1. Why is Ashoka called a unique ruler.
Ans : The most famous Mauryan ruler was Ashoka. He was the first ruler who tired to take his message to the people through inscriptions.Most of Ashoka’s inscriptions were in Prakrit and were written in the Brahmi script, which were easy to understand so Ashoka is called a unique ruler.
2. Why do you think the king had special servants to taste the food he ate.
Ans : The king is afraid that someone may try to kill him, so he had special servants to taste the food he ate.
3. In what ways do you think Ashoka’s attitude towards neighbouring people was different from that of the Chinese emperor.
Ans : Ashoka’s attitude towards the neighbouring peoples was totally different from the contemporary Chinese emperors. For example the Chinese emperors constructed wall to protect the northern frontier of the empire from the pastoral people, whereas Ashoka explained its empire of Dhamma by sending officials to spread the message of non – violence. This example shows the open mindedness of Asoka.
4. Why did Ashoka decided to give up wars.
Ans : Ashoka fought a war to conquer Kalinga. However he was so horrified when he saw the violence and bloodshed that he decided not to fight any more wars.
5. Differentiate between tribute and taxes.
Ans :
| Tribute | Taxes |
| (1) Tribute was collected not on Regular basis and people gave it more or less willingly . | (1) Taxes were collected on regular basic and it was compulsory for the people to pay them . |
Define the following :
(1) Brahmi – Brahmi was a script used to write inscription in Ashoka’s time.
(2) Dhamma – Ashoka’s ideas which he wanted to use to instruct his subjects were called the dhamma.
(3) Dhamma Mahamatta – Ashoka officials who went from place to place teaching people about dhamma.
(4) Arthashastra – Chanakya’s ideas were written down in a look called the Arthashastra .
Fill in the blanks :
(1) The empire that Ashoka ruled was founded by Chandragupta Maurya.
(2) The Prakrit language gave birth to the Pali language.
(3) When members of the same family become rulers one after another, the family is often called a dynasty .
(4) Ashoka was inspired by the teachings of Buddha.
(5) During the Mauryan period, the royal princes were appointed as Governors.
Tick the correct one:
(1) According to the Arthashastra, blankets of __________ India were famous.
(1) north east (3) north west √
(2) south (4) north
(2) The script used for inspiration was __________ .
(1) Roman (3) Tamil
(2) Brahmi √ (4) Prakrit
(3) ___________ is the ancient name of coastal Orissa.
(1) Rampurva (3) Girnar
(2) Sopara (4) Kalinga √
(4) The Arthashastra tells us that the south India was important for it _________ .
(1) Gold and precious stones √ (3) clothes
(2) blankets (4) different kinds of food.
(5) The capital of the Mauryan empire was _____________.
(1) Ujjain (3) Taxila
(2) Pataliputra √ (4) Rajagriha