1. How were Stupa’s and temples built.
Ans : There were several stages in building a Stupa or a temple.
(1) First, good quality stone had been found, quarried and transported to the place that was often carefully chose for the new building.
(2) Then these rough blocks of stone had be shaped and carved into pillar, and panel for walls floors and ceilings.
(3) Then these had to be placed in precisely the right position.
2. Who helped for the decorations of Stupa’s and temples.
Ans : The people who had paid for the decorations were merchants,farmer,garland makers, perfumers,Smiths and hundreds of men and women.
3. What you can see in the ancient paintings.
Ans : Ajanta is a place where several caves were hollowed out of the hills over centuries. Most of these were monasteries for Buddhist monks, and some of them were decorated with paintings. As the caves are dark inside, most of these paintings were done in the light of torches. The colours were made of plants and minerals.
4. List some of the epics and their authors.
Ans :
| Epic | Author | Language | Story | |||
| The Silappadikaram | Ilango | Tamil | The story of merchant named Kovalan | |||
| The Manimekalai | Sattanar | Tamil | The story of daughter of Kovalan and Madhavi | |||
| The Ramayana | Valmiki | Sanskrit | The story of Lord Rama | |||
| The Mahabharata | Vyasa | Sanskrit | The Mahabharata is about a war fought between Kauravas and Pandavas, who were cousins. |
|||
| Purana | Vyasa | Sanskrit | Stories about God and Goddesses | |||
| Aryabhatiyam | Aryabhata | Sanskrit | Explained that day and night were caused by the earth on its axis. |
|||
5. What were the stories told by ordinary people.
Ans : Ordinary people told stories, composed poems and songs, sang danced and performed plays.Some of these are preserved in collections of stories such as the Jatakas and the Panchatantra.
Define the Following :
(1) Epics – Epics are grand, long composition, about heroic men and women, and include stories about Gods.
(2) Stupa – The word stupa means a mound.
(3) Temples – It is a religious place for the Hindus.
(4) Painting – Painting is a art of laying on colours.
(5) Garbhagriha – Garbhagriha was an important part of the temple where image of chief deity was placed.
(6) Purana – Purana literal;ly means old. Puranas contain stories about Hindu Gods and Goddesses.
(7) Jatakas – Jatakas were the stories told by ordinary people
(8) Mandapa – Mandapa was a hall like structure built in the temple for the people to assemble.
(9) Shikhara – Shikhara is the tower of a temple.
Fill in the blanks :
(1) Both railing and gateways were often decorated with sculpture.
(2) Shikara were built to mark as a secret place.
(3) Temples carved out of a huge, single piece of stone are known as monoliths.
(4) Puranas were recited in temples by priests.
(5) Stories from the Jatakas were often shown on the railing of stup .
Tick the correct answer:
(1) The iron pillar is a remarkable example of the ___________.
(1) bodily remains (3) Clockwise
(2) round √ (4) Straight
(2) Devotees walked around the Stupa, in a __________ direction.
(1) anticlockwise (3) clockwise √
(2) round (4) straight
(3) Kings or queens decided to build Stupa or temple as it was an _________.
(1) expensive affair √ (3) others were not allowed
(2) matter of pride (4) religious affair
(4) __________ is a place where several caves were hollowed out of the hills over centuries.
(1) Stupa (3) painting
(2) railing (4) Ajanta √
(5) Aryabhata found a way of calculating the ___________________.
(1) round the earth (3) distance of the earth
(2) circumference of a circle √ (4) day and night