The Age of Reorganisation

About this chapter

The Age of Reorganisation is the sixth chapter of Class 7 Exploring Society: India and Beyond Part 1. It travels from the assassination of the last Maurya emperor by his commander-in-chief Pushyamitra Shunga around 185 BCE to the rise of the Kushanas in the 2nd century CE — roughly five centuries during which the map of India was redrawn. The chapter introduces eight prominent dynasties grouped as those from within the Subcontinent (Shungas, Chedis, Satavahanas, Cholas, Cheras, Pandyas) and those from outside it (Indo-Greeks, Shakas, Kushanas). It covers Pushyamitra Shunga's ashvamedha yajna and the Bharhut Stupa; Kharavela of the Chedis and the Hathigumpha inscription at Udayagiri-Khandagiri; the Satavahanas' Krishna-Godavari agriculture, Naneghat caves, maritime trade and queen Gautami Balashri; the Sangam Age of the three crowned kings — Cheras, Cholas, Pandyas — with the Silappadikaram epic, Karikala's Kallanai (Grand Anicut); the Heliodorus pillar at Vidisha; the Shaka Samvat (Indian National Calendar, 1957); and Kanishka's Kushana empire with the Gandhara and Mathura schools of art linked by the Silk Route. CTET Paper 2 SST tests this chapter through dynasty-period match, capital-place pairs, inscription-ruler links, Sangam literature, cultural-fusion cause-effect and timeline ordering. The four tests — Practice 15, Quiz 15, Hard 15, Mastery 30 — cover all six topics at CTET depth and difficulty.