Ashoka The Emperor Who gave up War

 Ashoka The Emperor Who gave up War

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

Sol. 

Trading, office-work, farming, crafting, army, etc. were the occupations of the people.

2(1).

Officials collected ________ from the area under the direct control of the ruler.

Sol 1. 

Taxes

2(2).

Royal princes often went to the provinces as ________.

Sol 1. 

governors

2(3).

The Mauryan rulers tried to control ________ and ________ which were important for transport.

Sol 1. 

roads, rivers

2(4).

People in forested regions provided the Mauryan officials with ________.

Sol.	People living in the forested regions provided elephants, timber, honey and wax to the Mauryan officials.

3(1).

Ujjain was the gateway to the north-west.

1)	True
2)	False

Sol. 2)   False
False

3(2).

Chandragupta's ideas were written down in the Arthashastra.

1)	True
2)	False

Sol. 2)   False
False

3(3).

Kalinga was the ancient name of Bengal.

1)	True
2)	False

Sol. 2)   False
False

3(4).

Most Ashokan inscription were in the Brahmi script.

1)	True
2)	False

Sol. 1)   True

True

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

Sol.

Ashoka wanted to solve a number of problems by introducing Dhamma. The problems which he wanted to solve were: People in the empire followed different religions and sometimes leading to conflict. Animals were sacrificed. Servants and slaves were maltreated. Quarrels in family and amongst neighbourhood.

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

Sol.

Ashoka adopted the following methods to popularise the message of Dhamma:  Ashoka appointed officials called Dhamma Mahamattas, who went from place to place teaching people about Dhamma. Ashoka got his message inscribed on rock edicts and pillars and instructing his officers to read it out to those people who could not read it themselves. He sent messengers to spread the message of Dhamma to other lands, such as Sri Lanka, Syria, Egypt, and Greece. He built roads, rest houses, dug wells.

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.

Sol.	Most of the prisoners were either slaves or servants and were ill-treated because their masters felt superior to them. Yes, the orders of the emperor would have improved their conditions as he was the head of the state. He could have issued laws regarding this unequal treatment.

7.	Write a short paragraph explain why the lions are shown on our currency notes. List at least one more object on which you see them.

Sol.

If you look at the Ashokan pillar at Samath (or a picture of it) you will find that it has four lions sitting back to back. The lion represents the attainment of Buddhahood. The four lions surmounting the capital symbolize the kingship of the Buddha and his roar in all the four directions. There is also a non-religious interpretation of the symbol, describing the four lions as the symbol of Ashoka's rule in the four directions. Just as Buddha and his followers, Ashoka wanted to spread the message of peace and friendship. After independence, India wanted to spread the same message. So, we adopted the lion capital as our national emblem. We can find this emblem on the official cars of the President, Prime Minister and other dignitaries of India. It can also be seen on the epaulettes and other official documents of India.

8.	Suppose you had the power to inscribe your orders, what four commands would you like to issue?

Sol.

Suppose I had the power to inscribe my order, I would like to issue the following four commands- Respect your teachers, parents and elders. Obey the orders of your elders and love the young ones. All children, whether boys or girls, should be sent to school. Nobody should be discriminated on the basis of their caste and creed.