NCERT Solutions Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 the Rise of Empires

F R E E S T U D Y M AT E R I A L F O R E V E R Y S T U D E N T

CLASS 7 · SOCIAL SCIENCE

NCERT Solutions

Chapter 5: The Rise of Empires

NCERT Textbook — Exploring Society: India And Beyond (Part I)

BOOK PAGES SECTIONS QUESTIONS MEDIUM

83 – 116 17 35 English

Solutions, notes, sample papers & more at 41 pages

Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

CLASS 7 · SOCIAL SCIENCE · EXPLORING SOCIETY: INDIA AND BEYOND (PART I)

NCERT Solutions — Chapter 5: The Rise of Empires
Chapter 5 belongs to the theme Tapestry of the Past. Bhavisha and Dhruv switch on their time machine
‘Itihāsa’ and land outside Pāṭaliputra, and from there the chapter asks a big question — how does a
kingdom grow into an empire? It follows the rise of Magadha, the Nandas, Alexander's brief arrival in the
northwest, and the Mauryas of Chandragupta, Kauṭilya and Aśhoka, and ends by asking why every empire
eventually falls.

TEXTBOOK BOOK PAGES

Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part I) (Class 83 – 116
7)

SECTIONS QUESTIONS

17 35

MEDIUM

English

The Big Questions — Page 83
Chapter opening — Tapestry of the Past

THE BIG QUESTIONS

Q1 What is an empire?

An empire is a collection of smaller kingdoms or territories over which one powerful ruler — or
a group of rulers — exerts power, usually after waging war against them. The word comes from
the Latin imperium, which means ‘supreme power’.
The key point is that the smaller kingdoms do not disappear. They keep their own rulers, but
those rulers become tributaries of the emperor: they pay tribute — money, gold, grain,
livestock, elephants or other valuables — as a sign of submission, loyalty or respect, and they
accept the emperor's overlordship. The emperor governs the whole territory from a capital,
which is usually the biggest centre of economic and administrative power.
Ancient Sanskrit words for ‘emperor’ say the same thing in three ways:

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

WORD WHAT IT MEANS

samrāj ‘the lord of all’ or ‘supreme ruler’

adhirāja ‘overlord’

rājādhirāja ‘king of kings’

Why it happens: A kingdom is one unit of land and people. An empire is a layered
thing — a king on top of other kings. That layer is what needs an army, an
administration, roads and a treasury, and it is also what makes empires so hard to
hold together.

Q2 How did empires rise and shape Indian civilisation?

They rose out of competition between the mahājanapadas and they shaped India at every level
— political, economic, social and cultural.
How they rose (the chapter's own story):

1. Among the sixteen mahājanapadas, Magadha pulled ahead — fertile Ganga plains, forests
for timber and elephants, iron ore from nearby hills, and the Ganga and Son rivers for
transport.
2. Kings like Ajātaśhatru made it the dominant centre of power; Mahāpadma Nanda then
unified many smaller kingdoms and issued coins.
3. Around 321 BCE, Chandragupta Maurya, guided by Kauṭilya, overthrew the Nandas and
expanded from the northern plains to the Deccan plateau.
4. Aśhoka (268–232 BCE) extended the empire over almost the whole Subcontinent except the
far south.

What they left behind:

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

LEVEL WHAT THE EMPIRES CHANGED

Political Political unity over a huge area, an elaborate administration of officials, and a reduction of
war between small kingdoms

Economic Protected trade routes, widespread use of coins, common weights and measures,
taxation, granaries against famine

Social Well-planned cities with signage and fire-water vessels, guilds running their own affairs,
couriers carrying messages

Cultural Stūpas, chaityas and vihāras, polished stone pillars, terracotta art, the spread of the
Buddha's message abroad, and the Brahmi script — mother of India's regional scripts

Did you know? Two of the four lions of Aśhoka's Sarnath capital look at you every
day — the capital is India's national emblem, and its dharmachakra sits at the
centre of the national flag.

Q3 What factors facilitated the transition from kingdoms to empires?

Six factors, and Magadha had all six.

FACTOR HOW IT HELPED A KINGDOM MAGADHA'S EXAMPLE
BECOME AN EMPIRE

Fertile land and Surplus grain feeds an army and frees The resource-rich Ganga
surplus food people for crafts plains; two crops a year

Iron Iron ploughs raise farm output; lighter, Iron ore and minerals from the
sharper iron weapons strengthen the army nearby hilly regions

Forests Timber for ramparts, ships and carts; Abundant forests around
elephants captured and trained for war Magadha

Rivers and trade Cheap transport, more goods traded, more The Ganga and Son rivers; the
routes taxes for the ruler Uttarapatha

A strong economy Pays soldiers, feeds horses and elephants, Mahāpadma Nanda issued
and treasury builds roads and ships coins; brisk trade

Able leadership and Diplomacy and alliances win what war Ajātaśhatru, then
strategy cannot Chandragupta guided by
Kauṭilya

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires
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Why it happens: Conquest is expensive. Soldiers must be fed, clothed, armed and

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paid; elephants and horses cared for; roads and ships built. So the kingdom that
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Q4 What was life like from the 6th to the 2nd century BCE?

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It was a period of profound change in north India — new kingdoms, new cities,em new coins, and
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two of thecworld's
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In the countryside: a substantial part of the population farmed. Two crops were sown a year,
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stocked. Megasthenes reports that even when war raged nearby, farmers were protected and
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agriculture was not disturbed.

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In the cities: Pāṭaliputra was a bustling centre of governance and commerce — palaces, public

a gl signage, wooden houses up to two storeys tall, and vessels
buildings, well-planned streets with
of water kept at regular intervals in case of fire. Couriers carried messages from place to place.
Blacksmiths, potters, carpenters, jewellers and other artisans lived there, alongside officials and
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merchants.

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What people wore: cotton clothes — a lower garment reaching below the knee, halfway to the

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ankles, and an upper garment thrown over the shoulders. Some wore leather shoes with

agl designs and thick soles to look taller.

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In people's minds: the Buddha and Mahāvīra taught in the time of Ajātaśhatru; Pāṇini

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composed the Aṣhṭādhyāyi, with 3,996 sūtras of Sanskrit grammar, in the time of the Nandas;
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and by Aśhoka's day, edicts in Prakrit were being read out from rocks and pillars.

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Check it yourself: Look again at Ira's description on pages 86–87 — the moat and

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drawbridge, the wooden ramparts and watch towers, the market with silk from
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China and spices and gems from the south, the street acrobats. Every one of those

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details is confirmed elsewhere in the chapter by archaeology or by Greek accounts.
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LET'S EXPLORE — Page 89
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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Features of an empire (Fig. 5.4.1)

LET'S EXPLORE

Q1 Empires extended over vast areas and had diverse people with differing languages,
customs and cultures. How do you think the emperors made sure that they lived in
harmony? Discuss in groups and share your thoughts with the class.

Mostly by not interfering — and by giving people reasons to be loyal rather than resentful.
Points your group can build the discussion around, each one supported by something in this
chapter:

Let local rulers stay. “In return for tribute and loyalty, emperors generally allowed regional
kings or chiefs to continue to govern their areas.” People kept their own king, their own
language and their own customs.
Let communities govern themselves. Guilds had “the autonomy to create their own
internal rules, and the king was not to interfere with them”. Villages had their own
committees and councils. An enlightened ruler let local institutions work.
Treat all sects equally. Aśhoka “encouraged all sects to accept each other's best teachings
and study them”, and appointed officers of Dhamma who worked among Buddhists,
brahmans, Ājīvikas, Jains and others.
Speak to people in their own language. The edicts were written in Prakrit — the popular
language — not in a courtly language, and in the Brahmi script that ordinary readers knew.
Deliver welfare, not just orders. Rest houses and wells along the main roads, fruit and
shade trees, medical care for people and animals, granaries against famine. A ruler who
feeds you is harder to rebel against.
Keep officials fair. Aśhoka told his city magistrates, “All men are my children”, and sent an
inspecting officer on tour every five years to check that no one was imprisoned or tortured
without good reason.
Keep the roads and trade open. Trade mixed people, goods and ideas from distant regions,
and shared prosperity is the cheapest kind of harmony.

