NCERT Solutions for Class 6th: Ch 10 Traders, kings and pilgrims Our Pasts 1
Page No: 109
Let's Recall
1. Match the following:
| Muvendar | Mahayana Buddhism |
| Lords of the dakshinapatha | Buddhacharita |
| Ashvaghosha | Satavahana rulers |
| Bodhisattvas | Chinese pilgrim |
| Chinese pilgrim | Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas |
Answer
| Muvendar | Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas |
| Lords of the dakshinapatha | Satavahana rulers |
| Ashvaghosha | Buddhacharita |
| Bodhisattvas | Mahayana Buddhism |
| Chinese pilgrim | Chinese pilgrim |
Page No: 110
2. Why did kings want to control the Silk Route?
Answer
The kings wanted to control the silk route because they believed that they would benefit from taxes, tributes and gifts that were brought by the traders travelling along the route.
3. What kinds of evidence do historians use to find out about trade and trade routes?
Answer
To find about trade and trade routes, historians use evidence present in the literature of the period like sangam poems and Sangam literature. Also, historians use objects like pottery, bowls and plates, found from several archaeological sites as evidence. South India was famous for gold, spices,
especially pepper, and precious stones which were carried by ships, across the sea, and by land in caravans to Rome. Many Roman gold coins have been found in south India which proved the trade relations between ancient India and Rome.
4. What were the main features of Bhakti?
Answer
• It emphasised devotion and individual worship of a god or goddess, rather than the performance of
elaborate sacrifices.
• According to system of belief, if a devotee worships the chosen deity with a pure heart, the deity will appear in the form in which he or she may desire.
• The deities were special, these images of the deity were often placed within special homes, places that we describe as temples.
Let's Discuss
5. Discuss the reasons why the Chinese pilgrims came to India.
Answer
Some like Xuan Zang spent time studying in Nalanda the most famous Buddhist monastery of the period.
6. Why do you think ordinary people were attracted to Bhakti?
Answer
Ordinary people were attracted to Bhakti because anybody, whether rich or poor, belonging to the so-called ‘high’ or ‘low’ castes, man or woman, could follow the path of Bhakti.