CBSE Class 12 History Kinship Caste And Class Early Societies Worksheet Set B

Key concepts in nutshells

Historians tried to understand the social set up and social practices during these periods. Therefore, they have taken the Mahabharata as a case study for a better understanding of the concept. It covers a wide range of social setups.

• Family which is a unit and is part of large networks of people we define as relatives.
• System of patriliny - prevalent in north India.
• Blood relations: Example - two groups of cousins - the Kauravas & the Pandavas. Both belonging to a single ruling family, that of the Kurus, a lineage dominating one of the janapadas.
• Under Patriliny, sons could claim the resources (including the throne in case of kings) of their father when the latter died.
• Rules of Marriage: Types of marriages - Eight.
  • Endogamy - Marriage in own caste or place.
  • Exogamy - Marriage out of his gotra.
  • Polygyny - A system in which a husband has more than one wife.
  • Polyandry - A system in which a wife has many husbands.
• The Gotra of women - prevalent system:
  • a. After marriage women had to give up their father's gotra and opt for that of their husband.
  • b. Members of the same gotra could not marry.
• Importance of mothers - In the north, a son was known by his father's name. In the south, Satavahana rulers were identified through metronymics (names derived from that of the mother).
• Example Satavahana rulers:
  • Gautamiputra means son of Gautami (mother).
  • Vasisthiputra means son of Vasisthi (mother).
• In the north, norms were laid down by the Brahmanas in Sanskrit texts like Dharmashastra and Dharmasutras.
• According to the Sutras, only Kshatriyas could be a king. It also talked about occupation and caste.
• Evolving jatis and social mobility - other than the prescribed four varnas (Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra), other occupations like hunting, work of goldsmiths (swarnakara), carpenters, etc., were put into jatis.
• Varna and access to property: According to the Brahmanical texts, kings are depicted as the wealthiest. Priests are also generally shown as rich.
• Mahabharata is classified under two heads:
  • a. Narrative - contains stories.
  • b. Didactic - contains prescriptions about social norms and messages.
• Manusmriti is considered the most important Dharma Sutra and Dharmashastra. It was compiled between 200 BCE and 200 CE. This laid down rules governing social life.
• During the Mahabharata age, gotras were considered very important by the higher varna of society.
• Social differences prevailed and integration took place within the framework of the caste system.
• The original version of the Mahabharata is in Sanskrit.
• It contains vivid descriptions of battles, forests, palaces, and settlements.

OTQ – 

Question. Q1: Who was the editor of the present edition of the Mahabharata?
Answer: V.S. Sukthankar.

Question. Q2: How much time was taken to complete this project?
Answer: 47 years

Question. Q3: How many forms of marriages were found?
Answer: 8

Question. Q4: The book Mrichchhakatika was written by which writer?
Answer: Shudraka

Question. Q5: What was patriliny?
Answer: Patriliny means tracing descent from father to son, grandson and so on.

Question. Q6: What was matriliny?
Answer: Matriliny is the term used when descent is traced through the mother.

Question. Q7: What do you understand by Exogamy marriage types?
Answer: Marriage outside the unit.

Question. Q8: What sources are used by historians for the understanding of social changes?
Answer: Textual Traditions and Inscriptions.

Question. Q9: How do historians classify the contents of the Mahabharata?
Answer: Narrative (Stories) and Didactic (Social Norms).

Question. Q10: Which elements are considered by historians when they analyse a text?
Answer: They examine whether texts were written in which languages. They also consider the kinds of text, author, audience, time period, etc.

Question. Q11: What was the ancient Tamilakam?
Answer: In Tamilakam, there were several chiefdoms around 2000 years ago.

S. A. 

Question. Q12: Mention rules of marriage as mentioned in the early texts.
Answer:

• The gift of a daughter after dressing her in costly clothes and honoring her with presents of jewels.
• The gift of a daughter by the father after he has addressed the couple with the text "May both of you perform your duties together."
• Giving as much wealth as he can afford to the kinsmen and to the bride herself.
• The voluntary union of a maiden and her lover.

Question. Q13: What rules did the Dharma Sutras and Dharma Shastras contain about the ideal "occupations" of the four varnas?
Answer:

• Brahmanas were supposed to study and teach the Vedas, perform sacrifices, and give and receive gifts.
• Kshatriyas were to engage in warfare, protect people and justice, study the Vedas, and get sacrifices performed.
• The last three occupations (crafts, agriculture, and trade) were assigned to the Vaishyas.
• Shudras were assigned only to serve the three "higher" varnas.

Question. Q14: What was jati? How are they related to varnas?
Answer:

• Jati in Brahmanical theory was based on birth.
• While the number of varnas was fixed at four, there was no restriction on the number of jatis.
• Jatis which shared a common occupation or profession were sometimes organized into shrenis or guilds.

Question. Q15: How could men and women acquire wealth in early societies?
Answer:

• For men: Inheritance, finding, purchase, conquest, investment, work, and acceptance of gifts from good people.
• For women: What was given at the time of the marriage, bridal procession, tokens of affection she got from her brother, mother, or father, and she could also acquire wealth from her husband.

