NCERT Solutions Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 the Age of Reorganisation

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 6: The Age of
Reorganisation

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

BOOK PAGES SECTIONS QUESTIONS MEDIUM

117 – 143 25 36 English

Solutions, notes, sample papers & more at 48 pages

Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

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

NCERT Solutions — Chapter 6: The Age of
Reorganisation
Complete NCERT Solutions for Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation, from Theme B
Tapestry of the Past of the textbook Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Grade 7, Part 1). Every question of the
chapter is answered — The Big Questions, all eight LET'S EXPLORE boxes, LET'S REMEMBER, all nine THINK
ABOUT IT boxes, the in-text questions on pages 122, 128, 133 and 137, Before we move on … and all six
Questions and activities — with the dynasty map (Fig. 6.2), the map of the southern kingdoms (Fig. 6.14), the
Brahmi numerals on page 126, the Chera, Indo-Greek and Kuṣhāṇa coins, the artefact plates of Fig. 6.6 and
Fig. 6.27 and the timeline (Fig. 6.28) read carefully off the printed page.

TEXTBOOK BOOK PAGES

Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part I) (Class 117 – 143
7)

SECTIONS QUESTIONS

25 36

MEDIUM

English

The Big Questions — Page 117
Chapter opening — Theme B, Tapestry of the Past

THE BIG QUESTIONS

Q1 Why is the period that followed the Maurya empire sometimes called the ‘Age of
Reorganisation’?

Because in those centuries the political map of India was taken apart and put together again.
The chapter puts it exactly: “the existing regions were being reorganised into new kingdoms
that were constantly competing to become powerful.”
Follow the chain of events:

Page 1 of 48

Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Around 185 BCE — the last Maurya emperor is assassinated by his commander-in-chief

Puṣhyamitra Śhunga

→ the empire breaks up, hardly half a century after Aśhoka
→ many kingdoms that had been tributary to the Mauryas become independent

→ the northwest becomes weak and is exposed to invasions from outside

→ new kingdoms compete for territory by matrimonial alliances and by warfare

→ the map of India changes significantly — and so do people's lives

Two things are being reorganised at the same time:

Political power — one large empire is replaced by many big and small kingdoms: Śhungas,
Chedis, Sātavāhanas in the north and the Deccan; Cholas, Cheras and Pānḍyas in the south;
Indo-Greeks, Śhakas and Kuṣhāṇas entering from the northwest.
Culture — with the political churn came “a burst in the development of art, architecture and
literature, and enriching cultural exchanges”. New styles of art, new coinage and a flowering
of Sanskrit literature belong to this same age.

Why it happens: a large empire holds together only as long as its centre is strong.
Once the Maurya centre collapsed, the regions did not disappear — they simply
became the building blocks of new states. That is why historians say the age was one
of reorganisation and not of destruction.

Q2 What were the values or principles that guided emperors of that period?

Read the chapter's evidence, ruler by ruler, and the same few values keep returning.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

VALUE OR THE EVIDENCE IN THIS CHAPTER
PRINCIPLE

Respect for all Khāravela, a follower of Jain teachings, “respected all schools of thoughts” and calls
schools of himself “respector of every sect and repairer of every temple”. The Sātavāhanas
thought worshipped Vāsudeva but granted tax-free land to Vedic scholars, Jaina and
Buddhist monks alike. Kaṇiṣhka put Buddha on one coin and Śhiva with Nandi on
another. The Pānḍyas' inscriptions record “encouragements to all schools of thought
and belief”. The chapter calls this a fundamental part of the ‘Indian ethos'.

The welfare of The Hāthīgumphā inscription records Khāravela's “benevolent works for the welfare
the people of his people”. Karikāla built the Kallaṇai so that more land could be irrigated.
Pānḍya inscriptions assert “great concern for their subjects' welfare”.

Dharma and Silappadikāram “centres on the principles of justice and the ruler's dharma to protect
justice it” — the Pānḍya king who condemned Kovalan wrongly dies of shock when he learns
the truth.

Legitimate, Puṣhyamitra performed the aśhvamedha yajña to establish himself as the most
visible authority powerful ruler; Kaṇiṣhka's statue is inscribed mahārāja rājadhirāja devaputra — ‘the
great king, king of kings, son of God'.

Patronage of Śhungas patronised literature, art and architecture (Bharhut); Cheras patronised
learning and art Sangam poets; Kaṇiṣhka “encouraged art and culture, leading to the development of
new artistic styles”.

Generosity The Naneghat inscriptions list a queen's gifts — land, cows, horses, elephants, silver
(dāna) coins — to priests, guests, workers, scholars and monks.

Tip: if an exam asks for “values of the age” in one line, say — tolerance of every
school of thought, concern for public welfare, justice as the king's dharma, and
generous patronage of learning and art.

Q3 How did foreign invaders assimilate into Indian society and contribute to cultural
confluence?

They came as conquerors and stayed as Indians. The chapter says it plainly of the Indo-Greeks:
“while they arrived as conquerors, they were much influenced by the rich local culture.”

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation
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INVADER HOW THEY ASSIMILATED WHAT THEY ADDED TO THE

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CONFLUENCE

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Indo-Greeks
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Adopted Indian deities and ideas. The A blend of Greek and Indian elements

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asatraps,
(Alexander's ambassador Heliodorus set up a pillar in governance, art, language and
near Vidisha praising Vāsudeva as the daily life; the pillar's three precepts —
became ‘god of gods'. Some of their coins carry self-restraint, charity, consciousness.

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independent Vāsudeva-Kṛiṣhṇa and Lakṣhmī.
rulers)
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Settled and ruledafrom
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(Indo-Scythians) century BCE to the 5th century CE, with us as the Indian National
becoming a regular Indian power. Calendar (adopted 1957).
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Kuṣhāṇas Kaṇiṣhka took Indian titles, patronised
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extensive cultural intermixing”. human form, which prepared the
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Three things made assimilation possible:

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merchants rather than against them.
2. Coins — a ruler who wants his money accepted puts on it gods his subjects revere. That is
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why Buddha, Śhiva, Vāsudeva-Kṛiṣhṇa and Lakṣhmī appear on ‘foreign' coins.

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LET'S EXPLORE — Page 118
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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

The break-up of the Maurya empire — making the chapter's timeline

LET'S EXPLORE

Q1 Create a timeline on a sheet of paper marking the period from the first year of the
2nd century BCE and ending in the last year of the 3rd century CE. How many years
does this period cover? As we progress through the chapter, mark the key
individuals, kingdoms and events on the timeline.

The period covers 500 years.

First year of the 2nd century BCE = 200 BCE (BCE years count backwards: 200 → 101

BCE)

Last year of the 3rd century CE = 300 CE (CE years count forwards: 201 → 300 CE)
Years BCE: 200 + Years CE: 300 = 500 years

Check it yourself: do not subtract 200 from 300 and write 100. And do not add a
year for ‘year 0' — there is no year 0. The count runs … 2 BCE, 1 BCE, 1 CE, 2 CE …

Here is the timeline of the chapter, drawn the way the book's own Fig. 6.28 (page 142) draws it.
Copy the scale on your sheet — 1 cm for every 25 years works well — and add each name as you
meet it.

Karikāla
Khāravela Kaṇiṣhka

Śhunga 185 BCE Sātakarṇi
Puṣhyamitra Gautamīputra

200 BCE 100 BCE 100 CE 200 CE 300 CE
BCE | CE
Śhungas
Indo-Greeks, then Śhakas
Sātavāhanas
Kuṣhāṇas →
Cholas,
Cheras,
Pānḍyas

The 500 years of the chapter, 200 BCE to 300 CE. Bars are approximate — the exact limits of each
dynasty are debated, and the book's own timeline uses dashed ends for the same reason.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Try This: as you read on, add the events too — the Bharhut railings, the Naneghat
toll caves, the Hāthīgumphā inscription, the building of the Kallaṇai, the Heliodorus
pillar, and Kaṇiṣhka's coins.

LET'S REMEMBER — Page 119
Fig. 6.2, Prominent dynasties of India during the age of reorganisation

LET'S REMEMBER

Q1 While working on the timeline, did you notice the transition from BCE to CE?
Remember what you learned in the Grade 6 chapter ‘Timeline and Sources of
History’ about how time is measured in history.

Yes — and it is the one place on the timeline where you must slow down.

BCE means Before Common Era; CE means Common Era. The two eras meet at a single
point, and there is no year 0 between them: 1 BCE is followed directly by 1 CE.
BCE years count backwards. 200 BCE is earlier than 100 BCE. So Puṣhyamitra Śhunga (185
BCE) comes before Khāravela (c. 1st century BCE), even though 185 is the bigger number.
CE years count forwards in the ordinary way — Gautamīputra Sātakarṇi (c. 100 CE) comes
before Kaṇiṣhka (c. 150 CE).