Why it happens: An emperor cannot police a territory that takes two months on
horseback to cross. Force alone is far too expensive. So the successful empires
bought harmony with autonomy plus welfare, and kept force in reserve.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q2 Looking at the many challenges involved in managing an empire, why should a king
be so keen to expand his kingdom into an empire and become an emperor? Here
are a few possible answers; see if you can think of a few more: An ambition to ‘rule
the entire world’, a metaphor for controlling large territories and ensuring that
they would be remembered for posterity; A wish to bring large areas under control
and gain access to their resources to build economic and military strength; A desire
for great wealth for himself and for the empire.

The book gives three reasons — fame, resources and wealth. Here are several more that the
chapter itself supports:

1. Security. A neighbour who troubles you today will invade you tomorrow. Ira's uncle marches
out “against a neighbouring kingdom that has been troubling us”. Conquering a hostile
neighbour turns a dangerous border into a safe interior.
2. Control of trade routes. Fig. 5.4.4 says rulers tried to control rivers and trade networks,
because that gave them both precious resources and tax revenue from trade.
3. Control of strategic resources. Iron ore, elephants, timber, mines — the things an army is
actually made of.
4. Survival in a crowded field. Fig. 5.4.5: with many small kingdoms warring for control, the
one with stronger military power and surplus resources becomes the overlord. If you do not
expand, someone else absorbs you.
5. Ending constant warfare. A well-managed empire can stop small kingdoms from fighting
each other and bring greater prosperity than many warring states.
6. Prestige and titles. To be called samrāj or rājādhirāja was itself a prize — and tributaries
brought gifts, elephants and loyalty.
7. Spreading an idea. Aśhoka used the reach of his empire to send emissaries with the
Buddha's message to Sri Lanka, Thailand and Central Asia.

Tip: When you add your own reason in class, test it against the chapter — can you
point to a sentence, a figure caption or an edict that supports it? That is exactly how
a historian argues.

LET'S EXPLORE — Page 91

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Before ‘Trade, trade routes and guilds’

LET'S EXPLORE

Q1 Warfare apart, what other methods do you think the rulers might have used to
expand their empires? Pen your ideas and share them with your class.

War was the loudest method, but rarely the cheapest. Rulers had at least seven quieter ones:

METHOD HOW IT WORKED AN EXAMPLE FROM THE
CHAPTER

Diplomacy and Make a neighbour a friend (mitra) Chandragupta kept a diplomatic
alliances instead of a target; Kauṭilya counts allies relationship with the Greeks and
as one of the seven limbs of a kingdom hosted Megasthenes

Accepting A smaller king agrees to pay tribute and “In return for tribute and loyalty,
submission keeps his throne; no siege, no losses emperors generally allowed regional
without battle kings to continue to govern”

Marriage Family ties bind two royal houses A standard tool of ancient statecraft,
alliances together far more cheaply than an army implied in the alliances of the
saptānga

Economic pull Control the trade route and the market, Fig. 5.4.4 — control of rivers and
and smaller states join to share the trade networks
prosperity

Show of strength Fortified settlements at strategic points Figs. 5.4.1 and 5.4.2
and a visible trained army persuade
neighbours to submit without fighting

Good governance If the emperor's subjects are safe and Kauṭilya: “In the happiness of his
as advertising prosperous, a neighbouring people may subjects lies the king's happiness”
prefer his rule

Religious and Sending teachers and emissaries wins Aśhoka's emissaries to Sri Lanka,
cultural influence goodwill far beyond the borders Thailand and Central Asia

Why it happens: The chapter is blunt about the cost of war — soldiers must be “fed,
clothed, equipped with weapons, and paid”, elephants and horses cared for, roads
and ships built. Every rupee spent fighting is a rupee not spent on the empire. So a
shrewd ruler used war last, not first.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

LET'S EXPLORE — Page 93
The map of trade routes (Fig. 5.5, page 92)

LET'S EXPLORE

Q1 Observe the map of the trade routes. Identify geographical features that helped the
traders travel across the Subcontinent.

Read Fig. 5.5 together with the relief colours behind the routes, and the pattern is clear: the
routes follow plains, river valleys, passes and coasts — and avoid high mountains and deep
forest.

GEOGRAPHICAL HOW IT HELPED SEEN ON THE MAP
FEATURE

The Ganga plain Flat, fertile, well-watered — the The purple Uttarapatha runs along
easiest walking and cart country it: Takṣhaśhilā → Hastināpura →
in the Subcontinent Śhrāvastī → Kāśhī → Pāṭaliputra →
Champā → Tāmralipti

Rivers Boats carried heavy goods The Ganga, and the text's note that
cheaply; river banks gave water the Ganga and Son gave Magadha a
and a natural guide-line to trading advantage
follow

Mountain passes in the The only gates through the The route reaching Takṣhaśhilā and
northwest Hindu Kush–Himalaya wall, continuing beyond the map's edge
linking India to Central Asia and
the Mediterranean

Gaps and valleys Let the southern route cross the The yellow Dakṣhiṇapatha:
through the Vindhyas plateau instead of climbing it Kauśhāmbi → Ujjayinī and on towards
and the Deccan Pratiṣhṭhāna

The long coastline and Sea trade to distant countries; Bharukachchha, Sopārā, Dvāraka on
natural harbours ports link the land routes to the west; Tāmralipti, Kalinganagara,
ships Kāverīpattinam, Muchiri, Madurai
around the peninsula

The Arabian Sea and Bay Monsoon winds carried sailing Both seas are named on the map,
of Bengal ships to and from India with ports on each

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires
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co m
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Check it yourself: Notice that the two named routes are honest about direction —

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uttara means north and dakṣhiṇa means south, and patha means road. The
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roads do you think were available at the time?
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Everything from a trader's own feet to an ocean-going ship. Group them by the terrain they
suited:
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WHERE MODE OF TRANSPORT WHY IT SUITED THAT ROUTE
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a On land Walking, with head-loads and Cheapest of all; still the only way through narrow

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shoulder-poles forest tracks

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Bullock carts (single and double- The workhorse of the plains — heavy grain, salt,

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Fast messengers and armed escorts; elephants for

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very heavy loads and

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a Boats, barges and rafts on the Ganga, Water carries weight almost for free — the chapter
rivers Son, Yamuna and other rivers says the Ganga and Son gave Magadha a trading
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advantage
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On the Sailing ships from the ports “Many Indian goods travelled towards distant
sea countries by land or sea”

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Why it happens: Traders did not travel alone. They moved in caravans, often
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organised by their guild (śhrenī), because a group could share the cost of guards,
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LET'S EXPLORE — Page 94em
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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

The Rise of Magadha — the Sanchi Stūpa battle panel (Fig. 5.6)

LET'S EXPLORE

Q1 Take a close look at the panel given above. How many types of weapons can you
identify? What different uses of iron can you make out?

Looking closely at the carving, you can pick out about five or six types of weapon plus
defensive gear.
Weapons and gear visible on the panel:

Long spears / lances — the commonest thing in the crowd of foot soldiers; several are held
slanting over the shoulders.
Swords — short, broad blades carried by soldiers on foot and by riders.
Bows and arrows — archers appear among the marching ranks and around the besieged
city.
Shields — oblong and rounded shields held on the left arm.
Battle-axes / hooked weapons — carried by some figures near the city gate.
The elephant goad (ankuśha) — held by the mahouts on the elephants; not a weapon
against the enemy, but essential war equipment.
Helmets and body coverings, and the elephants' and horses' harness.

Uses of iron you can make out:

OBJECT IN THE PANEL WHAT IRON WAS USED FOR

Spear heads, sword blades, arrowheads, Weapons — lighter and sharper than bronze, so soldiers could
axe blades carry and swing them longer

Shield rims and bosses, helmets, armour Protection
fittings

Chariot wheel rims, axles, nails and Vehicles and transport
clamps

Horse bits, elephant goads, harness Animal handling
rings and buckles

City gates, door bands, ramparts, siege Building and fortification
equipment

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why it happens: This is exactly the point the page before makes about Magadha.
Iron ore from the nearby hilly regions gave Magadha two things at once — iron
ploughs, which raised the harvest, and lighter, sharper iron weapons, which
strengthened the army. Ira's father in the opening story is an ironsmith who “helped
forge many of the swords they carry”. Food surplus plus iron weapons is the recipe
for an empire.

