Mastery

New Beginnings: Cities and States — Mastery

30 questions 30 min Full-chapter mastery

Q1. According to the chapter, for roughly how long did urban life remain absent from India between the First and Second Urbanisations?
- A. About 200 years
- B. About 500 years
- C. A whole millennium (about 1,000 years)
- D. More than 3,000 years
Q2. A Class 7 teacher wants her students to grasp the geographical spread of the 16 mahajanapadas. Which is the BEST first classroom activity?
- A. Ask each student to memorise the list of 16 names alphabetically
- B. Dictate Kautilya's quotation from the chapter's opening
- C. Begin a discussion on the gana-sangha system of Vajji and Malla
- D. Display the chapter's map (Fig. 4.3) and ask students to locate each mahajanapada and identify present-day Indian states
Q3. On the map of the 16 mahajanapadas (Fig. 4.3), Mathura is marked as the capital of which mahajanapada?
- A. Panchala
- B. Matsya
- C. Shurasena
- D. Chedi
Q4. Consider the following statements about the gana or sangha mahajanapadas: I. The sabha or samiti took important decisions through discussion and, if necessary, vote. II. The selection of the raja itself was done by the assembly. III. Their functioning may be called 'democratic' and they are among the earliest such systems in the world. Which are correct?
- A. I and II only
- B. II and III only
- C. I and III only
- D. All three
Q5. The 'Let's Explore' table in the chapter compares the First and Second Urbanisations on seven features. Which feature was present in BOTH urbanisations?
- A. Use of iron
- B. Buddhist and Jain literature
- C. Trade
- D. Cities in the Ganga plains
Q6. Fig. 4.9 of the chapter shows shell and gemstone industries at the site of Kodumanal. Where is Kodumanal located?
- A. Near Bhubaneswar, Odisha
- B. Near Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh
- C. Near Erode, Tamil Nadu
- D. Near Pushkalavati, Gandhara
Q7. Aarti's teacher tells the class that the fortified city of Shishupalgarh, today a suburb of Bhubaneswar, was first excavated in 1948. Of which region was Shishupalgarh the capital, according to Fig. 4.7 of the chapter?
- A. Magadha region
- B. Vatsa region
- C. Avanti region
- D. Kalinga region
Q8. Fig. 4.8 of the chapter is a timeline covering from 1900 BCE to 300 BCE. A teacher wants to use this timeline to clear a common misconception in Class 7. The BEST misconception to target is
- A. That mahajanapadas existed at the same time as the Harappan civilisation
- B. That Kautilya wrote the Vedas
- C. That punch-marked coins are made of iron
- D. That Magadha is in present-day Madhya Pradesh
Q9. Fig. 4.2 of the chapter shows 'The fertile Gangetic plains helped the mahajanapadas to grow and prosper.' Which region was the core of India's Second Urbanisation?
- A. The Deccan Plateau
- B. The Ganga plains, parts of the Indus (Sindhu) basin and neighbouring regions
- C. The coastal strip of Kerala and Tamil Nadu
- D. The Thar Desert and Aravalli ranges
Q10. A student says, 'Since the Mahabharata mentions janapadas, we should accept every detail it gives about them as historical fact.' Evaluate this claim in the light of the chapter.
- A. Correct — literary mentions are always proof enough
- B. Partly correct — literary sources are useful clues but must be combined with archaeology, and the chapter itself warns that data for such remote periods is incomplete
- C. Wrong — literary sources have no historical value for the 1st millennium BCE
- D. Wrong — only inscriptions, never excavations, can confirm ancient history
Q11. A Class 7 student writes, 'India's Constitution gives every adult the right to vote.' She is asked how this idea links to Chapter 4. Which connection from the chapter is the BEST answer?
- A. The chapter says voting was first invented in India by Kautilya
- B. The chapter says the gana-sangha mahajanapadas of Vajji and Malla took major decisions by discussion and vote — scholars call them among the earliest 'republics' in the world
- C. The chapter says every janapada was a full democracy with universal franchise
- D. The chapter says the raja was chosen by lottery in every mahajanapada
Q12. Assertion (A): Iron tools became widespread only by the late 2nd millennium BCE, even though iron extraction techniques were perfected from the early 2nd millennium BCE. Reason (R): It took a few centuries for iron to become part of daily life after the techniques of extracting and shaping it were perfected.
- A. Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
- B. Both A and R are true, but R is NOT the correct explanation of A.
- C. A is true, R is false.
- D. A is false, R is true.
Q13. Indraprastha, marked on the map of the 16 mahajanapadas (Fig. 4.3), was the capital of which mahajanapada?
- A. Kuru
- B. Panchala
- C. Matsya
- D. Kosala
Q14. A student answers an exam question by saying that mahajanapada capitals had moats and narrow gateways 'only to look impressive'. Which is the BEST diagnosis of this answer?
- A. Fully correct — the chapter says the only purpose was decorative
- B. Partly correct — appearance mattered, but the chapter clearly states moats were a further line of defence and narrow gateways helped guards control the movement of people and goods
- C. Fully correct — the chapter says fortifications had no defensive value
- D. Fully wrong — the chapter says all capitals were unfortified
Q15. According to the chapter, around what time did cities begin emerging in the southern regions of the Subcontinent, along with the rise of the Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas?
- A. About 1900 BCE
- B. About 1200 BCE
- C. About 400 BCE
- D. About 300 CE
Q16. Which of the following kinds of ancient literature does the chapter specifically name as a source for the Second Urbanisation?
- A. Sangam Tamil poetry only
- B. Mughal court chronicles
- C. Late Vedic, Buddhist and Jain literature
- D. Persian travel accounts of the 13th century CE
Q17. The chapter makes an unusual remark about the Second Urbanisation that distinguishes it from the First. Which is that remark?
