NCERT Pointer History Class-6 Chapter-11

1 year ago
Atiqur Rahman
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NCERT History Summary Class-6 Chapter-11: New Empires and Kingdoms

● Mamallapuram: Mamallapuram is known for its monolithic temples of the Pallavas.

● The Harshacharita: In the early seventh century, Harshavardhan became the ruler of Thanesar. Information about Harsha’s reign is also available in Harsha’s biography, Harshacharita, written by Banabhatta. The Chinese pilgrim Xuan Zang spent a lot of time in the court of Harsha.

● Rulers in South India: After the decline of the Satavahanas, smaller kingdoms arose in the South. Of these, the Chalukyas and the Pallavas were the important ones.

● Prashasti of Samudragupta: Samudragupta was a famous ruler of the Gupta dynasty. Allahabad pillar inscription is a Prashasti on Samudragupta’s military achievements. The poem was composed in Sanskrit by the Court Poet Harishena. The poet praised the King as a warrior and equal to God.

● Prashastis and Different Rulers: The Prashasti described four different kinds of rulers and Samudragupta’s policies towards them. These are: The rulers of Aryavarta and The rulers of Dakshinapatha.

● Neighbouring states like Assam, Coastal Bengal and Nepal.

● States ruled by the descendants of the Kushanas.

● Prashastis: Prashasti is a Sanskrit word meaning ‘in praise of’. Prashastis are long inscriptions written in praise of the kings. From the time of the Guptas, Prashastis became very important.

● The Chalukyas: The Chalukya kingdom was centred at the Raichur Doab. The Raichur Doab is located between the Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers. Their capital was at Vatapi. Pulakeshin II was a famous king of this dynasty. We know about him from a poem composed by his court poet Ravikirti.

● The Pallavas: The kingdom of the Pallavas was in the far South. They ruled between the mid-6th to the 8th century. The capital of the Pallavas was Kanchipuram, around the Kaveri delta in present-day Tamil Nadu.

● Fa Xian: Fa Xian was a Chinese pilgrim. He visited India and Sri Lanka. He is most known for his pilgrimage to Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha.

● A Prashasti is a Sanskrit word which means ‘in praise of. Although the composition of prashastis was not a new thing, it became popular only from the time of the Guptas.

● In Samudragupta’ sprashasti the poet described the king as equal to the gods.

● Most prashastis also mention the ancestors of the ruler. For example, there is one prashasti that mentions Samudragupta’s great grandfather, grandfather, father and mother.

● Chandragupta, Samudragupta’s father, was the first ruler of the Gupta dynasty who adopted the grand title of Maharaj-adhiraj. This title was also used by Samudragupta.

● Harshavardhana ruled Thanesar about 1400 years ago. He also began to rule over Kanauj after this brother-in-law was killed.

● At the beginning of his rule, he remained successful, but finally, his success did not last long. The Pallavas and Chalukyas were important ruling dynasties in South India.

●Pulakeshin II was the famous Chalukya ruler. His court poet Ravikirti composed poems in his praise. It was Pulakeshin II who checked Harsha’s advance.

● Land revenue remained important for the rulers.

● A new kind of army developed. Kings maintained a well-organised army with elephants, chariots, cavalry, foot soldiers, and military leaders.

● Local assemblies, which included the Sabha (an assembly of Brahmin landowners), were there. Ur was a village assembly that existed in areas where the landowners were not brahminsNagaram was an organisation of merchants.

●The condition of ordinary people was not good. Untouchables were not treated well.

● Dakshinapatha: It literally means the route leading to the south. The term also referred to the entire southern region.

● Genealogy: It means a list of ancestors.

● Kumar-amatya: It refers to an important minister.

● Maha-danda-nayaka: It referred to the chief judicial officer.

● Nagara-shreshthi: It was the term used for the chief banker or merchant of the city.

● Prashasti: It is a Sanskrit word which means in praise of. The court poets used to praise their rulers in glowing terms.

● Prathama-kulika: It was referred to the chief craftsman.

● Sandhi-Vigrahika: It meant a minister of war and peace.

● Sarbhavaha: The term used for the leader of the merchant caravans.

● Ur: It was a village assembly.

● About 1700 years ago – beginning of the Gupta dynasty.

● About 1400 years ago – the rule of Harshavardhana.

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