Q2 In the left part of the panel, a parasol (chhattra) is kept over the casket containing
the Buddha's relics. Why do you think this was done?

Because in Indian art the chhattra is a sign of the highest honour and sovereignty — an
umbrella was held over a king. Placing it over the relic casket says, without words, that what is
being carried away is royal, sacred and supremely important.
Three layers of meaning, all of which a Class 7 answer can give:

1. Royal honour. The parasol was carried over kings and emperors in procession. Over the
casket it declares the Buddha to be a spiritual sovereign — greater than the kings fighting
below.
2. Protection and reverence. A parasol shelters what is beneath it. It marks the relics as
something to be guarded, not merely transported.
3. An explanation of the whole battle. The panel shows armies laying siege to Kusinārā to
recover relics of the Buddha. The chhattra tells the viewer why kings would go to war over a
small casket: these relics were worth more than territory.

Did you know? The chhattra later became a standard part of the stūpa itself — you
can see the stone parasol rising from the top of the Great Stūpa at Sanchi in Fig. 5.26
on page 111.

DON'T MISS OUT — Page 97

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

The Arrival of the Greeks — the satraps

DON'T MISS OUT

Q1 The satraps were governors of provinces of Persian and Greek empires who were
left behind by the overlord (like Alexander) to manage the far-off territories. These
satraps had significant power and freedom despite being mere officials of the
rulers. Can you guess how it was possible for them to exercise such power?

Because of distance. A satrap ruled a province that lay weeks or months of travel away from the
emperor, and in the ancient world distance meant independence in practice, whatever the rank
on paper.

REASON WHAT IT MEANT ON THE GROUND

No fast communication Orders and reports travelled at the speed of a horse. A satrap could not
wait for permission, so he had to be allowed to decide for himself — and
he did.

He held the local army Troops were stationed with him, not with the distant emperor. Whoever
commands the soldiers on the spot holds real power.

He collected the taxes Revenue passed through his hands before any of it reached the capital.
Control of money is control of everything else.

He appointed the local The people who administered the province owed their posts to him, not to
officials the emperor.

The emperor could not No inspection for months or years at a stretch — and an emperor busy
check on him with new campaigns had little attention to spare.

Local rulers dealt with Porus, made a satrap by Alexander, was still the region's real king. Local
him people obeyed the face they could see.

Why it matters: This is exactly the weakness the chapter returns to at the end.
When Alexander died at Babylon, “his immense empire was soon divided between
his generals and the satraps, who created their own kingdoms.” The very officials
who held an empire together were the ones best placed to break it apart. Aśhoka's
answer to the same problem was to send an inspecting officer on tour every five
years.

THINK ABOUT IT — Page 97

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

The Arrival of the Greeks — Alexander's ambition

THINK ABOUT IT

Q1 Why do you think Alexander wanted to rule over the entire world? What would he
have gained from it?

Several motives at once — and the chapter has already listed most of them on page 89 as the
reasons any king wants to become an emperor.
Why he wanted it:

Revenge, to begin with. He campaigned against the Persian Empire “to avenge earlier
Persian invasions of Greece”. What began as revenge turned into conquest.
Glory and posterity. ‘Ruling the entire world’ is a metaphor for controlling vast territory and
being remembered forever — and Alexander is, in fact, still remembered 2,300 years later.
Curiosity about the ‘end of the world’. The chapter says he was “eager to reach the ‘end of
the world’”. Greeks of his time believed the inhabited earth ended somewhere past India.
Wealth and resources. Persia's treasuries, and then India's fabled riches, meant more
money, more soldiers, more power.
Momentum. Each victory made the next campaign look easy and made stopping look like a
defeat.

What he would have gained: immense wealth, the world's largest empire — his lands spread
over three continents, one of the largest in world history — the spread of Greek culture, and a
name that no later king could equal.

Why it is worth arguing about: Look at what he actually gained. He was seriously
wounded in battle; his soldiers, tired and homesick, refused to march to the Ganga;
his retreat through the coastal route and Iran's deserts cost heavy losses from thirst,
hunger and disease; he faced rebellions in Persia and died at 32 in Babylon; and his
empire was carved up by his own generals within a few years. The chapter's quiet
verdict is in the Gymnosophists' reply — a man is most loved “if he is most powerful
and yet does not inspire fear”.

LET'S EXPLORE — Page 97

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires
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Alexander and Porus
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LET'S EXPLORE

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a s em after the battle, Alexander asked Porus how he wished to be treated, Porus
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When,
a
Q1
answered, “Like a King.” Alexander then left Porus at the head of his kingdom, as
satrap. With the help of your teachers, find more details on the battle between

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Porus and Alexander. Enact a play of this battle scene using your imagination in

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addition to what you have discovered.

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This is a research-and-drama activity, so the answer is a method plus a model scene you can
adapt.
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c out what is known. Almost everything we know comes
Step 1 —.Find
a gfrom Greek writers, not
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se ones, so use the school library or ask your teacher for:
l a
Indian
ag Where: the banks of the Hydaspes (the Jhelum), in Punjab, about 326 BCE. Note that
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‘Hydaspes’ appears on Alexander's map, Fig. 5.10, page 96.
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Who: Alexander of Macedonia, with a battle-hardened Greek and allied army; Porus
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(Sanskrit Paurava, king of the Pauravas), with infantry, cavalry, chariots and a line of war
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The conditions: the river was in flood and the monsoon rain made bowstrings slack and
chariot wheels sink in mud.
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The outcome: Porus was defeated and wounded but fought to the end;
s em his answer, “Like a
.
King”, l and made him satrap.
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Remember to say who is telling the story. These are Greek accounts, written by the
winning side. A good project mentions that.

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Step 2 — What your play must contain: a scene before the battle (the swollen river, the
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capture of the wounded Porus, andethe
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elephants, the two camps), the battle itself (rain, arrows, elephants, chariots stuck in mud), the

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scene.
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Sample answer — the closing scene:

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

ALEXANDER (dismounting): You fought until your own elephants fell. Tell me — how do

you wish to be treated?

PORUS (wounded, standing straight): Like a king.

ALEXANDER: Is that all? Ask for something more.

PORUS: There is nothing more. Everything is contained in those words.

ALEXANDER (after a pause, to his generals): He has not lost his kingdom today; he has

kept it. Let him rule as before — and let him rule as my satrap.

NARRATOR: And so the man who was defeated on the field kept his throne, while the man

who won it would be dead within three years, at Babylon, aged thirty-two.

Tip: Give one student the role of a Greek historian narrating from the side of the
stage, and another the role of a local villager watching. Two narrators, two points
of view — that is history done properly.

THINK ABOUT IT — Page 103
Kauṭilya's concept of a kingdom — the saptānga (Fig. 5.15)

THINK ABOUT IT

Q1 Kauṭilya says, “A king shall increase his power by promoting the welfare of his
people, for power comes from the countryside which is the source of all economic
activity. [The king] shall show special favours to those in the countryside who do
things which benefit the people, such as building embankments or road bridges,
beautifying villages, or helping to protect them.” Why do you think it was
important to take special care of the countryside? (Hint: Think back to what you
have learnt at the beginning of this chapter)

Because the countryside was where the empire's power actually came from. Follow the chain
the chapter builds at the start:

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

fertile countryside → surplus food grain → feeds soldiers, and frees people for crafts

crafts + farm produce → goods to trade → more trade → more taxes for the treasury

full treasury → pays the army, the officials, the roads → the empire holds together

Six specific reasons:

Food. An army marches on grain. The chapter says two crops were sown a year, famines
were rare and granaries were well stocked — that is what makes long campaigns possible.
Tax revenue. Agriculture “was an important source of revenue for the empire”. No
countryside, no treasury.
Manpower. Soldiers, porters, cart-drivers and artisans all came from villages.
Raw materials. Timber, herbs, elephants, iron ore and minerals came from the forests and
hills around the farming lands, as Ira points out on page 86.
Loyalty. A contented countryside does not rebel and does not welcome an invader.
Resentment in the provinces is listed at the end of the chapter as a cause of an empire's
decline.
Public works multiply wealth. Embankments store water, road bridges keep trade moving,
protection keeps villagers from fleeing — each one raises next year's revenue. Rewarding the
villagers who build them is the cheapest investment a king can make.

