Understanding Historical Perspectives: Kingship, Architecture, and Social Structures
Classified in History
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Examine the Notions of Kingship Mentioned in the Gandatindu Jataka
Answer: Popular Perceptions of Kings - The Gandatindu Jataka describes the plight of the subjects of a wicked king.
- When the king went in disguise to find out what his subjects thought about him, each one of them cursed him for their miseries, complaining that they were attacked by robbers at night and by tax collectors during the day.
- To escape from this situation, people abandoned their villages and went to live in the forest.
- As this story indicates, the relationship between a king and his subjects, especially the rural population, could often be strained – kings frequently tried to fill their coffers by demanding high taxes, and peasants, in particular, found such demands oppressive.
Examine How Buildings in the Royal Centre of Vijayanagara City Helped Increase the Prestige of the Vijayanagara Kingdom
Answer: Royal Centre
- It included over 60 temples.
- About thirty building complexes have been identified as palaces.
- The Mahanavamidibba was there.
- The “king’s palace” is the largest of the enclosures.
- It has two of the most impressive platforms, usually called the “audience hall” and the “mahanavamidibba”.
- Rituals associated with the structure probably coincided with Mahanavami (literally, the great ninth day) of the ten-day Hindu festival during the autumn months of September and October, known variously as Dusehra (Northern India), Durga Puja.
- One of the most beautiful buildings in the royal centre was the Lotus Mahal.
Explain the Grievances of the Indian Sepoys Against the British Rule Before the Revolt of 1857 With Examples
Answer: The Sepoys complained of:
- Low levels of pay.
- Difficulty in getting leave.
- Policy of racial discrimination adopted by the British officers in terms of physical abuse, promotion, pension, and terms of service.
- Rumors about the use of animal fat in cartridges, flour, etc.
Describe the Teaching of Baba Guru Nanak and Its Relevance in Today’s World
Answer: Teaching of Baba Guru Nanak
- Nirguna Bhakti i.e., God, the absolute ‘rab’ had no gender or form.
- Rejected rituals of Hindus and Muslims.
- Rejected image worship.
- Shabad.
- Repetition of the divine name to connect with the divine.
- Simple mode of worship.
- Teachings in the local language of the region - Punjabi.
- He formed a community of devotees.
- Started the tradition of Gurus.
- The hymns called ‘Gurbani’ are translated into various languages.
His teachings appeal because of the simplicity, practicality, and feeling of community.
How Did the Village Panchayat Regulate Rural Society in the Mughal Period?
Answer: Different sources to know about rural society during the Mughal period are as follows:
- Archaeological sources (monuments, houses, paintings, material remains) tell us about Mughal society.
- All the Mughal chronicles like Badshah Nama tell us about Mughal society.
- Ain-i Akbari, authored by Akbar’s court historian Abul Fazl, records the arrangements made by the state to ensure cultivation, collect revenue.
- Ain tells us about how to regulate the relationship between the state and the zamindars.
- Ain gives us the vision of Akbar’s empire.
- Ain tells us that social harmony was provided by a strong ruling class.
- It projected the idea that any revolt against the Mighty Mughals was bound to fail.
- Whatever we learn from the Ain is a view from the top.
- Revenue records from Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan dating from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries give us information.
- The records of the East India Company provide useful descriptions of agrarian relations in eastern India.