To find a gap that crosses the divide: add, do not subtract.

From 185 BCE to 150 CE = 185 + 150 = 335 years

(Subtracting would give 35 years — badly wrong.)

Why it happens: BCE and CE are two ladders leaning against the same point, one
climbing away from it backwards and one forwards. Crossing from one ladder to the
other means adding the two heights, not taking the difference.

Did you know? India also uses era counts of its own. The Śhaka Samvat you will
meet on page 135 begins in 78 CE — so a Śhaka year is 78 less than the Gregorian
year (79 from January to March).

LET'S EXPLORE — Page 120

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Fig. 6.2 compared with the map of the Maurya empire (Fig. 5.13, page 100)

LET'S EXPLORE

Q1 In the previous chapter, you studied the map of the Maurya empire (see page 100).
Above is a map of the post-Maurya period. How many kingdoms can you count in
the area that were previously under the control of the Maurya empire?

60°E 70°E 80°E 90°E

40°N

II n
n
d
d
o
o
-- G
G
rr ee

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K
ee k
u
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ss

āh āṇ
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30°N

sa
Śhakas
Śhakas as
(Indo-Scythians)
(Indo-Scythians)

Śhungas

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ana
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20°N av
is
t
isd
Sā
ed eh
Ch C

Arabian Bay of
Sea Bengal
s
salohC
Chola
Che C
sareh
ras

10°N
say s

0 500 1,000 km
ya
ṇḍ
ḍṇ
Pā
āP

60°E 70°E 80°E 90°E

Fig. 6.2 (page 119) — Prominent dynasties of India during the age of reorganisation.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

30°N

20°N

10°N

Maurya empire

70°E 80°E 90°E

For comparison: the extent of the Maurya empire in the previous chapter (Fig. 5.13, page
100), redrawn here in outline. Borders are approximate.

Fig. 6.2 names nine powers in all. Of these, six lie inside the area that the Maurya empire had
controlled.

Page 8 of 48

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation
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# NAME ON FIG. WHERE IT LIES WAS THIS AREA MAURYAN? (FIG.

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1 Indo-Greeks Far northwest, beyond the Yes — Aśhoka's empire reached Kāndhār

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Indus

2 Kuṣhāṇas Northwest and the upper Yes

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3 Śhakas (Indo-
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4 Śhungas North and central India (the
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old Maurya heartland)

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5 Sātavāhanas The Deccan Yes — Pratiṣhṭhāna and Amrāvatī are on the

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a 6 Chedis Kalinga, on the east coast Yes — Aśhoka conquered Kalinga

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Why it happens: the three southern kingdoms had stayed independent even at the
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Tip: if your teacher counts the two names ‘Śhakas' and ‘Indo-Scythians' on the map,
remember they are one and the same people — the second name is only given in

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Surge of the Śhungas — Sanskrit and the Yoga Sūtras

Q1 Do you recall some aspects of the Yoga Sūtras in your Physical Education and Well-
being classes in Grade 6?

Yes. The Yoga Sūtras — short, tightly packed sentences (sūtra means ‘thread') — were compiled
by Patañjali during this very period, when Sanskrit had become one of the preferred
languages for philosophical and literary works.
What Grade 6 Physical Education and Well-being introduced, and where it comes from:

WHAT YOU ITS PLACE IN THE YOGA SŪTRAS
PRACTISED

Āsana Steady, comfortable posture — the third of the eight limbs (aṣhṭāṅga)

Prāṇāyāma Regulating the breath — the fourth limb; you did simple breathing exercises
before and after activity

Dhyāna Meditation, and the calm attention you were asked to bring to each movement

Yama and niyama The rules of conduct towards others and towards oneself — cleanliness,
truthfulness, non-violence, contentment

Why it belongs in a history chapter: it shows that this ‘age of reorganisation' was
not only about kings and battles. While kingdoms fought over borders, scholars
were composing and compiling texts that Indians still use every day. Yoga is a
living link between that period and your classroom.

Did you know? Patañjali did not invent yoga — he collected and arranged
teachings that already existed, which is why the book uses the word ‘compiled'.

LET'S EXPLORE — Page 124

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Fig. 6.7, a panel from the Bharhut Stūpa

LET'S EXPLORE

Q1 Below is a panel from the Bharhut Stūpa. Look at the two figures on the right. What
are they doing? Can you guess their profession? Notice their attire. What does this
tell us about them? List other details that you notice in the panel and discuss your
findings in class.

What the panel shows:
The panel is a carved stone slab. In the middle is a large round medallion
filled with fine lotus petals; at its centre, inside a big pointed leaf-shape,
rests a small object like a rolled bundle set on a low seat.
A thick garland-like band curves over the medallion, and small rosettes
are carved on either side of it.
Along the bottom runs a border of carved buds and beads in two rows.
On the right stand two human figures in mid-movement — knees bent,
bodies twisted, one a little behind and above the other. Each lifts both
hands to the mouth and holds a long slender object that tapers away
over the shoulder.
Both wear a large wound turban, big round ear-ornaments, a necklace,
armlets and several bangles on each wrist, and a short garment tied
round the hips; the upper body is bare and so are the feet.
Behind them the background is cut into a rough pattern of flat stone
facets.

Fig. 6.7 (page 124) — a panel from the Bharhut Stūpa; a photograph, described here. See
the textbook for the picture itself.

What they are doing. The two figures on the right are shown in movement — knees bent,
bodies leaning forward, arms raised in front of the face, each holding a slender object. They are
not fighting and they carry no weapons: they are taking part in the celebration around the
object in the medallion, most probably as musicians — one appears to be blowing a horn or
conch held to the mouth, the other to be striking or holding a long instrument.
Their profession. Musicians or performers attached to a court or to the stūpa's festivities is the
best guess, and the one most classes reach. (A second reading is defensible — that they are
attendants or devotees hurrying towards the shrine with offerings — so give your reason,
whichever you choose.)
Their attire, and what it tells us. Look at what they wear:

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

A large, carefully wound turban with a knot at the side.
Big round ear-ornaments, a necklace, armlets and several bangles on each wrist.
A short dhoti tied with a sash, upper body bare — light clothing for movement.

That is not the dress of a poor labourer. Ordinary working people in these carvings wear far
less. So the panel tells us these were skilled, respected people — well paid enough to own
ornaments, and important enough to appear in a sacred sculpture.
Other details in the panel (list these in class):

DETAIL WHAT TO SAY ABOUT IT

A large circular medallion filled with lotus The lotus is the commonest ornament at Bharhut; the
petals object resting inside it is being honoured

A thick garland or creeper curving over the Garlands mark the object as sacred — the same gesture
medallion as putting a garland on a picture today

Two smaller rosettes and lotus roundels at the Repeated decorative motifs — the sculptor worked to a
sides plan

A rocky background of overlapping slabs The convention for showing a hill or mountain

A carved band below with beaded festoons and The lower border of the railing — the same festoon runs
lotus buds hanging over vases all round the stūpa

Why this matters: the Śhungas added these railings and reliefs to a stūpa
probably built in Aśhoka's time. Because the carvings show ordinary life — clothes,
jewellery, instruments, hairstyles — they are among our best sources for what
people actually looked like more than 2,000 years ago.

Check it yourself: hold your book close and follow each figure's hands. If you can
see the instrument clearly, describe exactly what you see — a good history answer
always says what the evidence shows before it says what the evidence means.

LET'S EXPLORE — Page 124

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Fig. 6.6 (page 123), Some Śhunga Contribution to Art

LET'S EXPLORE

Q1 Look closely at the pictures in the collage in Fig 6.6 (on the previous page). In a
note, write down your observations on the clothes, the jewellery, and other objects
of daily use.

The ten pictures in the collage, in the order the book numbers them:
6.6.1 Pillar with a Greek warrior — a tall carved stone pillar with one
standing figure in high relief.
6.6.2 Male figure — a long terracotta plaque with a single standing
figure.
6.6.3 Woman with a child — a broken terracotta plaque; a standing
woman carrying a small child on her hip.
6.6.4 Woman with a fan — an oval terracotta plaque; a standing woman
holding a round fan.
6.6.5 A vase — a tall pot covered with rows of small moulded figures.
6.6.6 Female figure with hair ornaments, terracotta — a broken plaque
showing a head with an elaborate headdress.
6.6.7 Royal family — a rectangular terracotta plaque with two figures
side by side inside a frame.
6.6.8 Bronze bangles covered with a thin layer of gold — two plain round
bangles, photographed on a black ground.
6.6.9 Comb of ivory — a curved comb with fine close teeth and carved
figures along the top.
6.6.10 Beads of a necklace — a curve of small gold beads laid out with a
larger piece at the centre.