Why it happens: Kauṭilya is not being kind here; he is being practical. He puts it
exactly the right way round — “A king shall increase his power by promoting the
welfare of his people.” Welfare is not a favour the king does the village; it is the
source of the king's own strength. His central philosophy says the same: “In the
happiness of his subjects lies the king's happiness; in their welfare his welfare.”

Did you know? The Sohagaura copper plate inscription (4th–3rd century BCE,
Uttar Pradesh) records the setting up of a granary against famine — a real, physical
example of exactly this policy.

LET'S EXPLORE — Page 103

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Kauṭilya's concept of a kingdom

LET'S EXPLORE

Q1 Organise a group discussion in your class and compare the features of Kauṭilya's
idea of an empire with a modern nation.

Take Kauṭilya's saptānga — the seven limbs of a kingdom — and lay each one beside its
modern counterpart. The overlap is startling.

SAPTĀNGA WHAT IT MEANT IN A MODERN NATION LIKE SAME OR
(FIG. 5.15) THEN INDIA DIFFERENT?

Swāmi (the king) The ruler at the The President as head of state Different — power now
head of the state and the Prime Minister as head comes from the people,
of government — but elected, not from birth
and bound by the Constitution

Amātya The king's advisers The Council of Ministers and Very similar
(councillors, and administrators the civil services
ministers, high
officials)

Janapada The land plus the Territory and citizens — the two Almost identical
(territory and its population living things every nation is defined by
people) on it

Durga (fortified Forts and walled Border security, defence Same idea, new form
towns and cities) cities for defence installations, strategic
infrastructure

Koṣha (the The wealth of the The Union Budget, taxation, the Very similar
treasury) kingdom Reserve Bank, public finances

Daṇḍa (forces of Army and the The armed forces, the police Same, but now the law
defence, law and power to punish and the courts binds the ruler too
order)

Mitra (allies) Friendly kings Foreign policy, treaties, the Very similar
bound by alliance United Nations, trade
partnerships

Where Kauṭilya sounds modern: welfare of the people as the purpose of the state; laws
against corruption and punishments for acts against public wellbeing; attention to urban
planning, agriculture, justice and infrastructure; letting local institutions run themselves.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Where a modern nation is different: the head of state is elected and can be voted out; there
is a written Constitution and fundamental rights; the judiciary is independent; there are no
tributary kings; and citizens are equal by law rather than being subjects of a ruler.

Tip for running the discussion: Split the class into seven groups, one per anga.
Each group gets five minutes to find its modern equivalent and one way it has
changed. That way the whole saptānga gets covered and nobody argues about only
the king.

THINK ABOUT IT — Page 104
The King Who Chose Peace — Aśhoka and the Kalinga war

THINK ABOUT IT

Q1 Aśhoka, in his edicts, tells the story of the Kalinga war. He could have chosen not to
mention it and maintain his image as a peaceful, benevolent king for future
generations. Why do you think he admitted to this destructive war?

Because the confession was the message. Without the war there is no change of heart — and
the change of heart is what Aśhoka wanted the whole empire to learn from.
The strongest reasons:

1. Remorse is the whole point. Saying “I was peaceful all along” teaches nobody anything.
Saying “I waged a ferocious war, I saw the death and destruction, and I turned away from
violence” gives his subjects a reason to follow dharma — if the emperor can change, so can
anyone.
2. It made his new policy believable. A ruler who had never fought could hardly claim to have
given up fighting. His past made his conversion credible.
3. It was a warning to others. The empire's neighbours and his own governors were being
told, in public, what war really costs.
4. It fits his idea of himself. He called himself Piyadasi, ‘one who regards others with
kindness’, and told his officials “All men are my children”. A father who had hurt his children
would say so.
5. Honesty is part of dharma. Dharma includes “doing one's duty truthfully”. Hiding the war
would have contradicted the very teaching he was inscribing on the rock.

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co m
m.
Why it matters to historians: This is one of the rare moments in ancient history

m l a se
where a ruler records his own failure. Kings normally inscribe victories. The chapter
o
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also warns .c us, fairly, that “we need not take all of Aśhoka's claimsagliterally” — an edict
l a sea ruler speaking about himself. But the Kalinga edict is the one claim that
g him something, which is exactly why it carries weight.
is still
acosts
o m
. c
Did you know? Near Dhauli in Odisham— the region that was Kalinga — an edict of ag
l a se it stands a life-size elephant cut from the
agsymbolising the Buddha: intelligent, powerful,
Aśhoka is carved on a rock, and beside
living rock (Fig. 5.27, page 111),
patient and calm.
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e m.
m l as
m .co a g
ase Questions — Page 105
agl
In-text
Aśhoka's edicts — language and script

a s
. com written in Brahmi script. What does this agl
emis what we speak, while script is what we write a
We have referred to the Prakrit language
s
Q1
a
agl of examples of this in our everyday life?
mean? Very simply, a language
language in. Can you think

co m
m .
o m l a se
.c and one language can be written in more than oneagscript.
Yes — India is full of them, and the everyday proof is that one script can carry many

m
se script, many languages:
languages,

g l a
a
One

se m
SCRIPT LANGUAGES WRITTEN IN IT
com g l a
m. a
ase
agl
Devanagari Hindi, Marathi, Nepali, Konkani, Sanskrit, Maithili, Bodo

Roman (Latin) English, French, German, Spanish — and Hindi typed on a phone as ‘kaise ho’

co m
Urdu, Kashmiri, Persian, Arabic
.
Perso-Arabic

em
m l as
.co a g
Bangla Bengali, Assamese, Manipuri

a s em
agl One language, more than one script:
.c
Sanskrit is printed in Devanagari today, but has been written in Bangla, Grantha, Sharada,
s e m
om a
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Telugu and other scripts.

s e m Roman and Kannada scripts.
Konkani is written in Devanagari,
a in India and in the Perso-Arabic script in Pakistan.
agl
Punjabi is written in Gurmukhi
Sindhi is written in both Devanagari and Perso-Arabic.

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m .
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Hindi messages are typed every day in the Roman script.

Everyday places you can see it: a railway station board that gives the same station name in the
state language, Hindi and English; a currency note with the amount in many languages; a
milestone; a shop sign in your town written in two scripts.

Why it matters here: This is why Aśhoka's choice was clever. He used Prakrit, the
language people actually spoke in many parts of India, and wrote it in Brahmi, the
script they could read — “Brahmi is the mother of all regional scripts of India.”
Language reached the ear, script reached the eye. A ‘great communicator’ needs
both.

Try this: Write your own name in two scripts you know. The sound does not change
— only the shapes do. That is the whole difference between a language and a script.

LET'S EXPLORE — Page 107
Aśhoka's edict on the conduct of his officials

LET'S EXPLORE

Q1 Aśhoka details instructions on the conduct of his officials and mentions ways to
ensure that they practised fairness in one of his edicts. Read the translation below
and share your thoughts on whether those ways would have been successful in
helping manage his empire and how. “By order of the Beloved of the Gods — the
officers and city magistrates [...] are to be instructed thus: […] You are in charge of
many thousands of living beings. You should gain the affection of men. All men are
my children, and just as I desire for my children that they should obtain welfare and
happiness both in this world and the next, the same do I desire for all men. […] You
should strive to practice impartiality. […] The root of all this is to be even-tempered
and not rash in your work. […] This inscription has been engraved here in order that
the city magistrates should at all times see to it that men are never imprisoned or
tortured without good reason. […] And for this purpose, I shall send out on tour
every five years, an officer who is not severe or harsh; who, having investigated this
matter…, shall see that they carry out my instructions.”

Yes — largely. Look closely and you will see that Aśhoka has not just given moral advice; he has
built a small system with four working parts.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

WHAT THE EDICT THE EXACT WORDS WHY IT WOULD HELP MANAGE THE
DOES EMPIRE

Sets a clear “You should strive to practice Officials in far-off provinces knew exactly what
standard of impartiality”; “be even- was expected. Vague expectations produce
conduct tempered and not rash” arbitrary rule.

