Exercise - Question:
Que: Match the following:
Column I | Column II |
Muvendar | Mahayana Buddhism |
Lords of the dakshinapatha | Buddhacharita |
Ashvaghosha | Satavahana rulers |
Bodhisattvas | Chinese pilgrim |
Xuan Zang | Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas |
Ans:
Column I | Column II |
Muvendar | Cholas, chears and pandays |
Lords of the dakshinapatha | Satavahana rules |
Ashvaghosha | Baddhacharita |
Bodhisattvas | Madhayana buddhis |
Xuan Zang | Chinese piligrim |
Que: Why did kings want to control the Silk Route?
Ans: They could benifts from the taxes, tributes and gifts that were brought by traders travelleing along the route.
Que: What kinds of evidence do historians use to find out about trade and trade routes?
Ans: The remain of the merchandise like pottery, especilly bowls and plates have been found at various place. They were taken by the traders. South India was famous for gold, spices and previous stones, Traders carried these goods to rome in ships across the sea and by land in caravans. Gold coins have been found at the trading posts.
Que: What were the main features of Bhakti?
Ans: Following are the main features of Bhakti:
This was the result of people’s struggle to free the religion from control of the priests.
A person was free to choose his ways and means to worship a god.
Pure devotion to a deity was most important aspect.
Any object could be used as a symbol of the god.
Que: Discuss the reasons why the Chinese pilgrims came to India.
Ans: Piligram are men and women who undertake journerys to holy places in order to offer worship. The chinese piligram like xuan-zang came to visit places associted with the life of buddha as well as the famous monasteries.
Que: Why do you think ordinary people were attracted to Bhakti?
Ans:
1. I think that ordinary people were attracted to Bhakti because Bhakt-saint used the language of people, which they could understand easily.
2. The saints emphasized the worship of certain deities, which became a central feature of later Hinduism, gained in importance.
3. These deities included Shiva, Vishnu and goddesses such as Durga. Bhakti is generally understood as a person’s devotion to his or her chosen deity.
4. Anybody, whether rich or poor, belonging to the so called ‘high’ or ‘low’ castes, man or woman, could follow the path of Bhakti.
5. They stressed on simple ways for Moksha or salvation, the last aim of life.
Que: List five things that you buy from the market. Which of these are made in the city / village in which you live and which are brought by traders from other areas?
Ans: List of things that we buy from the market:
(a) Things made in our city
- The pots and pans of shiny steel.
- Bright plastic baskets.
- Cloth printed with brilliant floral designs.
- Clockwork or electronic toys.
- Radio and Television sets.
(b) Things made in our village
- Clay pots made by our village potter.
- Leather shoes and Chappals manufactured by our village shoemaker.
- Wooden toys and articles manufactured by our village carpenter.
- Iron and metal tools and articles made by our village blacksmith.
- Ring and other ornaments made by our village goldsmith.
(c) Things brought by our traders
- Swift prancing horses by sea in ships.
- Bales of black pepper in carts.
- Gems and gold from the southern India.
- Sandalwood collected from the forests of Karnataka.
- The pears of the southern seas.
Que: There are several major pilgrimages performed by people in India today. Find out about anyone of them and write a short description.
[Hint: Who can go on the pilgrimage—men, women or children? How long does it take? How do people travel? What do they take with them? What do they do when they reach the holy place? Do they bring anything back with them?]
Ans: Self Study or Self Exercise.
However some useful hints for students’ help are given below:,
India is a secular country. We find here the followers of almost all major religions of the world including Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Parsi etc.
Major Pilgrims performed by the people in India are:
- Visit to shrine or Temple or Dargah on foot or by bus, or by train or by aeroplane and even using ponies or horses or walking on foot, for example visit to Kailash Mansarover, to Shiv Ling ahead from Pahalgaon (J.K.), to Vaishnodevi shrine, to Ajmer-Pushkar or Dargah of Chisti, etc.
- To participate in Rathyatra (Puri in Orissa).
- Visit to Tirupati or Minakshi temple or Char Dham.
- Hajj (performed by Muslims only).
- Visit to Golden Temple, Hazur Sahib or other historical Gurudawara Sahibs by Sikhs, Hindus and others.