Fig. 6.6 (page 123) — the collage of Śhunga-period objects; photographs, described here.
See the textbook for the pictures themselves.

Sample answer — a note of the kind the question asks for. Ten objects are shown; group your
observations as below.

Page 13 of 48

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation
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OBJECT IN FIG. 6.6 WHAT CAN BE SEEN

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6.6.1 Pillar with a Greek
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A short belted tunic, a cross-belt over the chest, a sword at the hip and
warrior
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a6.6.2 Bare upper body, a dhoti with folds falling between the legs, a heavy
turban, large earrings, bangles

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beaded girdle (mekhalā) at the waist, bangles up the forearm, anklets

6.6.4 Woman with a fan
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The fan itself is an object of daily use; note again the girdle and the
stacked bangles
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6.6.5 A vase Terracotta, its whole surface covered with rows of small human and

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animal figures — a decorated household pot

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6.6.6 Female figure with hair A crown-like arrangement of hair ornaments, a crescent mark on the
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6.6.7 Royal family Two richly dressed figures with turbans, ornaments and a long staff —

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6.6.9 Comb of ivory Fine long teeth, and a carved top with figures and animals — an

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What the collage tells us as a whole:
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Clothes were mainly unstitched — dhoti, sari-like drapes, sashes and turbans — except on
the Greek warrior, who wears a stitched tunic and boots. Foreign dress was known and could
be carved without fuss.

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Jewellery was worn in quantity by everyone shown, men included: earrings, necklaces,
armlets, bangles, girdles, anklets. Materials range from terracottam
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objects were decorated — a comb, a vase, a fan. Art was not kept only for temples.

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Try This: compare 6.6.8 with any gold-plated bangle sold today. The technique — a

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thin layer of gold over a cheaper metal — is over two thousand years old.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

THINK ABOUT IT — Page 126
Life under the Sātavāhanas — princes named after their mothers

THINK ABOUT IT

Q1 What, according to you, could the tradition of using the mother’s name at the
beginning of a king’s name signify?

It signifies that in Sātavāhana society a mother's family and a mother's own standing were a
source of a king's prestige — worth announcing in his official name, on his coins and in his
inscriptions.
Take the example the book gives:

Gautamīputra Sātakarṇi = ‘Sātakarṇi, son of Gautamī'

His mother: Gautamī Balaśhrī — a powerful queen who donated land to Buddhist monks
and had an important inscription carved at Nāśhik

The coin in Fig. 6.10 reads, in Brahmi: Rāño Gotamiputasa Siri-Sātakaṇisa — ‘King Lord

Sātakarṇi, son of Gautamī'

What it can signify:

Women held real influence. Gautamī Balaśhrī made grants and issued an inscription in her
own name — actions of a person with authority, not merely a royal relative.
The mother's lineage mattered. A prince's claim to the throne was strengthened by
naming the family he came from on his mother's side.
Respect for the mother was a public value, not a private feeling — otherwise it would not
be stamped on the coinage.
It distinguished princes. Several princes of one royal family could share a throne-name like
‘Sātakarṇi'; adding the mother's name told them apart.

Why it is striking: most ancient dynasties named a king after his father. The
Sātavāhanas did the opposite — a reminder that Indian society was not uniform, and
that different regions worked out different customs about family and inheritance.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Did you know? The Naneghat inscriptions (Fig. 6.9) centre on another Sātavāhana
woman — a widow queen who performed several Vedic rituals, including the
aśhvamedha yajña, a ritual usually associated with kings.

THINK ABOUT IT — Page 126
Life under the Sātavāhanas — Brahmi numerals in the Naneghat inscriptions

THINK ABOUT IT

Q1 In the above series of numerals, which ones look somewhat like our modern
numerals? Which ones don’t?

The page prints seven Brahmi signs, labelled 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9 and 10. Here is what each looks like,
read straight off the printed page.

VALUE THE BRAHMI SIGN AS PRINTED LIKE OUR NUMERAL?

1 A single short horizontal stroke — No — our 1 is a vertical stroke

2 Two horizontal strokes, one above the other = No — but the idea is easy: count the
strokes

4 A vertical stem with a cross-bar and a cup-shaped Somewhat — it has the crossed look of our
top — like a ‘Ŧ' with a bowl 4, but not its shape

6 A curve that comes down and closes into a small Yes — very close. Write our 6 quickly and you
loop at the bottom get this

7 A short top stroke turning sharply down to the left, Yes — almost identical to our 7
with a small hook

9 An open S-like curl, hooked at the top No — nothing like our 9

10 A shape like the Greek letter α No — and note it is a single sign, not ‘1'
plus ‘0'

Look like ours: 6 and 7 (and, at a stretch, 4)
Do not look like ours: 1, 2, 9 and 10

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why it happens: shapes drift over centuries as scribes write faster. Some Brahmi
signs kept their form and travelled — from India to West Asia, then to Europe, where
they are still called ‘Arabic numerals' although the Arabs themselves called them
hindsā, ‘from India'. This inscription is “one of the many evidences showing that
modern numerals ultimately originated in India.”

Tip: notice what is missing from the series — a sign for zero, and a place-value
system. Brahmi had a separate sign for 10. Zero and place value came later, and that
is what turned Indian numerals into the world's arithmetic.

THINK ABOUT IT — Page 127
Fig. 6.12, a yakṣha from the Pitalkhora caves

THINK ABOUT IT

Q1 This sculpture of a yakṣha from Pitalkhora carries an inscription on its hand,
kanhadāsena hiramakarena kāṭa meaning ‘made by Kanahadasa, a goldsmith’. Is it
not interesting to see that a goldsmith could also craft a sculpture made of stone?
What do you think this tells us about people’s professions at the time?

It tells us that professions in that age were real skills, not fixed labels — a craftsman trained in
one material could and did work in another.
Four things can be drawn from this one short inscription:

1. Crafts overlapped. A goldsmith works with fine chisels, punches and files on a small scale.
Those same habits of hand and eye transfer to carving stone. So a man called hiramakara
(goldsmith) could carve a large yakṣha.
2. Craftsmen were proud of their work. Kanahadasa signed the sculpture. He wanted to be
known — which means an artisan's name and reputation were worth something.
3. Artisans were literate, or had access to writing. Somebody had to compose and cut that
Brahmi line.
4. There was demand and mobility. Cave sites like Pitalkhora were being cut and decorated
on a large scale, so skilled hands moved to where the work was — a goldsmith could take on
temple or cave commissions.

Why it matters: we usually learn about kings because kings left inscriptions. Here
an ordinary craftsman left one. That single line lets us see the people who actually
built the ancient world — and shows they were not silent.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Did you know? A yakṣha is a minor deity associated with nature. This one is shown
as a stout, smiling figure with heavy jewellery and a pleated lower garment, arms
raised as though holding something up — yakṣhas are often carved as if supporting
the structure above them.

In-text Questions — Page 128
Coming of the Chedis — looking back at Kalinga

Q1 Do you remember the Kalinga war mentioned in the previous chapter?

Yes. The Kalinga war was Aśhoka's war against the kingdom of Kalinga (roughly present-day
Odisha), fought about 261 BCE. Its scale of death and suffering shook Aśhoka so deeply that he
turned away from conquest by war (bherighoṣha) towards conquest by dhamma
(dhammaghoṣha), and had that change recorded in his edicts.
The chapter asks you to remember it because of what happened next in the same region:

c. 261 BCE — Kalinga is conquered by Aśhoka

After 185 BCE — the Maurya empire declines

→ Kalinga rises again, now as a prominent power under the kings of the Chedi dynasty

→ its greatest ruler, Khāravela, records his deeds in the Hāthīgumphā inscription

Why it matters: this is the ‘reorganisation' of the chapter's title happening in one
place. A region absorbed by an empire did not vanish; the moment the empire
weakened, Kalinga re-emerged as an independent kingdom — with its own dynasty,
its own capital region near Bhubaneswar, and its own record in stone.

THINK ABOUT IT — Page 129

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation
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The Udayagiri–Khandagiri caves and rock-cut architecture
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THINK ABOUT IT

.co a g l
a s em the regularity of the rock-cut chambers sculpted nearly two millennia ago.
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a
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co m
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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why it happens: precision here comes not from better tools but from method —
measure, mark, cut in stages, and repeat one standard. Iron chisels and patience will
do the rest. It is the same logic a carpenter uses today.

Try This: take a bar of soap, mark a doorway on it with a pencil and hollow it out
with a blunt knife, working from the top down. You will discover in five minutes why
the sequence matters — stone, unlike clay, cannot be put back.

THINK ABOUT IT — Page 129

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Fig. 6.14, Kingdoms in the South — the symbols on the map

THINK ABOUT IT

Q1 In the map given on next page, you may notice different symbols alongside the
names of the kingdoms. What do these symbols represent? Think about how they
highlight the unique identities of the kingdoms.

