How did a temple communicate the importance of a king?
Temples were build to demonstrate the power, wealth and devotion of the king.
- Often the names of king and the man deity were identical to each other. For example, rajarajeshvara temple built by king rajarajadeva. For the worship of his god namely, rajarageshvaram.
- The other subordinate deities in a temple represented the original subordinates of a king.
- The temple was a small scaled model of the world ruled by the king and his allies.
- As they worshipped their deities together in the royal temples which seemed as if they brought the just rule of the gods on earth.
What role did the Yamuna play in the layout of the new Mughal city at Shahjahanabad?
What is a shikhara?
An inscription in Shah Jahan’s diwan-i khas in Delhi stated: “If there is Paradise on Earth, it is here, it is here, it is here.” How was this image created?
The rich and powerful construct large houses today. In what ways were the constructions of kings and their courtiers different in the past?
How is the “trabeate” principle of architecture different from the “arcuate”?
What are the elements of a Mughal chahar bagh garden?
What is pietra-dura?
Look at Figure 4. How could that building be constructed faster today?
How did the Mughal court suggest that everyone – the rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak – received justice equally from the emperor?
Who was considered a “foreigner” in the past?
Match the following:
Gurjara-Pratiharas Western Deccan
Rashtrakutas Bengal
Palas Gujarat and Rajasthan
Cholas Tamil Nadu
Which ruler first established his or her capital at Delhi?
Match the following:
mansab Marwar
Mongol governor
Sisodiya Rajput Uzbeg
Rathor Rajput Mewar
Nur Jahan rank
subadar Jahangir
Fill in the blanks:
(a) The Rajarajeshvara temple was built in ———.
(b) Ajmer is associated with the Sufi saint ————.
(c) Hampi was the capital of the ———— Empire.
(d) The Dutch established a settlement at ———— in Andhra Pradesh.
Match the following:
garh khel
tanda chaurasi
labourer caravan
clan Garha Katanga
Sib Singh Ahom state
Durgawati paik
The Buddha namghar
Shankaradeva worship of Vishnu
Nizamuddin Auliya questioned social differences
Nayanars Sufi saint
Alvars worship of Shiva
Anantavarman Kerala
Jagannatha Bengal
Mahodayapuram Orissa
Lilatilakam Kangra
Mangalakavya Puri
Miniature Kerala
Match the following:
subadar a revenue farmer
faujdar a high noble
ijaradar provincial governor
misl Maratha peasant warriors
chauth a Mughal military commander
kunbis a band of Sikh warriors
umara tax levied by the Marathas
State whether true or false:
(a) We do not find inscriptions for the period after 700.
(b) The Marathas asserted their political importance during this period.
(c) Forest-dwellers were sometimes pushed out of their lands with the spread of agricultural settlements.
(d) Sultan Ghiyasuddin Balban controlled Assam, Manipur and Kashmir.
Match the following:
Gurjara-Pratiharas Western Deccan
Rashtrakutas Bengal
Palas Gujarat and Rajasthan
Cholas Tamil Nadu
Why did the Marathas want to expand beyond the Deccan?
What does the term pan-regional empire mean?
State whether true or false:
(a) Nadir Shah invaded Bengal.
(b) Sawai Raja Jai Singh was the ruler of Indore.
(c) Guru Gobind Singh was the tenth Guru of the Sikhs.
(d) Poona became the capital of the Marathas in the eighteenth century.
For either the Virashaivas or the sants of Maharashtra, discuss their attitude towards caste.
What were the central provinces under the control of the Mughals?
What was the impact of the Mongol invasions on the Delhi Sultanate?
In what ways was the history of the Gonds different from that of the Ahoms? Were there any similarities?
What were the activities associated with Chola temples?
Do you think the authors of tawarikh would provide information about the lives of ordinary men and women?