Class 6 History Chapter 10 Buildings, Paintings and Books Solutions

Question 1: Describe the important features of the iron pillar at Mehrauli.

Answer: (i) It was made around 1500 years ago and still the pillar has not rusted through the centuries.

(ii) It is made of iron, 7.2 meters tall and weighs over 3 tonnes.

(iii) It has an inscription about a Gupta dynasty ruler named Chandra.

Question 2: What does the term Stupa mean?

Answer: The word stupa means a mound.

Question 3: Highlight the main features of the stupa architecture.

Answer: (i) Stupas are mound-shaped Buddhist religious buildings.

(ii) They generally contain bodily remains like teeth, bones and ashes of Buddha and his followers or the things used by them placed at the center of the stupa in a small box.

(iii) A path with railings known as pradakshina patha was laid around the stupa and the entrance to the path was through the gateways.

(iv) Railings and gateways were decorated with sculptures.

(v) Devotees walked around the stupas in a clockwise direction as a mark of devotion.

Question 4: Write some important features of the ancient Hindu temples.

Answer: (i) Most of the temples were devoted to deities like Shiva, Vishnu and Durga.

(ii) The most important part of the temple was garbhagriha where the image of the chief deity was placed.

(iii) A tower called shikhara was built on the top of the garbhagriha to mark it as a sacred place.

(iv) Temples had a hall space called mandapa for the people to assemble.

Question 5: Discuss the main features of the Ajanta paintings.

Answer: Ajanta has several caves hollowed out of the hills over centuries. Most of the caves were monasteries for Buddhist monks and were decorated with paintings. Most of the paintings were done in the light of the torch as the caves are dark inside. The colors of the paintings were made of plants and minerals which are vivid even till now. The artists who created these paintings are unknown.

Question 6: What are epics?

Answer: Epics are long poems or compositions describing the actions of great men and women and often about Gods.

Question 7: What is the famous Tamil epic the Silappadikaram about?

Answer: It was composed by a poet named Ilango. It is about a merchant named Kovalan from Puhar who fell in love with a courtesan named Madhavi even after having a wife named Kannagi. Later he and Kannagi left Puhar and moved to Madurai where he was wrongly accused of theft and was sentenced to death. Kannagi was full of grief and anger at the injustice and destroyed the whole city of Madurai.

Question 8: What does the Tamil epic the Manimekalai describe?

Answer: It was composed by Sattanar around 1400 years ago and it describes the story of the daughter of a merchant Kovalan and a courtesan Madhavi.

Question 9: Who wrote the poem Meghaduta and what is it about?

Answer: Meghaduta was written by Kalidasa. It is one of his best-known poems which describes monsoon clouds as messengers between two lovers who are separated from one another.

Question 10: What does the term Puranas mean? What do they contain?

Answer: The word Puranas means old. They contain stories about gods and goddesses like Vishnu, Shiva, Durga and Parvati and details on how they were to be worshipped. There are also accounts about the creation of the world and kings. The Puranas were written in Sanskrit language and were recited by priests in the temples.

Question 11: Who is recognized as the author of the Sanskrit Ramayana?

Answer: Valmiki is the author of the Sanskrit Ramayana.

Question 12: What are Jatakas and Panchatantra?

Answer: Jatakas and Panchatantra are a preserved collection of famous stories written by ordinary people. These stories were found on the railing of the stupas and in Ajanta paintings.

Question 13: Who wrote the book Aryabhatiyam and what was it about?

Answer: Aryabhatiyam was written by Aryabhata. He stated that days and nights were caused by the earth’s rotation on its axis. He also explained the scientific cause of the eclipses. He also found a way of calculating the circumference of a circle.

Question 14: Who invented the symbol for the number zero?

Answer: Indian mathematician Aryabhata invented the number zero. Arabs adapted this system of counting and then it spread to Europe.

Question 15: What is Ayurveda? Name two famous practitioners of Ayurveda in ancient India.

Answer: Ayurveda is a well-known system of health science developed in ancient India. Charaka and Sushruta were the two famous practitioners of Ayurveda in ancient India.

Question 16: Who wrote Charak Samhita and what is it about?

Answer: Charak Samhita is a remarkable book on medicine written by Charak.

Question 17: What is Sushruta Samhita about?

Answer: Sushruta Samhita is a book that talks about surgical procedures.