76°E 78°E 80°E

N

Kaver W E
i R.

A
ALO
OL
S

CH
HC
12°N

Vanji (Karur) Uraiyūr
Uraiyūr Bay of
HC CH

Arabian sea
ARE
ERA

Bengal
Madurai
10°N

Y A
LEGEND ṆḌ
Ṇ
Ḍ
South Indian Kingdoms PĀ
Chola
Chera
Pāṇḍya
Capital Cities
Rivers
8°N
0 100 200 km

76°E 78°E 80°E

Fig. 6.14 (page 130) — Kingdoms in the South (note that borders are approximate and
fluctuated in time).

They are the royal emblems of the three kingdoms, drawn on flags planted on each kingdom's
territory. Each emblem is that dynasty's identity mark — its badge on coins, banners, seals and
inscriptions.

Page 21 of 48

Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

KINGDOM SYMBOL ON CAPITAL WHAT THE EMBLEM SUGGESTS
THE FLAG (FIG. SHOWN
6.14)

Chola A tiger, leaping, on a Uraiyūr Power, courage, the strongest hunter of the
red flag forest — a fitting badge for the dynasty that
“established his supremacy” over the other two

Chera A bow (with arrow) Vanji (Karur) Skill and reach — and note that the same bow
on a yellow flag appears on the Chera coin in Fig. 6.18 on page
133

Pānḍya A pair of fish on a Madurai The sea — the Pānḍyas were “an important naval
yellow flag power” and famous for their pearls

How the symbols highlight each kingdom's identity:

They are instantly recognisable — a soldier, a trader or a villager who could not read still
knew whose banner was flying.
They fit each kingdom's strength and geography: the fish for a coastal, sea-going power;
the tiger for a land power on the fertile Kāveri; the bow for the hill-and-forest west.
They gave the dynasty a continuous identity across centuries, long after individual kings
were forgotten — which is exactly why a modern map-maker can still use them.
They mark rivalry: three separate emblems on one small map are a picture of three
kingdoms that “often competed with each other for control over the South”.

Did you know? These emblems outlived the kingdoms. A pair of fish and a bow still
appear in the emblems and temple art of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and the tiger
became a lasting royal badge of the later Cholas.

THINK ABOUT IT — Page 132
Fig. 6.16, statue of King Karikāla at the Grand Anicut Memorial Park

THINK ABOUT IT

Q1 Observe the statue of the king. How is he depicted? What do his posture, clothing,
and expression say about his power and status?

How he is depicted. Karikāla is shown seated on a richly decorated elephant, in the open air
of the Grand Anicut Memorial Park in Tamil Nadu. He wears a tall crown, a patterned upper
garment and a white lower garment, ornaments at the neck, arms and ears, and he has a full

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

moustache. One hand is raised; the other rests easily. The elephant carries an ornamented
cloth over its back, gold-coloured trappings and painted decoration on the forehead.

WHAT YOU SEE WHAT IT SAYS ABOUT HIS POWER AND STATUS

Mounted on an The elephant is the royal mount — costly to keep, used in war and in processions.
elephant Being above the crowd is itself a statement of rank

Upright, relaxed Confidence and control. He is not braced for battle; he sits as one who is already
posture in command

The raised hand A gesture of greeting, blessing or reassurance to his people — the ruler as
protector, not as a threat

Crown and rich The Sangam poets call the Cholas, Cheras and Pānḍyas the ‘crowned kings'; the
clothing crown makes the claim visible

Calm, dignified A wise and just ruler rather than a fearsome one — matching the king
expression remembered for the Kallaṇai, a work of public benefit

The decorated The wealth of the kingdom, shown through the care lavished even on the animal's
elephant trappings

Why it matters — and one caution: this is a modern memorial statue, not an
ancient portrait. Nobody knows what Karikāla looked like. The statue tells us how
Tamil Nadu remembers him today: as the king who built the Grand Anicut, still
irrigating fields two thousand years later. Statues are evidence about the people who
put them up as much as about the people they show.

THINK ABOUT IT — Page 133
The Cheras — how historians reconstruct ancient trade

THINK ABOUT IT

Q1 Have you ever wondered how historians uncover the trade relations between two
distant kingdoms many centuries ago? Let’s take a moment to brainstorm and
discuss how this information comes to light.

Historians do not have shipping bills from 2,000 years ago. They build the picture out of several
kinds of evidence that agree with one another.

Page 23 of 48

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation
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co m
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KIND OF HOW IT PROVES TRADE AN EXAMPLE FROM THIS CHAPTER
EVIDENCE
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Coins found far
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Andhra Pradesh; Roman coins are found
in south India

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economy ship — evidence of shipbuilding and sea

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trade

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a distant land, dug up at a site, can
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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

In-text Questions — Page 133
Fig. 6.18, coins under Chera kings

Q1 The Chera kings issued a number of coins under their reign. Do you notice the royal
emblem of Cheras on one such coin given below?

Yes. Two worn copper coins are shown. On the right-hand coin you can make out a long
curved arc with a straight line across it — that is the bow and arrow, the royal emblem of the
Cheras. It is the same emblem you saw a few pages earlier on the Chera flag in the map of the
southern kingdoms (Fig. 6.14, page 130).

COIN IN FIG. 6.18 WHAT CAN BE SEEN ON IT

Left coin A standing animal, most probably an elephant, with faint marks around it

Right coin The bow and arrow — the Chera royal emblem — with other worn symbols above it

Why a king puts his emblem on a coin: a coin is a small, hard, portable
government notice. The emblem said three things at once — who issued this
money, that its weight and metal could be trusted, and that the Chera king's
authority reached wherever the coin travelled. That is why coins are such valuable
evidence for historians: an emblem cannot be argued with.

Tip: ancient coins are usually corroded and worn. Look for the outline of a shape
rather than a clear picture — here, one long curve plus one straight line is enough to
identify a bow.

THINK ABOUT IT — Page 134
The Pānḍyas — pearls as an article of trade

THINK ABOUT IT

Q1 The Pānḍyas were known for their pearls. Why do you think pearls were an
important article of trade during these times?

Because a pearl had almost every quality a long-distance trader of that age could want.

Page 25 of 48

Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

QUALITY OF A WHY IT MADE PEARLS VALUABLE IN TRADE
PEARL

Rare, and found in few Pearl oysters grow in particular waters — the Gulf of Mannar off the Pānḍya
places coast was one of the finest sources in the world. Scarcity fixes a high price

Small and light, yet A handful of pearls could be worth a shipload of grain. On a long, dangerous
costly voyage, high value in little weight is exactly what a merchant wants

Does not spoil or rust Unlike spices or cloth, pearls survive months at sea and years in storage

Beautiful without any A pearl needs no cutting or polishing, unlike a gemstone — it can be sold as it
working comes out of the sea

A mark of rank Kings, queens and nobles in India, Rome and West Asia wore pearls to display
status. Demand came from the people with the most to spend

Useful as stored wealth Pearls served as treasure and as royal gifts — Khāravela records that hundreds
and as a gift of pearls were brought to him from the Pānḍya kingdom

Why it mattered to the kingdom: pearls made the Pānḍyas rich and famous far
away. Megasthenes calls their kingdom prosperous; Roman writers prized Indian
pearls. Wealth from pearls helped pay for a strong administration and for the naval
power the chapter mentions — and a strong navy in turn protected the pearl
fisheries. Trade and power fed each other.

Did you know? Pearl diving was skilled and dangerous work, done by breath-hold
divers who went down again and again on a single rope. The high price of a pearl
included the risk taken by the diver.

LET'S EXPLORE — Page 135
Invasions of the Indo-Greeks — Fig. 6.20, an Indo-Greek silver coin

LET'S EXPLORE

Q1 What do you think might have been the meaning of having deities like Vāsudeva-
Kṛiṣhṇa or Lakṣhmī on some Indo-Greek coins?

It means the Indo-Greek rulers were speaking to their Indian subjects in a language those
subjects understood — and that they themselves had begun to accept Indian gods.

Page 26 of 48

Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Most Indo-Greek coins carry a king on one side and a Greek deity on the other. When a coin
carries Vāsudeva-Kṛiṣhṇa (shown on the square silver coin in Fig. 6.20 holding a wheel and a
mace-like object) or Lakṣhmī instead, something has changed. Possible meanings, all
supported by the chapter:

1. Winning acceptance. Rulers who arrived as conquerors needed their coins to be trusted in
bazaars full of Indian traders. A familiar deity made the money — and the ruler —
acceptable.
2. Genuine adoption of local beliefs. The chapter says they were “much influenced by the rich
local culture”. The Heliodorus pillar proves it: an Indo-Greek ambassador calls Vāsudeva
the ‘god of gods' and records three precepts — self-restraint, charity, consciousness.
3. A political message. Putting an Indian deity on state currency says: we belong here now; this
is our land too.
4. Prosperity, in the case of Lakṣhmī. A coin is about wealth, and Lakṣhmī is the goddess
associated with it — a well-chosen image for money.
5. Evidence of cultural confluence. Greek script and Greek portrait style on one side, an
Indian deity on the other: the two worlds meeting on a single small object.