Gives officials a “All men are my children… An official who accepts the reason behaves well
reason, not just an the same do I desire for all even when nobody is watching. Fear alone
order men” stops working the moment the inspector
leaves.

Publishes the rule “This inscription has been This is the sharpest part. Ordinary people could
where everyone engraved here in order hear the rule read out and knew their rights. An
can see it that…” official could no longer pretend the emperor had
permitted cruelty.

Sets up inspection “I shall send out on tour A rule without checking is only a wish. A
every five years, an officer touring inspector — and one deliberately
who is not severe or harsh” chosen to be mild — made the standard real.

Protects people “men are never imprisoned Unjust imprisonment is what turns subjects
from the worst or tortured without good into rebels. Preventing it is cheaper than
abuse reason” putting down a revolt.

Where it would have fallen short:

Five years is a long gap. A harsh magistrate could do great damage between two tours.
Most people could not read. The edict worked only if someone read it aloud — which
depended on the very officials being watched.
No independent court. The inspector was the emperor's own man; there was no separate
judiciary to appeal to.
It relied on one ruler's will. The chapter says Aśhoka's successors could not hold the
empire together — a system that depends on the personality at the top is fragile.

Why it happens: An empire is only as good as its officials, because the emperor
cannot be everywhere. Aśhoka's answer combines a published standard, a stated
reason, and periodic inspection — which is, in outline, how modern administrations
still try to keep officials honest.

LET'S EXPLORE — Page 109

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Life in the Mauryan period — ‘Some Contributions of the Mauryas’, pages 110–111

LET'S EXPLORE

Q1 Wear the hat of a historian. Look carefully at the artefacts presented on the spread
on the next page. What conclusions can you draw about people and life during the
Mauryan era?

A historian reads objects the way you read sentences. Here is what each artefact on pages 110–
111 tells us.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

ARTEFACT WHAT YOU CAN SEE WHAT IT TELLS US ABOUT MAURYAN
LIFE

Fig. 5.21 Terracotta Elaborate headdress, styled hair, Dance and music were part of life; people cared
dancing girl heavy jewellery, a flowing lower about fashion and ornament; there were skilled
garment jewellers

Fig. 5.22 Terracotta A figure with an ornate Worship at home, not only in great monuments
female deity headdress and outstretched — small clay images that ordinary families
arms could afford

Fig. 5.23 Yakshī Highly finished stone, shown Master sculptors at work; the fly whisk is a
holding a fly whisk from front, side and back; symbol of royal attendance, so art served both
necklaces; the whisk (chāmara) religion and royalty

Fig. 5.24 Terracotta Seven mother goddesses in a Worship of the mother goddess — and the
Saptamātrikās row on one plaque caption notes it is “a continuing tradition”, so
some beliefs have lasted over 2,000 years

Fig. 5.25 Head of a An elaborately designed bridle Horses mattered — for war, transport and
terracotta horse status — and harness-making was a developed
craft; probably also a child's toy

Fig. 5.20 The Four lions, a ring with elephant, Mauryan stone polishing was a technique of
Sarnath capital bull, horse and lion, and the astonishing skill; royal power and the Buddha's
dharmachakra; a mirror-like teaching were displayed together
polish

Fig. 5.26 The Great A huge brick core later enlarged The state could organise large-scale building
Stūpa at Sanchi in stone, with railings and projects; Buddhism had royal patronage;
gateways stūpas, chaityas and vihāras served worship,
study and meditation

Fig. 5.27 Dhauli A life-size elephant carved out of Sculpture was used as public communication —
rock elephant the living rock, beside an art and message placed together where people
Aśhokan edict would pass

Fig. 5.29 Punch- Silver pieces stamped with A money economy, brisk trade, and a state that
marked coins several symbols guaranteed the weight and purity of coins

The historian's conclusions, in short:

Society was prosperous and specialised — sculptors, potters, jewellers, harness-makers,
metal-workers all making a living from their craft.
Terracotta was the people's art and polished stone the state's art; we can therefore see
both ordinary and royal life.
Women appear constantly — as dancers, as deities, as the yakshī — so they were central to
both art and worship.
Religion was varied: mother goddesses and yakshīs alongside Buddhist stūpas.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires
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The state was strong and wealthy enough to fund monuments, mint coins and carve rock.
co m
em.
m l as
.co a g
Tip: A good historian also states what the objects cannot tell us. These artefacts

s em
survive because they were made of fired clay and stone. Cloth, wood, food and the
a
gl of the poor have all perished — so the picture is real, but incomplete.
ahouses

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LET'S EXPLORE — Page 112
g l as
Mauryan punch-marked coins (Figs. 5.29.1 and 5.29.2) a
LET'S EXPLORE
co m
em.
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Notice the different symbols on the coins. Can you guess what any of the symbols in
a g
se
Q1

l a
the coins below might mean?

a g
s

m a
.co
Look at the three symbols drawn below Fig. 5.29.2. They are the marks punched into the silver,
m agl
redrawn clearly so you can study them.
l a se
a g
SYMBOL ON WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE WHAT IT MIGHT MEAN
THE COIN
co m
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The rayed A circle with many
g
The sun — light, energy, kingship — or a chakra, the wheel

m .
wheel sun spokes radiating from a
a
ase
of authority and of dharma. It is the commonest mark on

agl
small hub Mauryan coins.

m
The six-armed A small circle with six Often called the ṣhaḍara chakra — a six-spoked wheel.
symbol arms ending in arrow-
o m
Probably a mark of royal or imperial authority, possibly of
l a se
.c a g
m
like or taurine tips a particular mint or issuing officer.

l a se
The stacked
oval / taurine a
Two rounded
g shapes set
one above the other with
Usually read as a ‘hill with crescent’ or taurine mark —
hills, a river, or an auspicious sign; it appears on both faces

m
symbol a bar between of Aśhoka's coin, so it may be a mark of the issuing
authority.
. co
e m
m l as
.co
What the symbols in general are thought to stand for:
a g
m Nature and the land — the sun, hills, trees within a railing, rivers, animals such as the
l a se
ag elephant and the bull.
.c
s e m
m a
Authority — the wheel, which stands for a ruler's sovereignty.

m . co
Auspiciousness — signs believed to bring good fortune to whoever holds the coin.
agl
l a se
A guarantee — each punch was a stamp confirming that the piece of silver had been
ag purity.
checked for weight and

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why several marks on one coin? These are punch-marked coins: the symbols were
not struck in one go from a single die but punched in separately, often by different
authorities — the state mint, a regional officer, sometimes a guild or a merchant
who tested the coin. Each extra punch was another signature saying ‘this silver is
good’. That is why the coins in the hoard (Fig. 5.29.1) are irregular squares rather
than neat circles.

Be honest as a historian: Nobody today can read these symbols with certainty —
no ancient text explains them. The best answer says what a symbol probably means
and admits that scholars still disagree.

Before we move on … — Page 114
The chapter at a glance

BEFORE WE MOVE ON …

Q1 An empire is a large territory made up of many smaller kingdoms or territories.
Emperors expanded their kingdoms mostly to gain fame, amass power, including
military power, and control resources and economic life.

This is the chapter's definition in one sentence, and every part of it is doing work.

PART OF THE STATEMENT WHAT IT MEANS WHERE THE
CHAPTER SHOWS
IT

“a large territory made up of The small kingdoms survive as tributaries Pages 87 and 89; the
many smaller kingdoms” under one overlord; they are not wiped out margin note on ‘tributary’

“to gain fame” The ambition to ‘rule the entire world’ and Let's Explore, page 89;
be remembered by posterity Alexander, pages 96–97

“amass power, including Armies to control tributaries, expand, and Feature 01, page 88; Figs.
military power” defend the borders 5.4.1, 5.4.3, 5.4.5

“control resources and Mines, forests, farm produce, manpower, Features 03 and 04, page
economic life” rivers, trade routes, coins, weights and 88; Fig. 5.4.4
measures

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

The six features of an empire the chapter lists on page 88, worth memorising: it maintains an
army; designs an administration of officials to manage territories, collect taxes and keep
order; makes laws, issues currencies, weights and measures and regulates trade; controls
access to resources; encourages art, literature, religions and centres of learning; and
maintains communication networks — roads, river and sea navigation.

