CBSE Class 9 Social Science Chapter 05 State And Society Up To 1000 Ce MCQs Set 01

Answer: (C) Vidhata

Explanation:
The vidhata was open to ordinary members of the jana and served as a forum for discussing warfare and political issues, unlike the sabha, which was a smaller judicial body of elites, or the samiti, which focused on policy for the wider population.

Answer: (B) Its strategic location, fertile plains, and capable rulers allowed territorial expansion

Explanation:
The chapter attributes Magadha's dominance to a combination of geographic advantage, agricultural wealth, and strong leadership, which together enabled it to absorb neighbouring territories and eventually give rise to the Mauryan Empire.

Answer: (B) New jatis emerged from intermarriage, migration, and territorial differences, while varna remained a broader fourfold framework

Explanation:
• Varna stayed fixed at four categories as a functional classification.
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• Jati, however, multiplied because of intermarriage between varnas, migrating groups settling into endogamous communities, and regional distinctions.
• This explains why society came to have countless jatis but only four varnas.

Answer: (B) The favour and rejoicing of the gods

Explanation:
The verse states that where women are honoured, gods rejoice, and where they are not, sacred rites become fruitless, showing that respect for women was tied to religious and ritual well-being in this tradition.

Answer: (B) They acted as banking institutions that accepted deposits and paid fixed interest

Explanation:
Ushavadata's endowment shows money being deposited with weavers' guilds at Govardhana, which were obligated to pay monthly interest, revealing that guilds also worked as reliable financial institutions capable of generating steady income for religious institutions.

Answer: (B) Dakshinapatha and Uttarapatha

Explanation:
Dakshinapatha ran toward the south while Uttarapatha connected northern regions; both were later expanded by successive dynasties and linked inland areas to coastal ports, integrating overland trade with maritime commerce.

Answer: (C) Mitra (allies) - the group of external supporters of the king

Explanation:
Mitra referred specifically to the allies of the state, one of the seven constituents alongside the king, ministers, territory, forts, treasury, and army; the other pairings in the options mismatch the constituents with unrelated functions.

Answer: (B) It records the achievements of three different rulers from three separate dynasties across roughly 700 years

Explanation:
The same rock carries records from Ashoka's edicts, Rudradaman I's account of repairing Sudarshana Lake, and Skandagupta's later restoration of the same lake, making it a rare continuous record spanning the Maurya, Western Satrap, and Gupta periods.

Answer: (B) To ensure a fair and transparent method of choosing committee members

Explanation:
The kudavolai, or ballot-pot method, was carried out in full public view, often at a temple, with a child drawing the names, precisely so that the community could witness a transparent and impartial selection of representatives for the village committees.

Answer: (C) Mandalam

Explanation:
Provinces were called bhuktis in the north but mandalas or mandalams in the south; vishaya and kottam referred to smaller divisions below the province, and grama denoted a village, the smallest unit.

Answer: (B) It sought holistic development, combining practical skills with moral and spiritual values

Explanation:
Alongside subjects like grammar, mathematics, medicine, and the arts, students practised yoga and meditation and were expected to embody values such as truth, humility, and self-control, showing that education aimed at shaping character as much as imparting knowledge.

Answer: (B) Duty, righteousness, and moral conduct appropriate to one's role in society

Explanation:
The chapter clarifies that dharma is not synonymous with religion but denotes an ethical way of living guided by one's duties and responsibilities, a meaning reflected in Bhishma's statement that dharma is whatever upholds all beings.

Answer: (A) The Alvars and Nayanmars

Explanation:
The Alvars composed hymns devoted to Vishnu while the Nayanmars, Shaiva saint-poets, praised Shiva; together their extensive body of Tamil devotional literature marked a major religious development distinct from earlier Vedic ritual worship.

Answer: (B) Puru

Explanation:
Puru was among the five clans—along with Yadu, Turvasha, Anu, and Druhyu—collectively called the pañchajana in the Rigveda, whereas Magadha, Kosala, and Chedi were later mahajanapadas rather than early Vedic clans.

Answer: (B) One-sixth

Explanation:
The chapter states that the basic land tax under Mauryan administration was generally fixed at one-sixth of the produce, with land further classified into categories such as cultivated, fallow, and high or dry land for assessment purposes.

Answer: (A) Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyaka, Upanishad

Explanation:
The chapter lays out this fixed internal structure for every Vedic text: the samhita carries the hymns for rituals, the brahmana explains ritual procedure in prose, the aranyaka holds forest-based philosophical reflection, and the upanishad explores deeper questions of the self and the universal being.

Answer: (B) The domain over which a universal paramount ruler exercises authority

Explanation:
Kautilya links prithivi—defined as the land between the Himalayas and the sea—directly to chakravarti kshetra, meaning the domain of a supreme, subcontinent-wide ruler. This reflects the pan-Indian political imagination that recurs across many dynasties in the chapter, from Ashoka to the later Cholas.

Answer: (B) Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha, Sannyasa

Explanation:
Life begins with studentship (brahmacharya), moves into householder duties (grihastha), then gradual withdrawal to forest life (vanaprastha), and finally complete renunciation (sannyasa). Each stage carried its own dharma meant to give the person social, moral, and spiritual fulfilment.

Answer: (B) Iron tools, expanding agriculture with greater grain variety, and the spread of NBPW pottery

Explanation:
Archaeological evidence points to iron implements, wider crop variety including paddy, and the glossy black NBPW ('deluxe ware') pottery as signs of this cultural shift in the Prayagraj-to-Bihar stretch of the Ganga plains, which in turn supported larger political units like the mahajanapadas.

Answer: (B) Significant changes in the spiritual life of Jambudvipa

Explanation:
Ashoka's own inscription ties his personal effort to a moral and spiritual transformation across Jambudvipa, showing how he framed his authority not just in political terms but as a moral mission extending across the subcontinent.

Answer: (C) The sandhivigrahika, or minister of peace and war

Explanation:
While the Guptas retained much of the earlier Mauryan-style administration—such as the mantri heading civil affairs—they added the sandhivigrahika, a minister specifically responsible for matters of peace and war, showing incremental change within a largely continuous system.

Answer: (B) When it is guided by dharma, aligned with the welfare of society

Explanation:
The chapter frames artha as legitimate and even desirable, but only when pursued in harmony with dharma—that is, in ways that serve society's welfare rather than purely selfish ends.

Answer: (B) Shramana

Explanation:
The chapter lists parivrajaka (wanderer), bhikshu (one who lives on alms), and shramana (one who strives) as terms used for these ascetic figures, noting that the idea of renunciation already existed within the Vedic ashrama framework before Buddha and Mahavira's time.

Answer: (B) Brahmadeya

Explanation:
Brahmadeya villages were the Pallava term for these tax-exempt land grants; the Chalukyas later followed a similar practice under the different name agraharam, some of which, like Aihole and Badami, grew into notable centres of learning.

Answer: (A) It lists eighteen distinct types of guilds

Explanation:
By mentioning eighteen types of guilds, the Jataka texts suggest these craft and trade bodies were numerous, specialised, and well established as economic institutions well before the Gupta period.