Why coins are such good evidence: the chapter notes that Indo-Greek coins “have
provided most of the information we have about these rulers”. Made of gold,
silver, copper and nickel, they survive when buildings and books do not, and they
were issued by the state — so what appears on them was deliberately chosen.

Tip: the same reasoning explains Kaṇiṣhka's coins two pages later — Buddha on
one, Śhiva with Nandi on another. Rulers of foreign origin repeatedly used coinage
to show respect for the beliefs of the people they governed.

LET'S EXPLORE — Page 136

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

The Emergence of the Kuṣhāṇas — Fig. 6.22, the headless statue of Kaṇiṣhka

LET'S EXPLORE

Q1 Carefully observe this massive statue (1.85 m high) and notice the clothing,
weapon, and footwear. What does it tell us about this figure?

What the statue shows:
A standing figure 1.85 m high, carved in pale spotted sandstone. The
head and both arms below the shoulders are broken away; the body
survives from the shoulders down and stands on a dark modern plinth.
It wears a long, heavy stitched coat that falls below the knees, open
down the front, with a broad belt at the waist; the cloth hangs in stiff,
straight, evenly spaced folds.
Under the coat are loose trousers reaching the ankles.
A long straight sword in its scabbard hangs at the left side; the broken
left hand rested on its hilt. At the right side stands a heavy mace — a
club with a thick rounded head — its shaft held in the broken right
hand.
On the feet are large, thick, soft boots, the toes turned outward; the
stance is wide and firmly planted.

Fig. 6.22 (page 136) — the massive statue this question asks about; a photograph,
described here. See the textbook for the picture itself.

Even without its head, the statue tells you almost everything. It is King Kaṇiṣhka, probably the
most powerful ruler of the Kuṣhāṇa dynasty — the Brahmi inscription on it reads mahārāja
rājadhirāja devaputra kaṇiṣhka, ‘The great king, king of kings, son of God, Kaṇiṣhka'.

Page 28 of 48

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation
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co m
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WHAT YOU CAN SEE WHAT IT TELLS US

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A long, heavy stitched coat falling
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Central Asian dress, not Indian. It suits a cold climate and

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below the knees, trousers horseback riding — the Kuṣhāṇas came “originally from central

a g l Asia”. He is shown as he was: a ruler of foreign origin, and not
ashamed of it

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Heavy padded boots with a firm, Riding boots — again the dress of a horse people. Feet planted
wide stance
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apart: stability, authority, a man standing his ground

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A long sword hanging at the left side,
and a large mace or short sword held
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in the right hand
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Size: 1.85 m — life-size and more Meant to be seen and looked up to, in a public shrine or hall

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rather than a private room

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presenting himself as an Indian emperor

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setting up a royal portrait for people to honour. He did not stop being
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LET'S EXPLORE — Page 136
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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Fig. 6.23, the coins of Kaṇiṣhka

LET'S EXPLORE

Q1 Observe the coins carefully. Who, besides the emperor, appears on the coin?

Besides the emperor, the coins show two deities — the Buddha, and Śhiva with his bull
Nandi.

COIN ONE SIDE THE OTHER SIDE

First coin Kaṇiṣhka standing beside an altar, holding The Buddha, standing with a halo, inscribed
a spear, titled ‘King of Kings' BOΔΔO (‘Buddha') in Greek script

Second The emperor again, at an altar Śhiva with the bull Nandi beside him
coin

Three details are worth noticing while you look:

The coins are of gold — the Kuṣhāṇas were rich from the Silk Route trade.
The legends run round the rim in Greek letters, a habit inherited from the Indo-Greeks — so
a single coin carries a Central Asian king, an Indian deity and a Greek script.
The emperor is always shown at an altar making an offering — he is not merely ruling, he
is worshipping.

Tip: the very next page asks you to reflect on why a powerful ruler would do this.
Keep your observation of these two coins ready — the answer to that question is
built directly on it.

In-text Questions — Page 137
‘Let's reflect on the following' — the meaning of Kaṇiṣhka's coins

Q1 Why would a powerful ruler feature Buddha and Śhiva on his coins? What does it
say about his values and priorities?

Because coins were the widest-reaching public statement a ruler could make, and Kaṇiṣhka
used them to say that his kingdom belonged to people of every school of thought.

Page 30 of 48

Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

REASON WHAT IT SHOWS ABOUT HIS VALUES AND PRIORITIES

Respect for all Buddha on one coin, Śhiva on another — he did not force a single faith on his
beliefs subjects. The chapter notes that Kuṣhāṇa sculpture too shows “a variety of deities
reflecting the peaceful co-existence of various schools of thought”

Winning the His empire stretched from central Asia to northern India, with Buddhists,
loyalty of a mixed worshippers of Śhiva, Greeks and Iranians in it. Honouring their gods held the
empire empire together better than force could

Belonging A ruler of foreign origin showing Indian deities on his money is saying: this is my
land and these are my gods too

Personal devotion He is shown making an offering at an altar — a king who worships, not only
commands

Trade and Coins travelled the Silk Route. Familiar, respected images made his gold acceptable
reputation across Asia

Why it is remarkable: he was “the most powerful ruler of the Kuṣhāṇa dynasty” and
could have insisted on one faith. Instead he chose plurality — the same value the
chapter finds in Khāravela, in the Sātavāhanas and in the Pānḍyas. That repeated
choice, by rulers of very different origins, is what the book calls the ‘Indian ethos'.

Q2 Can you find modern examples of such symbolic currency?

Yes — every note and coin in your pocket carries chosen symbols. Look at Indian currency first.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

MODERN THE SYMBOL WHAT IT IS MEANT TO SAY
EXAMPLE

Every Indian The Lion Capital of Sārnāth (the State The authority of the Republic, and a
banknote Emblem) and the Ashoka Chakra deliberate link to Aśhoka — exactly
the kind of borrowing from the past
that Kaṇiṣhka's coins made

Indian banknotes, Monuments and achievements — the National heritage and pride; the ₹
reverse side Red Fort, the Sun Temple at Konark, the notes are a small gallery of India's
Sanchi Stūpa, the Mangalyaan mission, history and science
Rani ki Vav

Indian banknotes, The denomination written in 17 Unity in diversity, printed on money —
all editions languages on the language panel one country, many languages

Commemorative Portraits and emblems marking What the nation wishes to remember
coins anniversaries — a leader, a movement,
an institution

Other countries Euro notes show bridges and Bridges = connection between
doorways that belong to no one nations; a monarch = the source of
country; British coins show the monarch authority

The unchanging logic: money passes through every hand in the land. Whoever
issues it therefore puts on it the images they most want people to see and accept.
Two thousand years separate Kaṇiṣhka's gold coin from a ₹500 note, and the
reasoning behind the pictures is exactly the same.

Try This: take any two notes from your home, list every symbol on them and write
one line on what each is meant to say. Then compare your list with the description of
Kaṇiṣhka's coins on page 137.

THINK ABOUT IT — Page 137

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

The Gāndhāra school of art

THINK ABOUT IT

Q1 Do you know where Gāndhāra is? Does it remind you of a character from the epic
Mahābhārata?

Where it is. Gāndhāra was an ancient region of the northwest of the Subcontinent — the
Peshawar valley and the Swat valley, extending to Taxila (Takṣhaśhilā) and towards Kabul, in
present-day north-western Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. The chapter locates the art
style in “the western regions of Punjab”. It sat on the routes by which the Indo-Greeks, Śhakas
and Kuṣhāṇas entered India — which is exactly why its art blends Greco-Roman and Indian
features.
The Mahābhārata connection. Yes — Gāndhārī, whose very name means ‘the woman of
Gāndhāra'. She was the princess of Gāndhāra who married the blind king Dhṛitarāṣhṭra and
bound her own eyes with a cloth so as to share her husband's condition. She was the mother of
the hundred Kauravas, including Duryodhana. Her brother was Śhakuni, the prince of
Gāndhāra whose dice-game brought about the exile of the Pāṇḍavas.

Gāndhāra (the region) → Gāndhārī (‘of Gāndhāra') → wife of Dhṛitarāṣhṭra, mother of the

Kauravas

Her brother: Śhakuni, prince of Gāndhāra

Why the name matters: Gāndhāra is not a foreign land that happens to have
Indian art. It is named in India's own epic as a kingdom whose princess married into
the ruling family at Hastināpura. The region had been part of the Indian world for
centuries before Greek styles arrived — which is why the sculpture there is a fusion
and not an import.

