NCERT Solutions for Class 6 History Chapter 8 – Ashoka, The Emperor who Gave up War

NCERT Solutions for Class 6 History Chapter 8 – Ashoka, The Emperor who Gave up War (Social Science), contains solutions to various questions in Exercise for Chapter 8.  At the end of the Solutions, all the keywords and Notes which are important to understand From Ashoka, The Emperor who Gave up War Class 6 History, have been explained in a simple and easy-to-understand manner. NCERT Solutions for Class 6 Social Science helps to check the concept you have learned from detailed classroom sessions and the application of your knowledge.

Category NCERT Solutions for Class 6
Subject History (Social Science)
Chapter Chapter 8 – Ashoka, The Emperor who Gave up War

Download NCERT Solutions for Class 6 History Chapter 8 – Ashoka, The Emperor who Gave up War

NCERT Solutions for Class 6 History Chapter 8 – Ashoka, The Emperor who Gave up War – NCERT Exercises




Question 1:-

Make a list of the occupations of the people who lived within the Mauryan Empire.

Answer 1:-

Within the empire lived people who practiced several occupations:

  • There was the king and his ministers along with his soldiers.
  • There were farmers, herders and crafts-persons who serviced various needs.
  • There were also monks and mendicants who lived and preached in different parts of the empire.

Question 2:-

Complete the following sentences:

(a) Officials collected _____ from the area under the direct control of the ruler.

(b) Royal princes often went to the provinces as _____.

(c) The Mauryan rulers tried to control ______ and _____ which were important for transport.

(d) People in forested regions provided the Mauryan officials with _____.

Answer 2:-

(a)Officials collected taxes from the area under the direct control of the ruler.

(b)Royal princes often went to provinces as Governors.

(c)The Mauryan rulers tried to control roads and rivers which were important for transport.

(d)People in the forested regions provided the Mauryan regions with elephants and forest produce including timber, honey and wax.

Question 3:-

State whether true or false:

(a)Ujjain was the gateway to the north-west.

(b)Chandragupta’s ideas were written down in the Arthasastra.

(c)Kalinga was the ancient name of Bengal.

(d)Most Ashokan inscriptions are in the Brahmi script.

Answer 3:-

(a)False

(b)False

(c)False

(d)True




Question 4:-

What were the problems that Ashoka wanted to solve by introducing Dhamma?

Answer 4:-

  • Ashoka’s dhamma was centered around the principle of Ashoka as a paternal figure. He believed that he had a duty to his subjects and solved their quarrels.
  • People in an empire were diverse and this led to conflicts. Ashoka’s dhamma preached for good-will and harmony.
  • Dhamma did not involve any worship or sacrifice and was intended for peaceful coexistence of his people and good treatment of slaves, animals and the elderly.

Hence, the problems Ashoka wanted to solve included quarrels, religious conflicts, ill-treatment meted out to slaves and violence against animals.

Question 5:-

What were the means adopted by Ashoka to spread the message of dhamma?

Answer 5:-

Ashoka believed in the principle of dhamma and wanted to spread its knowledge amongst his subjects. The means adopted by him to spread the message of it included:

  • He inscribed about dhamma and its merits on pillars and rocks as inscriptions. These inscriptions were placed at strategic places where people could read them.
  • He also appointed ministers called dhamma mahammatas who went from place to place teaching about dhamma and reading aloud Ashoka’s inscriptions to those who could not read.
  • Ashoka also sent messengers to places outside his empire like Greece, Egypt, and Syria to spread his dhamma.

 Question 6:-

Why do you think slaves and servants were ill-treated? Do you think the orders of the emperor would have improved their condition? Give reasons for your answer.

Answer 6:-

  • Servants and slaves were ill-treated because they belonged to the lower rungs of society.
  • They belonged to the lower castes and were hence subject to ill-treatment.

The message of the emperor would have been heeded to by some and ignored by some of the people.

This must have been because the policy of dhamma was not binding on the members of the society.




Topics Covered in Chapter 8 – Ashoka, The Emperor who Gave up War Class 6 History (Social Science)

  • A very big kingdom – an empire
  • How are empires different from kingdoms?
  • Ruling the empire
  • The emperor and the capital city
  • Ashoka, a unique ruler
  • Ashoka’s war in Kalinga
  • Ashoka’s inscription describing the Kalinga war
  • What was Ashoka’s dhamma?
  • Ashoka’s messages to his subjects

Important Terms Relevant for NCERT Solutions for Class 6 History Chapter 8 – Ashoka, The Emperor who Gave up War :

Empire- An empire is larger than a kingdom and encompasses larger geographic and social diversity.

Capital:- the main center of power of the administrative center.

Province:- An administrative division of a kingdom.

Dhamma:- A policy for peace and harmony propagated by Ashoka. It is the Prakrit for the Sanskrit word Dharma.

Messenger:- The carriers of messages from a place to another.

Official:- People holding administrative power appointed to carry out operations under the emperor.

NCERT Solutions for Class 6 History (Social Science)

  1. What, Where, How and When
  2. On the Trail of the Earliest People
  3. From Gathering to Growing Food
  4. In the Earliest Cities
  5. What Books and Burials Tell us
  6. Kingdoms, Kings and an Early Republic
  7. New Questions and Ideas
  8. Ashoka, The Emperor who Gave up War
  9. Vital Villages, Thriving Towns
  10. Traders, Kings and Pilgrims
  11. New Empires and Kingdoms
  12. Buildings, Paintings and Books

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