NCERT Solutions Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 Rulers and Buildings

NCERT Solutions for Class 7 Social Science History Chapter 5 Rulers and Buildings

Let’s recall 

1. How is the “trabeate” principle of architecture different from “arcuate”?  

Answer: 

(i)In the architectural style of “trabeate” (also known as “corbelled”), roofs, doors and windows were made by placing a horizontal beam across two vertical.

(ii)In the architectural style of “arcuate”, the weight of the superstructure above the doors and windows was sometimes carried by arches. 

2. What is a shikhara?  

Answer: 

Shikhara is the highest concrete roof of the Hindus temples. 

3. What is pietra-dura?  

Answer: 

Pietra-dura is an architectural style in which coloured, hard stones placed in depressions carved into marble or sandstone creating beautiful, ornate patterns. 

4. What are the elements of a Mughal chahar bagh garden? 

Answer: 

(i)Chahar bagh were the formal gardens, placed within rectangular walled enclosures and divided into four quarters by artificial channels. 

(ii)These gardens were called chahar bagh, four gardens, because of their symmetrical division into quarters. 

Let’s understand 

5. How did a temple communicate the importance of a king?  

Answer: 

(i) The largest temples were constructed by kings. Temples communicated the importance of a king as they were meant to demonstrate the power, wealth and devotion of the patron.  

(ii) It helped the king to appear like a god as the king took the god’s name because it was auspicious.  

(iii) In the temples, gods and goddesses of the allies and subordinates of the ruler were worshipped; it indicated the king’s relations with the God. 

(iv) The temple was a miniature model of the world ruled by the king and his allies.   

(v) They worshiped their deities together in the royal temples; it seemed as if they brought the just rule of the gods on earth. 

6. An inscription in Shah Jahan’s diwan-i khas in Delhi stated: “If there is Paradise on Earth, it is here, it is here, it is here.” How was this image created?  

Answer: 

(i) During Shah Jahan's reign, the different elements of Mughal architecture were fused together in a grand harmonious synthesis. 

(ii) Shah Jahan’s ceremonial halls of public and private audience (diwan-i khas or am) were carefully constructed. These courts were also described as chihil sutun or forty-pillared halls, placed within a large courtyard.  

(iii) The pedestal on which his throne was placed was frequently described as the qibla which means the direction faced by Muslims at prayer, as everybody faced that direction when court was in session.  

(iv) The idea of the king as a representative of God on earth was suggested by these architectural features. Therefore by the means of architecture style, this image of paradise was created. 

7. How did the Mughal court suggest that everyone – the rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak – received justice equally from the emperor? 

Answer:  

The Mughal royal court suggested that everyone – the rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak – received justice equally from the emperor:   

(i) The Mughal architectural features highlighted the idea of the king as a representative of God on earth.  

(ii) The connection between royal justice and the imperial court was emphasised by Shah Jahan in his newly constructed court in the Red Fort at Delhi.  

(iii) There were a series of pietra dura inlays behind the emperor's throne which depicted the legendary Greek god Orpheus playing the lute.  

(iv) The construction of Shah Jahan’s audience hall aimed to communicate that the king's justice would treat the high and the low as equals creating a world where all could live together in harmony. 

8. What role did the Yamuna play in the layout of the new Mughal city at Shahjahanabad?  

Answer: 

Role of Yamuna in the layout of the new Mughal city at Shahjahanabad:  

(i) The imperial palace was located in the front of river Yamuna in the new city of Shahjahanabad in Delhi.  

(ii) Only a few selected nobles were given access to the river.  

(iii) All others had to construct their homes in the city away from the River Yamuna.  

(iv) The access to the river Yamuna to the nobles was controlled by developing architectural form, developed by Shah Jahan.