Did you know? The city of Kandahar in Afghanistan preserves the ancient name,
and Aśhoka left one of his edicts there — in Greek and Aramaic, for the people of
that region to read.

LET'S EXPLORE — Page 140

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation
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Fig. 6.27 (page 141) — telling the Mathurā and Gāndhāra schools apart
co m
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LET'S EXPLORE

.co a g l
a s emthat you are familiar with the basic characteristics of the Mathurā and
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Now
a
Q1
Gāndhāra styles of art, study the pictures of artefacts given in Fig. 6.27 on the right
page and try to identify which school of art each artefact belongs to. Write your

co m
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observations with justifications and discuss your answers with your classmates.
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The six artefacts in Fig. 6.27, as the book numbers them:

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6.27.1 A scene of the death of Buddha — a rectangular relief in dark

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grey-black stone: the Buddha lies on his side on a couch,mmourners
m a below.
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crowd behind him, and seated figures fill a band

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6.27.2 Bodhisattva Maitreya — a standing figure carved almost in the

a g l round in dark grey-black stone, with a moustache, a crown-like
headdress, heavy jewellery, a flask in one hand, and a robe falling in

a s
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deep folds.

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6.27.3 Śhiva linga being worshipped by Kuṣhāṇa devotees — a broken

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slab of mottled red as sandstone, a linga at the top and rounded, full-
a bodied standing figures below.

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6.27.4 A Nāga between two Nāgīs, carrying an inscription that refers to

.
the eighth year of Kaṇiṣhka’s reign — an upright slab of buff-red

m a s emsnakes with a
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sandstone; a broad standing figure under a hood of

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smaller figure on each side, and a line of inscribed

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base.

a g 6.27.5 Kartikeya, the god of war, and Agni, the god of fire — a panel of
mottled red sandstone with two heavy standing figures, one holding a
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.
spear, the other ringed with flames.
m a
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6.27.6 Standing Buddha — a tall figure in dark grey-black stone on a

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carved pedestal, a large round halo behind the head, wavy hair, and a
robe covering both shoulders in close, regular folds.

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Fig. 6.27 (page 141) — the six artefacts; photographs, described here. See the textbook

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for the pictures themselves.

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First fix the two tests in your mind — the stone and the treatment of the figure.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

GĀNDHĀRA SCHOOL MATHURĀ SCHOOL

Stone Grey-black schist Red (often spotted) sandstone — sometimes buff

Influence Greco-Roman blended with Indian Distinctly Indian; little Greco-Roman influence

Figures Realistic anatomy, flowing robes in Fuller figures, smooth modelling, thin clinging
deep folds, wavy hair, sharp intricate garments, broad faces
detail

Subjects Mostly Buddha and Bodhisattva Buddha and also Indian deities — Kubera,
images and scenes of the Buddha's life Lakṣhmī, Śhiva, Kartikeya, yakṣhas and
yakṣhiṇīs, Nāgas

Now apply the tests to the six artefacts:

# ARTEFACT SCHOOL JUSTIFICATION

1 A scene of the death of Gāndhāra Grey-black schist; a crowded narrative panel; deeply
Buddha (parinirvāṇa) cut, realistic drapery over the reclining Buddha;
mourners with individual faces and moustaches —
Greco-Roman modelling

2 Bodhisattva Maitreya Gāndhāra Dark grey-blue schist; wavy hair, moustache, heavy
ornaments and a shawl falling in deep folds like a
Roman toga; slender, anatomically observed body

3 Śhiva linga worshipped Mathurā Red sandstone with its typical spotting; an Indian,
by Kuṣhāṇa devotees non-Buddhist subject; flat, simply modelled figures

4 A Nāga between two Mathurā Buff-red sandstone; a purely Indian folk deity with a
Nāgīs, inscribed with the canopy of snake hoods; heavy rounded body; a
eighth year of Kaṇiṣhka's Brahmi inscription of a Kuṣhāṇa regnal year —
reign Mathurā was the Kuṣhāṇas' Indian art centre

5 Kartikeya, god of war, Mathurā Mottled red sandstone; Indian deities; broad faces,
and Agni, god of fire full bodies, smooth surfaces, shallow relief

6 Standing Buddha Gāndhāra Dark schist; a large plain halo; the robe covers both
shoulders and falls in continuous rippling folds — the
hallmark of the Gāndhāra Buddha

Gāndhāra: 1, 2, 6 · Mathurā: 3, 4, 5

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

The quickest test: colour first, subject second. Dark grey stone with heavy folded
robes → Gāndhāra. Red or buff sandstone with a full, smooth, Indian figure →
Mathurā. Then check the subject: a Nāga, a yakṣha, Kartikeya or a Śhiva linga will
almost always be Mathurā.

Tip: when you write your justification, always name two features — the material and
one thing about the figure. One feature alone can mislead, because both schools
carved the Buddha.

Before we move on … — Pages 142–143
The chapter in four points, with the timeline of Fig. 6.28

BEFORE WE MOVE ON …

Q1 The period after the disintegration of the Maurya empire was characterised by the
emergence of many big and small kingdoms across the Subcontinent.

This is the chapter in one line. Fig. 6.2 on page 119 shows exactly what it means — where one
empire stood, nine powers now share the map.

REGION KINGDOM REMEMBER IT BY

North and central Śhungas Founded by Puṣhyamitra Śhunga c. 185 BCE; the
India aśhvamedha yajña; the Bharhut railings

Kalinga (east Chedis Khāravela, the bhikṣhu-rāja; the Hāthīgumphā inscription;
coast) Udayagiri–Khandagiri caves

The Deccan Sātavāhanas Amrāvatī and Pratiṣhṭhāna; ship coins; Gautamīputra
Sātakarṇi; Naneghat and Karla caves

The far south Cholas, Cheras, The three ‘crowned kings' of the Sangam poems: Uraiyūr,
Pānḍyas Vanji (Karur), Madurai

The northwest Indo-Greeks, Śhakas, Heliodorus pillar; Śhaka Samvat; Kaṇiṣhka and the Silk
Kuṣhāṇas Route

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why so many kingdoms appeared: most of them were not new peoples. They were
tributary kingdoms that had earlier accepted Maurya overlordship. When the
centre collapsed, they simply stopped paying tribute and ruled in their own names.

Q2 The internal conflicts were coupled with foreign invasions, which together led to a
period of reorganisation of political powers.

Two different pressures, working at the same time, kept redrawing the map.

INTERNAL CONFLICTS FOREIGN INVASIONS

Who Śhungas against their neighbours (possibly the Indo-Greeks, then Śhakas, then
Sātavāhanas); Cholas, Cheras and Pānḍyas Kuṣhāṇas, all entering through the
against one another; Khāravela against an northwest frontier
alliance of southern kings

Why Control of territory, especially border areas — The northwest “became weak,
holding them kept a kingdom safe from attack exposing it to invasions from outside
the subcontinent” after the Maurya
collapse

Methods Warfare, and the peaceful method of Conquest — followed, in every case,
matrimonial alliances by settlement and assimilation

The result was reorganisation, not ruin. Kingdoms rose, fell and were replaced —
the Śhungas lasted about a century; the Sātavāhana empire fragmented in the 3rd
century CE through weak central control and gradual economic decline, which
“paved the way for regional powers to assert or reassert their dominance”. Every
collapse was also a new beginning.

Q3 This period witnessed a dialogue of various cultures that absorbed each other’s
influence to create new styles of art, architecture, coinage, etc., with ultimately a
dominance of Indian themes and flourishing Sanskrit literature.

Note the two careful words in that sentence: ‘dialogue' — not conquest of one culture by
another — and ‘ultimately a dominance of Indian themes'.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

FIELD WHAT THE DIALOGUE PRODUCED

Art The Gāndhāra school (Greco-Roman modelling, grey-black schist, flowing robes) and the
Mathurā school (red sandstone, fuller Indian figures). Deities begin to be shown looking
like human beings — Sūrya, for example

Architecture Rock-cut caves for Jain and Buddhist monks — Udayagiri–Khandagiri, Karla,
Pitalkhora; carved railings at Bharhut; and the growth of religious art that laid “the
groundwork for later temple architecture”

Coinage Greek script with Indian deities on Indo-Greek coins; Buddha and Śhiva on Kaṇiṣhka's
gold; ships and royal emblems on Sātavāhana and Chera coins

Literature Sanskrit becomes a preferred language for philosophy and literature; Patañjali compiles
the Yoga Sūtras; the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa are composed; in the south, the
Sangam anthologies and Silappadikāram

Why Indian themes came to dominate: the newcomers were few and the local
population was vast, its traditions old and confident. Foreign techniques were
welcomed — modelling, drapery, portrait coins — but they were used to show
Indian subjects: the Buddha, Śhiva, Lakṣhmī, yakṣhas and Nāgas. That is what
absorption means.