Q2 The first empires of India emerged in regions blessed with abundant natural
resources, rivers for irrigation and transport, and the production of a variety of
goods for trade.

Magadha is the proof. It did not become India's first empire by accident — it had every
advantage on this list at once.

ADVANTAGE MAGADHA'S VERSION OF IT WHAT IT PRODUCED

Fertile land The resource-rich Ganga plains; two Surplus grain — armies fed, artisans freed
crops a year for crafts

Forests Abundant forests for timber and for Ramparts, carts, boats; war elephants
elephants captured and trained

Minerals Iron ore and other minerals from Iron ploughs (more food) and lighter,
nearby hilly regions sharper weapons (stronger army)

Rivers The Ganga and the Son Cheap transport for trade; irrigation; a
geographical advantage

Goods to Textiles, spices, agricultural produce, Growing trade, growing tax collections, a
trade gems, handicrafts, animals full treasury

Why it happens: Every one of these feeds the same thing — the treasury. And the
treasury is what pays the soldiers, the officials and the roads. A region without
surplus can raise an army for one campaign; a region with surplus can keep one for
a century.

Q3 Alexander's campaign in northwest India had a limited political impact but opened
the door for Indo-Greek cultural contacts.

Both halves of this sentence are true, and it is worth seeing why.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why the political impact was limited:

He reached only the northwest — Punjab. He never entered the Ganga plain, where the real
power of Magadha lay.
His soldiers, tired and homesick, refused to march towards the Ganga River, so the
campaign stopped.
He retreated to Persia and died at Babylon at 32, only a couple of years later.
The satraps he left behind were soon defeated by Chandragupta Maurya, who integrated
the northwest into his own empire.
Notice, too, that no Indian source of the time mentions him. We know of his Indian
campaign almost entirely from Greek accounts.

Why the cultural contact mattered more:

Chandragupta kept a diplomatic relationship with the Greeks and hosted Megasthenes at
his court; Megasthenes wrote Indika, the first such written account of India by a foreigner.
Greek writers preserved details of Mauryan cities, agriculture and society that we would
otherwise have lost.
Alexander's dialogue with the Gymnosophists is described by the chapter as “a meeting of
two great traditions — Greek and Indian philosophies”.
Coins, art and ideas travelled both ways; Fig. 5.11 shows a Greek coin probably depicting
Alexander attacking Porus on his elephant.

Did you know? Indika itself is lost. We know it only from passages that later Greek
scholars quoted — which is why historians must be careful about how much of it
they trust.

Q4 The Mauryas created a vast empire with a legacy that lasted centuries. Their legacy
includes strengthening trade routes and economic systems, extensive use of coins
for trade, well-designed urban settlements, and an elaborate system of
administration. They also promoted art and architecture.

Five legacies — and you can point to a physical object for each one.

Page 27 of 41

Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

LEGACY WHAT THE MAURYAS ACTUALLY DID THE EVIDENCE IN THIS
CHAPTER

Trade routes Protected and maintained the Uttarapatha and Fig. 5.5, page 92; Aśhoka's
Dakṣhiṇapatha; rest houses and wells at regular claims, page 106
intervals along the main roads, with fruit and
shade trees

Economic An organised taxation system, a strong treasury, Page 108; the Sohagaura
systems granaries against famine, guilds left free to run copper plate, one of India's
their own affairs earliest administrative records

Coins Silver punch-marked coins in wide circulation, Figs. 5.29.1 and 5.29.2, page
guaranteeing weight and purity 112

Urban Well-planned cities with palaces, public buildings, Pages 108–109; Fig. 5.2's view
settlements street signage, two-storey wooden houses, water of Pāṭaliputra
vessels against fire, couriers carrying messages

Administration Officials for territories, taxes and law and order; Kauṭilya's Arthaśhāstra, pages
officers of Dhamma; a touring inspector every five 101–103; Aśhoka's edicts, pages
years 107 and 115

Art and Highly polished stone pillars, stūpas, chaityas and Figs. 5.20 to 5.27; the Barabar
architecture vihāras, rock-cut caves, terracotta figurines, rock Hills cave, Fig. 5.1
sculpture

Did you know? The cave in the very first photograph of the chapter — a rock-cut
cave in the Barabar Hills, Bihar — is the same kind of cave Ira points out on page
86: “Our king is getting it carved out for a community of monks.” The story and the
archaeology match.

Q5 Aśhoka was keen to advertise his achievements and project the image of a
benevolent ruler who encouraged his subjects to follow dharma.

True — and the chapter asks you to notice both the achievement and the advertising.
How he advertised: he issued edicts engraved on rocks and pillars in many parts of the
empire, in Prakrit written in the Brahmi script, so that ordinary people could understand them.
Historians have called him a ‘great communicator’ for exactly this.
The image he projected: he called himself Devanampiya Piyadasi — ‘Beloved of the Gods’ and
‘one who regards others with kindness’ — and told his officials, “All men are my children.”
What he claimed to have done:

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires
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Provided medical care for people and animals, even beyond his empire's borders, and
co m
supported the wellbeing of southern kingdoms that were not part of it.
se m.
o m g l a
.ccontribution to nature conservation and wildlife preservation.
Prohibited hunting and cruelty to animals and ordered treatment for them when needed

e m a
srest
— an early
l a
ag
Built houses and wells at regular intervals along the main roads and planted fruit and
shade trees.

com
Encouraged all sects to accept each other's best teachings and study them.

e m .
Sent emissaries to Sri Lanka, Thailand, Central Asia and beyond with the Buddha's message. ag
g l as
a
Read it like a historian: The chapter's own caution is important — “we need not

m
take all of Aśhoka's claims literally”. An edict is a ruler describing himself. But the
co
m.
claims are consistent with Kauṭilya's philosophy of governance, and the effort to

as e
com l
reach out to his subjects is undeniable, because the rocks and pillars are still
. a g
em
standing.
a s
a gl

om a s
agl
Questions and activities — Pages c114–115
m .
ase
agl
End-of-chapter exercise

m
Q1 What are the features of an empire, and how is it different from a kingdom?
Explain.
. co
se m
o m g l a
m .c a
se six features of an empire, exactly as the chapter sets them out on page 88, with the

g l a
a
The
emperor exerting central authority over the empire's tributary territories and kings:

se m
com g l a
m . a
ase
agl

co m
m .
m as e
.co a g l
se m
g l a
a c
m .
m a s e
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g l as
a

com
m .
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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

# FEATURE WHAT IT INVOLVES

01 Army Maintains an army to keep tributary states under control, expand the
empire, or protect it from outside aggression

02 Administration Designs and maintains an administration, with officials to manage the
territories, collect taxes, maintain law and order

03 Laws and Makes laws, issues currencies, weights and measures, regulates trade
currency

04 Resources Controls and regulates access to resources — mines, forest and
agricultural produce, manpower

05 Culture and Encourages art, literature, religions, schools of thought, centres of learning
learning

06 Communication Maintains communication networks — roads, river and sea navigation —
and other infrastructure for administration, trade and people's welfare

How an empire differs from a kingdom:

KINGDOM EMPIRE

Size One territory, usually of one Many territories, often taking two months on
people horseback to cross

Structure A king ruling his own subjects An emperor ruling over other kings, who become
directly tributaries

Ruler's title rāja samrāj, adhirāja, rājādhirāja — ‘king of kings’

Income Taxes from his own people Taxes plus tribute — gold, grain, livestock, elephants
— from tributary kings

People Usually one main language and Many languages, customs and cultures under one
set of customs authority

How it is Usually inherited Usually built by war, alliances and submission of
built neighbours

Stability Comparatively stable and compact Fragile — far-off territories are the first to break
away

The one-line difference: a kingdom has subjects; an empire has subject kings.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q2 What are some important factors for the transition from kingdoms to empires?

