NCERT Solutions · Class 7 SST · Exploring Society: India and Beyond Part 1 · Chapter 4
Chapter 4: New Beginnings: Cities and States (History)
Answers to all "Questions and activities" of Chapter 4, New Beginnings: Cities and States (NCERT Class 7 Social Science, Exploring Society: India and Beyond Part 1, 2026-27): Kautilya's advice for a kingdom, janapadas and mahajanapadas, sabha and samiti, sources of history, and iron metallurgy and the second urbanisation. All 4 questions are answered, with the key answer highlighted.
Consider the quotation at the start of the chapter (Kauṭilya: "The kingdom shall be protected by fortifying the capital and the towns at the frontiers. The land should … be capable of sustaining the population but also outsiders in times of calamities … beautiful, being endowed with cultivable land, mines, timber forests, elephant forests, and good pastures rich in cattle. It should not depend [only on] rain for water. It should have good roads and waterways …"). Discuss what Kauṭilya recommends for a kingdom. Is it very different today?
Solution
Kauṭilya recommends that a kingdom should have:
Security: fortified capitals and border towns.
Enough resources: cultivable land, mines, forests (timber and elephants), pastures and cattle, so that it can feed its own people and even help outsiders in times of disaster.
Water security: not depend only on rain, i.e. have irrigation (tanks, canals, wells).
Good connections: roads and waterways for trade and travel.
Beauty and a pleasant environment.
Is it very different today? Not much. A modern country also needs defence (armed forces, border security), food security (farming, food stocks for disasters), natural resources (minerals, forests), irrigation and dams, good highways, railways and ports for trade, and disaster relief. Today we would add education, health care, democracy and protecting the environment. So Kauṭilya's ideas are still largely valid.
He recommends defence (forts), plenty of resources (land, mines, forests, cattle) to feed people even in calamities, irrigation beyond rain, and good roads and waterways. Modern states need the same: defence, food security, resources, irrigation, infrastructure, plus democracy, education and environmental care.
According to the text, how were rulers chosen in early Vedic society?
Solution
Each janapada was a clan settled in a territory, led by a rājā (ruler).
The rājā was not expected to rule on his own: each janapada had an assembly, the sabhā or samiti, mostly of the elders of the clan, where matters were discussed. A good ruler took their advice, and according to some texts, an incompetent ruler could be removed by the assembly.
Later, in most mahājanapadas the rājā's position became hereditary (son after father), but in some, like Vajji and Malla (gaṇas or sanghas), the assembly selected the ruler through discussion and, if necessary, voting.
The clan's rājā ruled with the advice of the sabhā or samiti of elders, which could even remove a bad ruler; later, kingship mostly became hereditary, but in gaṇas like Vajji and Malla the assembly chose the ruler by discussion and vote.
Imagine you are a historian studying ancient India. What types of sources would you use to learn more about the mahājanapadas? Explain how each might contribute to your understanding.
Solution
Source
What it tells us
Literary sources: late Vedic texts, Buddhist texts (Jātakas, Aṅguttara Nikāya), Jain texts, later works like the Arthaśhāstra
Names and lists of the mahājanapadas, their rulers, systems of government (monarchies and gaṇas), wars, trade and society
Archaeological sites: excavations at Kauśhāmbī, Rājagṛiha, Ujjayinī, Śhrāvastī, Vaiśhālī
City walls (fortifications), houses, drains, the size of cities, tools and pottery (e.g. Northern Black Polished Ware), showing urban life
Coins: punch-marked silver coins
Trade and the use of money, and the reach of different states
Iron tools and weapons found at sites
The technology of farming and warfare
Accounts of foreign travellers (e.g. Greek writers, later)
An outsider's view of cities and kingdoms
By comparing these sources, a historian can check one against another and build a fuller picture.
Literary sources (Vedic, Buddhist and Jain texts) for names, rulers and governance; archaeological sites (Kauśhāmbī, Rājagṛiha) for walls, houses and city life; punch-marked coins for trade; iron tools for technology; and travellers' accounts, cross-checked against each other.
Why was the development of iron metallurgy so important for the growth of urbanism in the 1st millennium BCE?
Solution
Clearing forests: strong iron axes made it possible to cut down the thick forests of the Ganga plains and open new land for farming and settlement.
More food: iron ploughshares and sickles made ploughing deeper and harvesting faster, so farmers produced more food than they needed. This surplus could feed people who did not farm: craftspeople, traders, soldiers and officials, who lived in towns.
Crafts and trade: iron tools helped carpenters, potters and other craftsmen; more goods meant more trade between towns.
Stronger states: better iron weapons helped rulers build armies, protect their territories and expand into mahājanapadas, collecting taxes to build fortified cities.
So iron helped produce the food surplus, crafts, trade and strong governments that cities need.
Iron axes cleared forests and iron ploughs and sickles raised harvests, giving a food surplus that fed town dwellers; iron tools boosted crafts and trade; and iron weapons helped states grow and build fortified cities.
