Ashoka to spread the message of dhamma?

Solution: Ashoka adopted the following means to spreads his message of dhamma:

1. He appointed officials called Dhamma Mahamatta who went to different places to spread the message of dhamma.

2. He had his messages inscribed on pillars, so that common folk could read them.

3. Officials were directed to read out the messages inscribed on pillars to those who could not read.

Q.6 Why do you think slaves and servants were ill-treated? Do you think the orders of the emperor would have improved their condition? Give reasons for your answer.

Solution: Slaves and servants were ill-treated owing to the following reasons:

1. Most of them were prisoners of war.

2. Some belonged to the lowest social order, specifically Shudras.

3. The concept of human rights was virtually non-existent during that period.

Their condition would have improved after the order of Emperor because:

1. No one would dare defy the supreme order of the emperor himself.

2. Those who would disobey the emperor would be severely punished by his officials.

4. The Emperor was the supreme commander of the Mauryan Empire. Thus, his word was law and had to be obeyed to the fullest extent.

CLASS 6TH HISTORY CHAPTER 1 WHAT, WHERE, HOW AND WHEN? SOLUTION (2023-24)

Q.7 Write a short paragraph explaining to Roshan why the lions are shown on our currency notes. List at least one other object on which you see them.

Solution: The Ashoka pillar in Sarnath has 4 lions on top. Lord Buddha gave his first sermon after attaining enlightenment in Sarnath. The four lions are related to Buddhism and signify peace and friendship. During our independence struggle, the Buddhist ideals of non-violence inspired the freedom movement. These lions on our symbol signify truth, peace, friendliness.

The lion symbol is the state emblem of the Republic of India and is used by all government departments. It is also seen on our passports as well.