Question. Q16: Who was V.S. Sukthankar? What was his contribution in understanding the Mahabharata?
Answer:

• V.S. Sukthankar was a famous Sanskritist.
• Under him, a team prepared the critical edition of the Mahabharata.
• They collected Sanskrit manuscripts of the text written in a variety of scripts.
• Ultimately they selected the verses that were common to most versions and published these in several volumes.

Question. Q17: What were the effects of several changes in between 600 BCE and 600 CE on societies?
Answer:

• Extension of agriculture into forested areas.
• Craft specialists often emerged as distinct social groups.
• Trade activities increased.
• Many religious activities/movements started.

Question. Q18: What do you understand by "The critical edition of the Mahabharata"?
Answer:

• One of the most ambitious projects of scholarship began in 1919 under the leadership of noted Sanskritist V.S. Sukthankar.
• A team comprising a dozen scholars initiated the task of preparing a critical edition of the Mahabharata by comparing manuscripts from across the subcontinent.

Question. Q19: What were the terms of gotras? What were the rules of gotras?
Answer:

• Each gotra was named after a Vedic Seer and included all those who belonged to the same gotra.
• Two rules about gotra were particularly important: Women were expected to give up their father's gotra and adopt that of their husband after marriage.
• Marriage within the same gotra was not allowed.

Question. Q20: Why were mothers important in Satavahana rule?
Answer:

• Satavahana rulers were identified through matronymics (names derived from the mother), suggesting that mothers were important.
• Example names include Gautamiputra Satakarni and Vashishthiputra Pulumavi.

Question. Q21: What were the categories made by Brahmanas?
Answer:

• Brahmanas claimed the order in which they were ranked was divinely ordained.
• They placed themselves at the top and the group classified as Shudras at the bottom of the social order.

Question. Q22: Describe the duties of the Chandalas.
Answer:

• They had to live outside the village.
• Use discarded utensils.
• Wear clothes of the dead and ornaments of iron.

Question. Q23: What do you understand by the term "Beyond the four varnas"?
Answer:

• Brahmanas considered some people as being outside the system; they were called "untouchables."
• Some activities were considered "polluting," and those who performed such tasks were designated as "chandalas."

Question. Q24: What do you understand by stridhana (woman's wealth)?
Answer: According to Manusmriti, women were allowed to retain the gifts they received on the occasion of their marriage as stridhana. This could be inherited by their children.

Question. Q25: How is the Mahabharata a dynamic text?
Answer:

• Versions of the epic were written in a variety of languages.
• Several stories originated in specific regions.
• At the same time, the central story of the epic was often retold in different ways across different phases of composition.

L. A. 

Question. Q26: Discuss whether the Mahabharata could have been the work of a single author.
Answer:

• The epic was probably originally composed by charioteer-bards known as sutas.
• From the fifth century BCE, Brahmanas took over the story and began to commit it to writing.
• It is also possible that upheavals accompanied the establishment of states where old social values were replaced by new norms.
• Another phase in the composition of the text occurred between c. 200 BCE and 200 CE.
• Between 200 BCE and 400 BCE, large didactic sections were included, such as the Manusmriti.

PASSAGE BASED QUESTIONS

Q27. Draupadi's Marriage
Drupada the king of Panchala organized a competition where the challenges were to string a bow and hit a target: the winner would be chosen to marry his daughter Draupadi. Arjuna was victorious and was garlanded by Draupadi. The Pandavas returned with her to their mother Kunti, who, even before she saw them, asked them to share whatever they had got. She realized her mistake when she saw Draupadi. But her command could not be violated. After much deliberation, Yudhisthira decided that Draupadi would be their common wife. When Drupada was told about this, he protested. However, the seer Vyasa arrived and told him that the Pandavas were in reality incarnations of Indra. Whose wife had been reborn as Draupadi and they were thus destined for each other? Vyasa added that in another instance a young woman had prayed to Shiva for a husband. And in her enthusiasm, had prayed five times instead of once. This woman was reborn as Draupadi and Shiva had fulfilled her desire. Convinced by these stories, Drupada consented to the marriage.

1. What was the competition organized by the Panchala king Drupada for the marriage of his daughter?
Answer: Drupada organized a competition where the challenge was to string a bow and hit a target.

2. Which two explanations were given by Vyasa to convince king Drupada for Draupadi being the common wife of the Pandavas?
Answer: Vyasa explained that the Pandavas were incarnations of Indra and Draupadi was Indra's wife reborn. He also shared that a woman had been blessed by Lord Shiva to have five husbands and was reborn as Draupadi.

3. What form of marriage was Draupadi's marriage to the Pandavas? Give two views of historians about the form of marriage.
Answer: It was an example of polyandry. Some historians believe that such kind of marriages were perhaps prevalent in some sections of society. Others believe that such traditions were present specifically in the Himalayan region.