The chapter groups them under four heads. Magadha is the worked example of all four.
1. Geography and natural resources

Fertile plains giving a surplus of food grain — the Ganga plains, with two crops a year.
Forests for timber, herbs and above all war elephants.
Iron ore and minerals from nearby hills — iron ploughs raised the harvest, iron weapons
strengthened the army.
Rivers such as the Ganga and Son for irrigation and cheap transport.

2. Economy and trade

Surplus food let more people work in arts and crafts, whose products were in demand
inside and outside the empire.
Control of trade routes raised the quantity and variety of goods traded — and therefore tax
collections.
Coinage: Mahāpadma Nanda began issuing coins as the economy thrived.
Guilds (śhrenīs) organised traders and craftsmen, and worked with the ruler's blessing.

3. Military strength

A large standing army — Greek accounts say the Nandas maintained one.
Superior iron weapons, cavalry and elephants.
Fortified settlements at strategic places such as the empire's borders (Fig. 5.4.2).

4. Leadership, strategy and opportunity

Ambitious, capable rulers — Ajātaśhatru, Mahāpadma Nanda, Chandragupta Maurya.
Skilled advisers: Kauṭilya, whose Arthaśhāstra covered defence, economics, administration,
justice, urban planning, agriculture and people's welfare.
Diplomacy — letting local kings continue to rule in return for tribute and loyalty.
The weakness of a rival: Dhana Nanda, though very rich, oppressed and exploited his
people and became highly unpopular, which paved the way for the Mauryas.

Surplus resources + iron + trade + able leadership → a treasury that can pay for an army

→ empire

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q3 Alexander is considered an important king in the history of the world — why do you
think that is so?

For four reasons — and it is worth saying at the start that ‘important’ is not the same as ‘good’.

1. The size of what he conquered, and the speed. Between 334 and 323 BCE — barely eleven
years — he defeated the mighty Persian Empire and built an empire spreading over three
continents, one of the largest in world history. He was still only 32 when he died.
2. He connected worlds that had been separate. The chapter says “the influence of Greek
culture spread”. Greek, Persian, Egyptian, Central Asian and Indian worlds were brought into
contact along one set of routes.
3. He opened the door to Indo-Greek contacts. After his defeat of the northwest satrapies
and Chandragupta's reconquest of them, a diplomatic relationship followed: Megasthenes
came to Chandragupta's court and wrote Indika, the first foreign written account of India.
Greek records also give us details of the Nandas' army and of Indian society.
4. He became a story that shaped later ideas of kingship. His dialogue with the
Gymnosophists, and his treatment of Porus, have been retold for over 2,000 years as
examples of the meeting of power and wisdom.

The other side of the argument, which a good answer includes: the chapter does
not romanticise him. He “massacred the population of several cities”. He was
seriously wounded. His soldiers refused to go further. His retreat cost heavy losses
from thirst, hunger and disease. His empire split among his generals within a few
years of his death. He is important because of what his campaign set in motion, not
because it lasted.

Q4 In early Indian history, the Mauryas are considered important. State your reasons.

Six reasons, in the order the chapter builds them.

1. They created India's first great empire. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around 321
BCE, it absorbed the Nanda territories and stretched from the northern plains to the Deccan
plateau; under Aśhoka it covered almost the entire Subcontinent except the far south,
including parts of present-day Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. It brought political
unity to a land of warring kingdoms.
2. They gave India a science of governance. Kauṭilya's Arthaśhāstra set out the saptānga,
laws against corruption, and a philosophy that puts the people first: “In the happiness of his
subjects lies the king's happiness.”

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

3. They built an administration that worked. Officials to manage territories, collect taxes and
keep order; regional capitals; couriers; granaries against famine — the Sohagaura copper
plate is one of India's earliest administrative records.
4. They strengthened the economy. Protected trade routes, widespread punch-marked
coins, a well-organised taxation system, a strong treasury, and guilds free to govern their
own affairs.
5. Aśhoka changed what a king could be. After Kalinga he gave up violence, promoted
dharma, cared for people and animals, encouraged all sects, and sent emissaries abroad —
making him one of the most unusual rulers in world history.
6. Their art and architecture still stand. Polished stone pillars, the Sarnath capital (now
India's national emblem), the Great Stūpa at Sanchi, the Dhauli elephant, rock-cut caves in
the Barabar Hills, and terracotta art — plus the spread of the Brahmi script, mother of
India's regional scripts.

Did you know? Two Mauryan things are with you every day: the four-lion capital on
every government document and coin, and the dharmachakra at the centre of the
national flag.

Q5 What were some of Kauṭilya's key ideas? Which ones of these can you observe even
today in the world around us?

Kauṭilya's key ideas, from the Arthaśhāstra — ‘the science of governance and economics’:

1. The saptānga — a kingdom is made of seven parts that must work together: the king
(swāmi), the councillors and ministers (amātya), the territory and its people (janapada), the
fortified towns (durga), the treasury (koṣha), the forces of defence and law and order (daṇḍa)
and the allies (mitra).
2. Welfare is the source of power. “A king shall increase his power by promoting the welfare of
his people, for power comes from the countryside which is the source of all economic
activity.”
3. The people come first. “In the happiness of his subjects lies the king's happiness; in their
welfare his welfare. He shall not consider as good only that which pleases him but treat as
beneficial to him whatever pleases his subjects.”
4. Law and order need a strong administration, with detailed laws against corruption and
specified punishments for acts against the people's wellbeing.
5. Both war and peace are tools. A kingdom is maintained “both through warfare and
through alliances for peace, as the case may be”.
6. Directives across every field — defence, economics, administration, justice, urban
planning, agriculture and people's welfare.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

7. Reward those who build public works — embankments, road bridges, the beautifying and
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Q6

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continued to influence India and why? Write your opinion in about 250 words.
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Most ancient kings recorded victories. Aśhoka recorded a regret. That is the first unusual thing
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magistrates, “All men are my children.”

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animals even outside his empire,

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

shade trees, and dug wells and built rest houses along the main roads. He encouraged every
sect to study and accept the best in the others' teachings, and he sent emissaries as far as Sri
Lanka, Thailand and Central Asia.
The third is that he talked to his people at all. His edicts were carved in Prakrit, the popular
language, in the Brahmi script — the mother of India's regional scripts — so that his subjects,
and not only his court, could understand him.
What continues? The Sarnath lion capital is India's national emblem and the dharmachakra
sits at the centre of our flag. But the deeper inheritance is an idea: that a ruler's duty is the
welfare of the ruled, that different faiths deserve respect, and that non-violence is a strength
rather than a weakness — ideas India chose again in the twentieth century.

Tip: If your teacher asks for exactly 250 words, count the words in the four
paragraphs above and adjust the last one. Keep the structure: what was unusual
(2–3 points, each with evidence) → what survives today (emblem, flag, and the
ideas) → why it survives.

Q7 Thus speaks the Beloved of the Gods, the king Piyadasi: My officers of Dhamma are
busy in many matters of public benefit, they are busy among members of all sects,
both ascetics and householders. I have appointed some to concern themselves with
the Buddhist Order, with brahmans and Ājīvika…, with the Jains…, and with various
sects. There are many categories of officers with a variety of duties, but my officers
of Dhamma are busy with the affairs of these and other sects. After reading the
above edict of Aśhoka, do you think he was tolerant towards other religious beliefs
and schools of thought? Share your opinion in the classroom.

Yes — and the edict shows something stronger than tolerance: active support.
The evidence inside the edict itself:

He names several different sects — the Buddhist Order, brahmans, Ājīvikas, Jains, “and
various sects” — and appoints officers for each. He does not name only his own.
He includes both ascetics and householders, that is, both those who renounce the world
and ordinary families. Nobody is left out.
He puts state officers and state money behind this. Tolerance that costs nothing is easy;
appointing a whole category of officials is a policy.
The work is described as “matters of public benefit” — the sects are treated as part of the
empire's welfare, not as a problem to be managed.