Q4 This time was also marked by remarkable developments in trade activities, both
internal and external.

Trade is the thread that runs through every section of the chapter.

Page 38 of 48

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation
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co m
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EVIDENCE WHAT IT SHOWS

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Goods and money moving between India's western and eastern
Sātavāhana coins from Gujarat to

s em
Andhra Pradesh
a
coasts — internal trade

gl on those coins (Fig. 6.8)
aShips Two masts with sails and waves below — advanced shipbuilding and
navigation

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The Naneghat caves
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A toll and tax post on a major trade route, doubling as a rest house ag
g l as
for traders — trade was organised and taxed

Exports
a
Spices, textiles, sandalwood, gold-plated pearls, ivory, timber —
reaching the Roman Empire and West Asia
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Imports Glass and perfumed ointments

a g
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The Silk Route (Fig. 6.25) The Kuṣhāṇas held significant sections of it, connecting India with the

a g rest of Asia and the West

Khāravela's pearls; Megasthenes
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Written proof of long-distance trade in luxury goods
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on the Pānḍyas

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Why trade grew in an age of conflict: because trade does not need one empire —

m
it needs routes, coins and demand, and all three existed. Kingdoms earned from
tolls and taxes, so it was in every ruler's interest to keep the roads and ports
. co
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m l as
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working, whoever was fighting whom.
a g
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agl Tip: the chapter's four ‘Before we move on' points make a perfect one-page revision:
many kingdoms → internal conflict plus invasion → cultural dialogue →
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flourishing trade.
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Questions and activities — Page 143
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End-of-chapter exercise
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a s emQ1 Why was the post-Maurya era also known as the era of reorganisation?

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Because the regions that had made up one empire were being reorganised into new,
m of India was redrawn.
competing kingdoms, and theemap
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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

c. 185 BCE — the last Maurya emperor is assassinated by Puṣhyamitra Śhunga

→ the empire breaks up half a century after Aśhoka

→ former tributary kingdoms become independent states
→ the weakened northwest is invaded by Indo-Greeks, Śhakas, Kuṣhāṇas

→ old and new powers compete through war and matrimonial alliances

→ a new political map, and with it new art, coinage, literature and trade

Three things were reorganised together:

Territory — Śhungas in the north, Chedis in Kalinga, Sātavāhanas in the Deccan, Cholas,
Cheras and Pānḍyas in the south, Indo-Greeks, Śhakas and Kuṣhāṇas in the northwest.
Power — no single overlord; several kingdoms of different sizes, constantly rising and
falling.
Culture — a dialogue of cultures producing new styles of art and architecture, with a
dominance of Indian themes.

Tip: in an answer of this kind, always give the date and the name — 185 BCE and
Puṣhyamitra Śhunga — before you explain the idea.

Q2 Write a note on the Sangam literature in 150 words.

Sangam literature (about 150 words):
Sangam literature is the oldest literature of south India, composed in Tamil between roughly
the 2nd or 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century CE. The word sangam comes from the Sanskrit
sangha, meaning ‘association' or ‘coming together' — here, an assembly of poets. So many
poets flourished then that the whole period is called the ‘Sangam Age'. The literature is not one
book but several collections or anthologies of poems by many hands. Its themes are of two
kinds: personal emotions such as love, and public or social values such as heroism and
generosity; both are expressed “with great skill and delicacy”. The poems name the three
‘crowned kings' — the Cholas, Cheras and Pānḍyas — and describe their capitals, wars, gifts
and trade. Because of this, historians consult Sangam poetry constantly to study the society
and culture of the ancient South. The epic Silappadikāram was composed soon after these
collections.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Tip: for a 150-word note, use four sentences of content — what it is, what the
name means, what it contains, why it matters to historians — and one example.
Do not simply list poets' names.

Q3 Which rulers mentioned in this chapter included their mother’s name in their title,
and why did they do so?

The rulers of the Sātavāhana dynasty. The chapter says that “in the Sātavāhana tradition,
princes were often named after their mothers”.

RULER THE MOTHER'S NAME IN WHERE WE SEE IT
THE TITLE

Gautamīputra Gautamī-putra = ‘son of On his coins in Brahmi: Rāño Gotamiputasa Siri-
Sātakarṇi Gautamī' — his mother Sātakaṇisa, ‘King Lord Sātakarṇi, son of
Gautamī Balaśhrī Gautamī' (Fig. 6.10)

Why they did so:

1. The mother's status counted. Gautamī Balaśhrī was “a powerful queen who donated land
to Buddhist monks and had an important inscription carved in Nāśhik” — a woman of real
influence in the kingdom.
2. It strengthened the king's claim by naming the distinguished family he came from on his
mother's side.
3. It publicly honoured the mother, showing the respect given to women in that society.
4. It identified him precisely, since several princes of the dynasty carried the same throne-
name ‘Sātakarṇi'.

Did you know? The Naneghat inscriptions record another remarkable Sātavāhana
woman — a widow queen who performed several Vedic rituals, including the
aśhvamedha yajña, and made large donations of land, cattle and silver coins.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q4 Write a note of 250 words about one kingdom from this chapter that you find
interesting. Explain why you chose it. After presenting your note in class, find out
what kingdoms have been the most selected by your classmates.

How to do it well. Choose one kingdom and build the note on five points: (1) where and when
it ruled; (2) its main rulers; (3) its economy — farming, trade, coins; (4) its art, architecture or
literature; (5) why you chose it, in your own words. Then keep a tally of the class's choices on
the board and see which kingdom wins.
Sample answer (about 250 words) — the Sātavāhanas:
I have chosen the Sātavāhanas, who ruled large parts of the Deccan from the 2nd century BCE
to the 3rd century CE, to the south of the Śhunga empire. They are sometimes called the
‘Andhras'. Their empire covered present-day Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra,
with different capitals at different times — the most famous being Amrāvatī and Pratiṣhṭhāna
(Paithan).
What makes them interesting to me is that they were a trading power. Their coins have been
found from Gujarat to Andhra Pradesh, on both coasts, and many of them show a ship with
two masts — proof of advanced shipbuilding and of sea trade reaching the Roman Empire.
They exported spices, textiles, sandalwood, ivory and gold-plated pearls, and imported glass
and perfumed ointments. Agriculture in the Krishna–Godavari valleys gave them a stable base,
and tolls collected at places like the Naneghat caves added to the treasury.
I also admire two things about their society. First, princes were named after their mothers —
Gautamīputra Sātakarṇi after Gautamī Balaśhrī, a queen who donated land and had an
inscription carved at Nāśhik. Second, although the kings were devotees of Vāsudeva, they
granted tax-free land to Vedic scholars, Jaina and Buddhist monks alike, and paid for the
magnificent Karla caves.
I chose the Sātavāhanas because they show that prosperity, tolerance and respect for women
can go together — and because a coin with a ship on it is a wonderful piece of evidence.

Tip: when you present, hold up the page with Fig. 6.8 or Fig. 6.11. A class remembers
a picture far longer than a paragraph.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Q5 Imagine you have the chance to create your own kingdom. What royal emblem
would you choose, and why? What title would you take as the ruler? Write a note
about your kingdom, including its values, rules and regulations, and some unique
features.

What a good answer must contain. Design your kingdom the way the kingdoms in this
chapter were built, and say why at every step:

A name and location — and a reason drawn from the land (a river, hills, a coast).
An emblem like the Chola tiger, the Chera bow or the Pānḍya twin fish — one clear image
that says something about your kingdom.
A title — remember Kaṇiṣhka's mahārāja rājadhirāja devaputra and Khāravela's bhikṣhu-rāja.
Values, rules and regulations, and two or three unique features.

Sample answer:
Name: Nadīpura, ‘the city of the river'. Location: on the bend of a river where it meets the hills,
so that both farming and trade are possible.
Royal emblem: a peacock standing on a wheel. The peacock is a bird of my region and stands
for beauty and watchfulness; the wheel stands for movement, trade and the turning of the
seasons. It is easy to draw, so it can be stamped on a coin, a flag or a milestone — exactly what
an emblem must be.
Title: Sarvajana-mitra, ‘friend of all people'. I would not take a title of conquest. Like Khāravela,
who called himself the ‘respector of every sect', I want my title to state my duty rather than my
power.
Values: justice above all — the Silappadikāram shows how a single unjust judgment destroyed a
king and a city; respect for every school of thought; and care for water, since water made the
Kāveri delta the ‘rice bowl of the South'.
Rules and regulations: (1) no one may be punished without proof heard in public; (2) one tenth
of the harvest as tax, with none from a failed crop; (3) every village to maintain its tank, and the
kingdom to pay for it; (4) free schooling for all children; (5) traders to pay a toll at the border,
and to receive a rest house and safe roads in return.
Unique features: a bridge-dam like the Kallaṇai; a hall where poets meet every year, in the
spirit of the Sangam; and coins carrying the emblem on one side and a plough on the other, to
honour the farmer.