- A. It collapsed completely by 300 BCE and left no trace
- B. It has continued, in a sense, right up to today
- C. It was limited to a single mahajanapada
- D. It did not produce any cities, only villages
Q18. During the roughly thousand-year gap between the two urbanisations, what does the chapter say about life on the Subcontinent?
- A. Civilisation completely disappeared from the land
- B. Life continued in rural settings — villages and a few small towns here and there
- C. All the population migrated to Central Asia
- D. Iron tools fell out of use entirely
Q19. Which of the following BEST describes a janapada, as defined in the chapter?
- A. A loose tribal band with no fixed territory
- B. A trading guild dealing in punch-marked coins
- C. A territory associated with a clan, where the people settled down and which was led by a raja
- D. A purely religious community founded by Vedic priests
Q20. According to the chapter, the words 'sabha' and 'samiti' first appear in which ancient body of literature?
- A. The Tamil Sangam poems
- B. The Vedas
- C. The Buddhist Jatakas
- D. Kautilya's Arthashastra
Q21. Consider the cause-effect chain implied by the chapter: I. The raja needed to maintain a standing army. II. The raja therefore needed to collect taxes from the people. III. The raja used part of these resources to build impressive fortifications around the capital. Which correctly describes the link the chapter draws between these duties?
- A. I, II and III are all duties of the raja and are connected, since tax revenue funded both the army and the fortifications
- B. Only I is a duty of the raja; II and III are not
- C. Only III is a duty of the raja; I and II are not
- D. None of these are mentioned as duties of the raja
Q22. The 'Think About It' box gives several reasons for the concentration of mahajanapadas in the Ganga plains. Which cause-effect link below is CORRECTLY drawn from the chapter?
- A. Iron ore in nearby hills → better tools and weapons → larger-scale agriculture and stronger armies → expansion of states into mahajanapadas
- B. Cold climate → glacier-fed rivers → fishing economy → mahajanapadas
- C. Arrival of Portuguese traders → silver coins → mahajanapadas
- D. Disappearance of farming → migration to forests → mahajanapadas
Q23. Why are India's earliest coins called 'punch-marked' coins?
- A. Because they were issued by Punjab in the medieval period
- B. Because symbols were 'punched' onto the soft silver metal of the coins
- C. Because they were used to settle boxing-style disputes
- D. Because they bore portraits of kings inscribed in deep relief
Q24. After the first punch-marked silver coins, which metals does the chapter say came to be used for Indian coins?
- A. Iron and lead only
- B. Copper, gold and other metals
- C. Bronze and tin only
- D. Mercury and platinum
Q25. According to the chapter, the role of Brahmins in the varna system was
- A. Defending the land and conducting warfare
- B. Engaging in trade, business and agriculture
- C. Preserving and spreading knowledge, and performing rituals
- D. Working as artisans and craftspeople
Q26. A Class 7 textbook exercise asks students to match modern professions to ancient varnas in a non-rigid, illustrative way. According to the chapter's description, a person engaged primarily in trade, business or agriculture would have been classified under which varna?
- A. Brahmin
- B. Kshatriya
- C. Vaishya
- D. Shudra
Q27. Which group does the chapter describe as 'artisans, craftspeople, workers or servants' within the varna system?
- A. Brahmins
- B. Kshatriyas
- C. Vaishyas
- D. Shudras
Q28. A teacher of Chapter 4 wants students to see how today's India is rooted in the Second Urbanisation. Which sequence of teaching steps is BEST for the lesson on 'New Beginnings: Cities and States'?
- A. Recite the 16 names → memorise dates → take a written test on coins
- B. Show Fig. 4.3 map and locate capitals → match each ancient capital to a present-day city (Rajagriha–Rajgir, Kaushambi–near Prayagraj, Ujjayini–Ujjain) → discuss what survives today and what was lost
- C. Begin with Kautilya's quotation in Sanskrit → ask each student to translate it
- D. Hand out punch-marked coin photos first → ask students to invent their own coin symbols → skip the map
Q29. Consider the following cause-effect chain proposed by the chapter for the rise of the Second Urbanisation: I. After the Harappan collapse, life continued in villages and regional cultures. II. Iron metallurgy gradually spread, allowing larger-scale agriculture. III. Surplus production supported larger settlements, expanding trade networks and new states (janapadas). IV. By the 8th–7th centuries BCE, some janapadas merged into mahajanapadas — the Second Urbanisation. Which is the BEST evaluation of this chain?
- A. All four steps are supported by the chapter and together explain the Second Urbanisation
- B. Only step I is supported; the chapter does not mention iron, surplus or merging
- C. The chain is wrong because the chapter says mahajanapadas came before iron
- D. The chain is wrong because the chapter says janapadas had no farming
Q30. Two students debate the chapter: Student X: 'The mahajanapadas were essentially modern democratic states with universal voting — Rajagriha was the world's first parliamentary capital.' Student Y: 'Rajagriha (today's Rajgir in Bihar) was the capital of monarchical Magadha; most mahajanapadas were monarchies with hereditary rajas, while only a few like Vajji and Malla had gana-sangha systems with assembly-based decisions — scholars call those early republics, not modern democracies.' Which position does the chapter support?
- A. Student X is fully right
- B. Student Y is correct — the chapter shows Rajagriha as the capital of monarchical Magadha and clearly distinguishes such monarchies from the gana-sangha 'early republics' of Vajji and Malla, while warning that data is incomplete
- C. Both are wrong; the chapter calls every mahajanapada a foreign colony
- D. The chapter takes no position; it lists only names of states

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