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Let's, , H., , TL., , Recall, , Based on your understanding, tick (v ) the correct option., , 1. c. prashastis, , 2. a. Samudragupra, , 3. c. Chandragupta J, , 4, a. Banabhatta, , 5. a. an assembly of merchants, , State whether the following statements are true or false and rewrite the incorrect, statements to correct them., , 1, FALSE. Hariscna composed a prashasti in praise of Samudragupta., , 2. TRUE, , 3. FALSE. Faxian visited India during the reign of Chandragupta Il., , 4. TRUE, , 5. FALSE. Harshavardhana shifted his capital fom ‘Thanesar to Kanauj., , Answer the following in one sentence., , 1, Biographies of kings or records of their achievements composed by court pocts and then, engraved on stonc in the form of long inscriptions were called prashastis., , 2, Kumaradevi was 2 Lichchhavi princess married to Chandragupta !,, , 3. Kalidasa and Aryabhata were among the nine jewels or navratnas in the court of, Chandragupta II., , 4, Narasimhavarman I defeated Pulakesin II., , 5. Ur was an assembly at village level and consisted of non-brahmana landowners., , Answer the following in brief., , 1, Chandragupta I ascended the throne in 320 cz as the first important ruler of the Gupta, dynasty. He received Magadha as a part of his dowry when he married Kumaradevi, a, Lichchhavi princess. His empire extended from Magadha to Prayaga. Chandragupta I ruled, for 15 ycars and assumed the title of Maharajadhiraja or ‘king of kings’. Chandragupta I, is said to have issued coins with the image of his queen Kumaradevi on them., , , , , , 2. Samadragupta, the son of Chandragupta I, became emperor in 335 ce. He was a great, conqueror, He defeated and subjugated a number of other kings from India and outside., , Samudragupta was called the Indian Napoleon by the British historian, Vincent Smith,, because of his military exploits and expansionist policies. The most authentic source of, information about Samudragupta is the Allahabad Pillar inscription (Prayaga prashasti),, composed by his court poct, Harisena. There is some amount of personal information, that Harisena inchydes in his inscription. Samudragupta had a sharp intellect; he liked, associating with learned men. He was also a musician and poct—some of his coins, show him playing the vena. Samudragupta called himself ‘Lichchhavi Dauhitra’ or the, ‘grandson of the Lichchhavis’., , 3. A province was called a bhukti and was further divided into districts called vishayas., Each bhukei was placed under the charge of an uparika. Kumaramatyas were important, officials appointed by the king in provinces, and were usually paid in cash. The revenue, collected from the land became their income. It is important to note that some posts, were made hereditary., , 4. Harsha became the ruler of Kanauj after the death of his brother-in-law, Grihavarman,, After ascending the throne, Harsha shifted his capital from Thanesar to Kanauj, Harsha, ruled for more than 40 years. Though he was not able to extend his power to the cast, and Deccan, Harsha did bring parts of Punjab, Kashmir, Nepal and Gujarat under his, control,, , 5. The most renowned ruler of the Chalukyas was Pulakesin I. He attained fame after, defeating Harshavardhana on the banks of river Narmada, in 620 ce. We know, , 2 WL Asko, , , , Sheri Wee Bea a as

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conqueror. He deteated and subjugated a number of other kings trom India and outside., Samudragupta was called the Indian Napoleon by the British historian, Vincent Smith,, because of his military exploits and expansionist policies. The most authentic source of, information about Samudragupta is the Allahabad Pillar inscription (Prayaga prashasti),, composed by his court poct, Harisena, There is some amount of personal information, that Harisena includes in his inscription. Samudragupta had a sharp intellect; he liked, associating with learned men. He was also a musician and poct—some of his coins, , show him playing the veena, Samudragupta called himself ‘Lichchhavi Dauhitra’ or the, ‘grandson of the Lichchhavis’, , 3. A province was called a bhukti and was further divided into districts called vishayas., Each bhukti was placed under the charge of an uparika, Kumaramatyas were important, officials appointed by the king in provinces, and were usually paid in cash. The revenue, collected from the land became their income. It is important to note that some posts, were made hereditary., , 4, Harsha became the ruler of Kanauj after the death of his brother-in-law, Grihavarman,, After ascending the throne, Harsha shifted his capital from Thanesar to Kanauj. Harsha, ruled for more than 40 years. Though he was not able to extend his power to the cast, and Deccan, Harsha did bring parts of Punjab, Kashmir, Nepal and Gujarat under his, control., , , , , , 5. ‘The most renowned ruler of the Chalukyas was Pulakesin II. He attained fame after, defeating Harshavardhana on the banks of river Narmada, in 620 ce. We know, about Pulakesin II from a prashasti composed by his court poct Ravikirti. The Aihole, inscription is written in Sanskrit. Besides the Pallavas, the Chalukyas had to face many, other enemics, such as the Rashtrakutas. After the death of Pulakesin [1, Chalukyan, power declined., V. Answer the following in detail., , 1. Samudragupta was a great conqueror. He defeated and subjugated a number of other, kings from India and outside. Samudragupta was called the Indian Napoleon by the, Irish historian Vincent Smith because of his military exploits and expansionist policies., Hariscna’s inscription states that Samudragupta conquered the ‘whole world’. He was a, veteran of many battles. He was also a great scholar, musician, and poct—some of his, coins show him playing the veena., , 2. ‘Theoretically, the king was the most powerful person and the centre of administration, during Gupta reign. A council of ministers or mantri parishad, assisted the king in, the administrative matters, A province was called a bhukti and was further divided, into districts called vishaya. A bhukti was placed under the charge of an uparika., Kumaramatyas were the other important officials appointed by the king in the, provinces, and were paid in cash. Besides administrative officials, other categories of, people began to enjoy a greater say in local or city administration., , , , , , , , 3. ‘The important sources are books written by court poets on the exploits of their kings, are known as charita kavyas. Sometimes, such biographies of kings or records of their, achievements would be first composed by court poets and then engraved on stone in, the form of long inscriptions, These were called prashastis. ‘Prashasti’ is a Sanskrit word,, meaning ‘praise’. It is important to remember that both charita kavyas and prashastis, were written on order of the king, The main subject of these works was the king himself., “Thus, although they tend to exaggerate the achievements of these ancient kings, they are, important sources of historical information., , 4, ‘The Pallava kingdom was located in the Kaveri Delta. Its capital was Kanchipuram., Among the Pallava rulers, Mahendravarman and his son, Narasimhavarman I, were the, most famous, The latter defeated Pulakesin II. He even captured Vatapi (Badami) and, adopted the title of Vatapikonda or the ‘conqueror of Vatapi’., , 5. Composition of local assemblies that existed in the southern kingdoms during the postGupta period is as follows:, , + Sabha: An assembly of brahmana landowners; worked through a number of, committees, such as, committees on irrigation, agriculture and maintenance of roads., , Nagaram: An assembly of rich merchants; primarily functioned in towns and cities, and looked after a wide varicty of urban and administrative matters., , Ur: Another assembly at village level; consisted of non-brahmana landowners.