Tip: the marks are in the reasons, not the invention. For every choice you make,
write one sentence beginning ‘I chose this because…'.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation
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co m
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You have read about the architectural developments of the post-Maurya era. Take
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Q6

om structures mentioned in this chapter.
an outline of the Indian subcontinent and mark the approximate locations of some
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Method. Take a blank outline map of the Subcontinent. Mark the coasts and three or four rivers
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first (Ganga, Narmada, Godavari, Kāveri) so that you have landmarks. Then plot each site with a

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

STRUCTURE WHERE TO MARK IT WHO BUILT OR ADDED TO
IT

Gāndhāra region Far northwest, beyond the Indus Kuṣhāṇa period
(schools of art,
Takṣhaśhilā)

Mathura (Mathurā On the Yamuna, present-day Uttar Kuṣhāṇa period
school of art) Pradesh

Heliodorus pillar, near Central India, Madhya Pradesh An Indo-Greek ambassador
Vidisha

Bharhut Stūpa Madhya Pradesh, east of Vidisha Probably built under Aśhoka;
railings and reliefs added by the
Śhungas

Udayagiri–Khandagiri Near Bhubaneswar, Odisha (Kalinga) Chedis — Khāravela; the
caves Hāthīgumphā inscription is
here

Naneghat caves Near Pune, Maharashtra Sātavāhanas — a toll post on a
trade route

Karla caves Near Lonavala, Maharashtra Sātavāhanas — made for
Buddhist monks

Pitalkhora caves Maharashtra, north of the Karla group Sātavāhana period — the
yakṣha of Fig. 6.12

Amrāvatī and Amrāvatī on the lower Krishna in Andhra Sātavāhana capitals
Pratiṣhṭhāna (Paithan) Pradesh; Paithan on the Godavari in
Maharashtra

Kallaṇai (Grand Anicut) On the Kāveri just downstream of Chola king Karikāla
Srirangam, Tamil Nadu

Madurai, Uraiyūr, Vanji The three southern capitals — Madurai Pānḍyas, Cholas, Cheras
(Karur) in the south of Tamil Nadu, Uraiyūr and
Karur on the Kāveri

Tip: use one colour for rock-cut caves, one for stūpas and pillars, and one for
water works and capitals. The map then shows something at a glance: cave
architecture clusters along the Western Ghats and in Odisha — exactly where hard
rock and busy trade routes met.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Check it yourself: after marking, count how many sites lie on or near a trade route.
Nearly all of them do. Great architecture in this age was paid for by trade.

Chapter at a glance
The Maurya empire broke up, and the map of India was redrawn. The last Maurya
emperor was assassinated around 185 BCE by his commander-in-chief Puṣhyamitra
Śhunga — hardly half a century after Aśhoka. Many new kingdoms emerged, most of them
earlier tributary kingdoms under Maurya overlordship. Because the existing regions were
being reorganised into new competing kingdoms, some scholars call the period the ‘age of
reorganisation’.
Nine dynasties fill the map (Fig. 6.2) — six from within, three from outside. From within
the Subcontinent: Śhungas, Chedis, Sātavāhanas, Cholas, Cheras, Pānḍyas. From outside:
Indo-Greeks, Śhakas (Indo-Scythians) and Kuṣhāṇas. They competed for territory by two
means — matrimonial alliances and warfare — especially along the borders.
In the Deccan the Sātavāhanas grew rich on trade. Their coins, found from Gujarat to
Andhra Pradesh, show two-masted ships — proof of maritime trade reaching the Roman
Empire. Agriculture flourished in the Krishna–Godavari system; tolls and taxes at places
like the Naneghat caves added revenue. Princes were named after their mothers —
Gautamīputra Sātakarṇi after Gautamī Balaśhrī.
In the far south, three ‘crowned kings’ and the Sangam Age. The Cholas (Uraiyūr; king
Karikāla, builder of the Kallaṇai or Grand Anicut), the Cheras (Vanji/Karur, the ‘Keralaputra’,
trading with Rome) and the Pānḍyas (Madurai, famous for pearls and sea power). Their
poets' anthologies are the Sangam literature, from Sanskrit sangha, ‘assembly’ — the
oldest literature of south India.
Invaders came through the northwest — and were absorbed. Alexander's satraps
became the Indo-Greeks, whose ambassador Heliodorus set up a pillar near Vidisha
praising Vāsudeva as ‘god of gods’. Then came the Śhakas (the Śhaka Samvat calendar, 78
years behind the Gregorian, is the Indian National Calendar since 1957) and the Kuṣhāṇas,
whose king Kaṇiṣhka put Buddha and Śhiva on his coins and controlled parts of the Silk
Route.
Politics divided, culture united. The Gāndhāra school (grey-black schist, Greco-Roman
modelling) and the Mathurā school (red sandstone, fuller Indian figures) grew side by side;
deities began to be shown in human form, preparing the way for later temple architecture.
Sanskrit literature flourished — the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa were composed in
this age. The ‘Tapestry of the Past’ is best seen not as one kingdom's story but as a
continuous process of interaction and assimilation.

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Quick revision

TERM WHAT IT MEANS WHERE IT WORTH REMEMBERING
APPEARS IN
THE CHAPTER

Age of The post-Maurya period, when older Page 118 Roughly 200 BCE to 300 CE
Reorganisation regions were reorganised into new, — the span of the chapter's
competing kingdoms timeline

Matrimonial An alliance arranged through a marriage, Margin note, The peaceful way of gaining
alliance generally between two royal families — page 120 control; the other way was
a king often offering his daughter to a war
neighbouring royal family

Aśhvamedha A Vedic ritual in which a horse Don't Miss Out, Performed by Puṣhyamitra
yajña wandered freely with soldiers; land it page 121 Śhunga and by a Sātavāhana
crossed unchallenged became the king's, widow queen
and a challenge meant battle

Bharhut Stūpa A stūpa in present-day Madhya Pradesh, Page 122, Figs. Among the earliest
probably built under Aśhoka; the 6.5 and 6.7 examples of Buddhist art
Śhungas added carved railings and
reliefs

Sātavāhanas A powerful Deccan dynasty (from the Pages 124–128 Capitals Amrāvatī and
2nd century BCE), sometimes called Pratiṣhṭhāna (Paithan)
‘Andhras’

Naneghat caves Caves near Pune on a major trade route, Page 125, Fig. Their inscriptions record a
used to collect tolls and taxes and as a 6.9 queen's dāna and early
rest house for traders Brahmi numerals

Hāthīgumphā A Brahmi inscription in a cave at Page 129, Fig. Khāravela calls himself
inscription Udayagiri recording King Khāravela's 6.13.2 ‘respector of every sect and
achievements year by year repairer of every temple’

Rock-cut Architecture created by cutting chambers Page 128 Udayagiri–Khandagiri (Jain)
architecture and pillars out of living rock instead of and Karla (Buddhist) caves
building them up

Sangam Anthologies of Tamil poems by an Page 130 The oldest literature of
literature assembly of poets; from Sanskrit south India; it names the
sangha, ‘association', ‘coming together' three crowned kings

Kallaṇai (Grand Karikāla's water-diversion system on the Page 132, Fig. Still in use; made the delta
Anicut) Kāveri, just downstream of Srirangam 6.17 the ‘rice bowl of the South'
island

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Class 7 Social Science Chapter 6 The Age of Reorganisation AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

TERM WHAT IT MEANS WHERE IT WORTH REMEMBERING
APPEARS IN
THE CHAPTER

Śhaka Samvat The calendar era developed under the Don't Miss Out, Adopted as the Indian
Śhakas, 78 years behind the Gregorian page 135 National Calendar in 1957
(79 from January to March)

Silk Route The trade network connecting China Fig. 6.25, pages The Kuṣhāṇas controlled
with the Mediterranean world through 138–139 significant sections of it
central Asia and Persia

Gāndhāra school Art of the western Punjab region Page 137, Fig. Realistic anatomy, flowing
blending Greco-Roman with Indian 6.24 robes, fine detail
features, mostly in grey-black schist

Mathurā school Art of the Mathura region in a distinctly Page 140, Fig. Fuller figures, smooth
Indian style, mostly in red sandstone 6.26 modelling, Indian deities,
yakṣhas and yakṣhiṇīs

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