Evidence from the rest of the chapter: Aśhoka “claimed to encourage all sects — the different
schools of thought present in his time — to accept each other's best teachings and study them.”
That goes beyond leaving others alone; it asks them to learn from one another.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

The fair objection, which a good answer raises: Aśhoka had himself embraced Buddhist
teachings and sent emissaries to spread the Buddha's message. And this is his own edict — the
chapter warns that “we need not take all of Aśhoka's claims literally”. So we are reading a ruler's
own account of himself.
The balanced conclusion: even allowing for that, the edict is remarkable. He had every power
to favour one sect and did the opposite in public, in writing, permanently, on stone. On the
evidence available, he was genuinely tolerant, and more than tolerant — he made respect
between faiths a duty of the state.

For the classroom discussion: Ask whether appointing officers of Dhamma is closer
to (a) leaving religions alone, or (b) the modern idea of a state that treats all religions
equally and protects each. Most students land on (b) — which is worth noticing,
because it is what our Constitution does.

Q8 The Brahmi script was a writing system that was widely used in ancient India. Try to
learn more about this script, taking help from your teacher wherever required.
Create a small project and include what you have learnt about Brahmi.

This is a project, so here is the method, what a good project must contain, and a model outline.
How to research it: use your school library, the NCERT Grade 6 chapter on India's cultural roots,
and museum websites; ask your teacher to help you find a photograph of an Aśhokan edict. Fig.
5.18 on page 106 of your own book — a reproduction of part of the Girnar rock edict and a
detail of the Topra pillar — is a real Brahmi sample to start from.
What a good project must contain:

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

SECTION WHAT TO PUT IN IT

1. What Brahmi A script, not a language. It was used to write Prakrit (and later Sanskrit, Tamil and
is others). The chapter calls it “the mother of all regional scripts of India”.

2. When and Our clearest dated examples are Aśhoka's edicts of the 3rd century BCE, found
where from Kandahar and Mansehra in the northwest to Brahmagiri and Maski in the
south, and from Girnar in the west to Dhauli in the east (map, Fig. 5.17, page 105).

3. How it works Each sign is a consonant carrying an inherent ‘a’; other vowels are shown by small
strokes added to the sign — the same principle Devanagari uses today. Written left
to right.

4. Its children Draw a family tree: Brahmi → Devanagari, Bangla, Gujarati, Gurmukhi, Odia, Tamil,
Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Sinhala, and scripts of Southeast Asia such as Thai
and Burmese.

5. How it was Knowledge of Brahmi was lost for centuries. It was worked out again in 1837 by
deciphered James Prinsep, which is how Aśhoka's edicts could finally be read.

6. Your own A chart of a few Brahmi letters beside their Devanagari descendants, and your
hands-on part name written in Brahmi. Add a photograph or a careful drawing of an edict.

7. Sources List every book and website you used. Always.

Why Brahmi matters so much: Before it, we cannot read India's past in India's own
words — the Indus script is still undeciphered. With Brahmi, an emperor's voice from
2,300 years ago reaches us directly, without any later writer standing in between.
Almost every script you can read today is its descendant.

Q9 Suppose you had to travel from Kauśhāmbī to Kāveripattanam in the 3rd century
BCE. How would you undertake this journey, and how long would you expect it to
take, with reasonable halts on the way?

Use the trade-route map, Fig. 5.5 on page 92. Kauśhāmbī sits on the Dakṣhiṇapatha — the
great southern route — and Kāverīpattinam is a port on the far southeastern coast. So this is a
journey of roughly 1,800–2,000 km down the length of the peninsula.
How I would travel: not alone. I would join a merchants' caravan organised by a guild
(śhrenī), travelling with bullock carts for the baggage, walking or riding beside them, with
armed guards for the forest stretches. I would set out after the monsoon, in the cool months,
when the rivers are crossable and the tracks are firm.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

STAGE ROUTE ROUGHLY HALTS AND WHAT HAPPENS
THERE

1 Kauśhāmbī → Ujjayinī, along the ~600 km, about A great trading city and a
Dakṣhiṇapatha 3–4 weeks Mauryan regional capital. Rest,
repair carts, change goods, pick
up news of the road south.

2 Ujjayinī → Pratiṣhṭhāna, crossing ~500 km, about The hardest stretch — hills, forest,
the Narmada and the Vindhya– 3 weeks river crossings. Travel only by day;
Satpura country onto the Deccan camp in groups.
plateau

3 Pratiṣhṭhāna → Suvarnagiri across ~450 km, about Another regional capital of the
the Deccan 2–3 weeks Mauryas. Restock food and water;
the plateau is dry.

4 Suvarnagiri → Kānchīpura → ~450 km, about Down into the Kāverī country and
Kāverīpattinam on the coast 2–3 weeks the Chola lands, ending at the
port.

Total distance ≈ 2,000 km

Cart caravan pace ≈ 20–25 km a day
2,000 ÷ 22 ≈ 90 days of travelling

+ rest days, festivals, river waits, market halts ≈ 25–35 days

≈ 4 months, or a little more

Faster and slower versions: a lone royal courier on horseback, changing horses, could do it in
perhaps 6–8 weeks. A heavy trading caravan stopping to buy and sell at every town could take
six months. Part of the journey could also be done by sea — reach an east-coast port such as
Tāmralipti or Kalinganagara and sail south with the winds — but that depends on the sailing
season.

Be honest in your answer: no ancient source gives us a timetable for this route.
What we can do is what a historian does — take the distance from the map, a
realistic daily pace for bullock carts, and add sensible halts. Say so in your answer,
and explain your arithmetic.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires
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An empire is a collection of smaller kingdoms or territories controlled by one powerful ruler.

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The word comes from the Latin imperium, ‘supreme power’. The smaller kings kept their

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networks of roads and waterways.
Trade paid for empire. Traders organised themselves into guilds (śhrenīs) with an elected

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head and their own internal rules; the king did not interfere. The Uttarapatha and
Dakṣhiṇapatha were the two great trade routes.
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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Quick revision

TERM WHAT IT MEANS WHERE IT REMEMBER IT BY
APPEARS IN
THE CHAPTER

Empire A collection of smaller kingdoms or ‘What is an From Latin imperium =
territories over which one powerful ruler Empire?’, page 87 ‘supreme power’
exerts power, ruled from a capital

Tributary / vassal A ruler or state that has submitted to an Margin note, page The small king keeps his
emperor and pays tribute — gold, grain, 87 throne but loses his
livestock, elephants — as a sign of independence
submission

Samrāj, adhirāja, Sanskrit words for ‘emperor’: ‘lord of Page 87 Three words, one idea —
rājādhirāja all’, ‘overlord’, ‘king of kings’ a king above kings

Śhrenī (guild) A powerful association of traders, ‘Trade, trade Collaborators, not
craftsmen, moneylenders or routes and guilds’, competitors
agriculturists, with an elected head and its pages 91–93
own rules

Uttarapatha / The great northern and southern trade Fig. 5.5, page 92 Uttara = north, dakṣhiṇa
Dakṣhiṇapatha routes of the Subcontinent = south, patha = road

Saptānga Kauṭilya's seven limbs of a kingdom — Fig. 5.15, page 102 Sapta = seven, anga =
swāmi, amātya, janapada, durga, koṣha, limb
daṇḍa, mitra

Arthaśhāstra Kauṭilya's famous work, literally ‘the Pages 101–103 The king's happiness lies
science of governance and economics’ in his subjects' happiness

Satrap A governor of a province of the Persian Don't Miss Out, Porus became
and Greek empires, left behind by the page 97 Alexander's satrap
overlord

Edict An official declaration issued by Margin note, page Aśhoka's edicts were
authorities or, here, by a king 104 carved on rocks and
pillars

Devanampiya Aśhoka's name for himself — ‘Beloved Page 106 How a king wanted to be
Piyadasi of the Gods’ and ‘one who regards others remembered
with kindness’

Dharma Moral law, one's duties to family, Don't Miss Out, Duty, law, truth, order
(dhamma) community and country; at a deeper page 107 and ethics — all together
level, living in harmony with ṛitam, the
cosmic order

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5 The Rise of Empires AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

TERM WHAT IT MEANS WHERE IT REMEMBER IT BY
APPEARS IN
THE CHAPTER

Aṇḍa The big round hemispherical structure at Don't Miss Out, Devotees walk around it
the centre of a stūpa; it represents the page 112 — pradakṣhiṇa
universe

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