Static Quiz 07 December 2023 (History)

Solution: (a)

Justification: Options B, C, and D existed much prior to the 6th century, so they can’t be the answer. The institution is considered to belong properly to the Gupta Empire, however, some vague evidence is found in South India as well. The Samanta in South-India was used to mean a vassal to an emperor. In North-India, the earliest use of the term in a similar sense was in Bengal where someone was described as Samanta-Chudamanih (best among feudatories) of the imperial Guptas. The Samanta vassal provided military support to the Monarch and governed over a portion of a territory.

Learning: The term Indian feudalism is used to describe zamindar, jagirdar, sardar, mankari, deshmukh, chaudhary and samanta.
In this system, a nobility gave the emperor military services in exchange of land. There was a separate class of labourers or peasants who were provided military protection in exchange of labour and share of their produce. They were allowed to live on the lord’s land.

Solution: (b)

Justification: Statement 4: Between 399 and 414 CE, the Chinese monk Fa Hien undertook a trip via Central Asia to India seeking better copies of Buddhist books than were currently available in China.

Statement 2: As far as the Gupta empire is concerned, although his account is valuable in many respects, he did not mention the name of Chandragupta II. He was not interested in political affairs. His interest was primarily religion.

Statement 3: According to him, Buddhism was in a flourishing condition in the north-western India but in the Gangetic valley it was in a state of neglect. He refers to the Gangetic valley as the ‘land of Brahmanism’.

Statement 1: He indicates clearly the importance of the seven precious substances for Buddhist worship, the widespread practice of stupa veneration, and his acquaintance with several of the jataka tales about the previous lives of the Buddha Sakyamuni.

Solution: (b)

Learning: According to inscriptions, the Gupta kings assumed titles like Paramabhattaraka, Maharajadhiraja, Parameswara, Samrat, and Chakravartin. This is a lateral explanation, and we will go into other details of the Gupta administration.

Other details: The king was assisted in his administration by a council consisting of a chief minister, a Senapati or commander-in-chief of the army and other important officials. A high official called Sandivigrahawasmentioned in the Gupta inscriptions,most probably minister for foreign affairs. The king maintained a close contact with the provincial administration through a class of officials called Kumaramatyas and yukatas. Provinces in the Gupta Empire were known as Bhuktis and provincial governors as Uparikas.

Solution: (a)

Justification: Statement 2: Xuan Zang was of Chinese origin, not Korean, so 2 is wrong. They observed this not only on the social conditions but also the rules laid down in texts like Manusmriti such as lower castes had to: live outside the village or wear clothes of the dead etc.

Solution: (d)

Justification: Many craftspersons and merchants now formed associations known as shrines. These shrines of crafts persons provided training, procured raw material, and distributed the finished product. Then shrines of merchants organized the trade. Shrines also served as banks, where rich men and women deposited money. This was invested, and part of the interest was returned or used to support religious institutions such as monasteries.