NCERT Solutions for Class 9th Social Science Chapter 5 State and Society up to 1000 CE
Updated on 2026-09-19
About this chapter
The chapter covers roughly 2000 BCE to 1000 CE and its spine is Fig. 5.1: kin-based polities of the Ṛigveda in the Sapta-Sindhu region, then janapadas and mahājanapadas from about 800 BCE, then the emergence of empires of roughly pan-Indian dimension together with the early polities of southern India from about 300 BCE, and finally regional empires and the imperial polities of southern India from about 700 CE. Our knowledge of this period is richer than of the Harappan period for one reason the chapter states plainly: from at least the second millennium BCE we have literary sources — the Ṛigveda being the earliest — that supplement archaeology. The Harappan script is still undeciphered, so for the Sindhu–Sarasvatī civilisation we have objects without words; from the Vedic period onwards we
- Chapter opening
- Understanding Early Indian State and Society
- Political Institutions in the Vedic Period
- Assemblies during Vedic Period
- Fig. 5.3, First millennium BCE (iron finds)
- Duties and Ideals of the King
- Fig. 5.5, Junagadh Rock Inscription, Gujarat
- How Were Empires Administered?
- Varṇa and Jāti
- The Quest for Knowledge
Quick revision
| Term | What it means | Where it appears in the chapter | The evidence the book gives |
|---|---|---|---|
| Society | A system of social relationships among individuals who share a common territory, culture and a shared sense of belonging; made of units such as families, institutions such as marriage, and customs. | Page 97 | Regulated primarily by customs and practices rather than formal laws — this is what separates it from the State |
| State | An organised political system based on rules and laws, with defined rights and duties of rulers and subjects, mechanisms of governance and institutions to enforce law and order. | Page 97 | Developed gradually as societies became larger and more complex |
| Jana | A clan — a group of people bound by kinship ties; the unit of early Vedic political life. | Pages 100, 121 | The Ṛigveda alone mentions about thirty janas; five of them — Yadu, Turvaśha, Puru, Anu, Druhyu — were the pañchajana |
| Janapada | A territorial unit; literally, where a people (jana) first set its feet — the shift from kinship identity to territorial identity. | Page 103 | The transition happened between about 1000 BCE and 600 BCE. In the Saptāṁga the same word means the territory of the state with its population |
| Mahājanapada | A bigger political unit than a janapada; the large territorial states of the period about 600 BCE–300 CE. | Pages 103–104; Fig. 5.4 | Sources usually speak of sixteen. Fig. 5.4 names them: Kamboja, Gandhāra, Matsya, Kuru, Śhūrasena, Pañchāla, Vatsa, Kosala, Kāśhī, Malla, Vṛijji, Magadha, Anga, Chedi, Avanti, Aśhmaka |
| Gaṇa / saṁgha | A republican state, as against a monarchical state (rājya). | Page 105 | Both forms existed side by side in northern India by about 600 BCE |
| Sabhā, samiti, vidhata | The three Vedic assemblies. Sabhā: small, judicial, select elites. Samiti: larger, policy decisions and political affairs, representing the broader population. Vidhata: a popular gathering of the janas, a forum on warfare and political matters. | Pages 100–101 | Named in the Ṛigveda and Atharvaveda; women are recorded as attending the sabhā (page 122) |
| Chakravarti kśhetra | The domain of a universal paramount ruler — the Arthaśhāstra equates it with prithivi, defined as “the area lying between the Himavat (Himalayas) and the sea”. | Page 107 | Aśhoka's edict speaks of changes in the spiritual life of Jambudvīpa; the Chera Nedunjeral Adan claims conquests to the Himalayas; Rajendra I takes the title Gangaikonda |
| Saptāṁga | Kauṭilya's seven constituents of the state: swāmi (king), amātya (councillors, ministers, high officials), janapada (territory with its people), durga (fortified towns and cities), koṣha (treasury), daṇḍa (forces of defence and law and order), mitra (allies). | Pages 108–109 | “The state can function effectively only if these constituents remain properly integrated.” |
| Mantri-pariṣhad | The council of ministers — a small body of elder statesmen who advised and supported the king. | Page 109 | Generally the treasurer, chief tax collector, chief legal advisor and commander-in-chief. An Aśhokan inscription records it deciding in the emperor's absence |
| Grāmika / pradeśhika | Grāmika: village headman. Pradeśhika: district governor, responsible for judicial and administrative functions. | Page 111 | In the Satavāhana empire, below the āḥāras and their amātyas. District officers decided after consulting bankers, caravan leaders, artisans and scribes |
| Brahmadeya / agrahāram | Tax-free land grants — Brahmadeya villages under the Pallavas, agrahārams (Brahmin settlements) under the Chālukyas. | Pages 113–114 | Agrahārams at Aihole and Badami grew into prominent centres of learning |
| Variyam | A small committee of a village assembly, entrusted with a specific task — irrigation (the tank committee), gardens, temple management, justice, tax collection. | Pages 113, 115 | The Uttaramerur inscription of Parantaka I (10th century) describes members being chosen by the Kudavolai or 'ballot pot' system and then divided into variyams |
| Dharma | Not religion, but duty, obligation, righteousness and moral conduct — a way of life in which ethical values are central. Pāli equivalent: dhamma. | Pages 117; 123 | From the root dhri, also the root of dharati (the earth). Bhishma: dharma “is that which upholds beings”; “the dharma of iron is to sink and of wood is to float” |
| Samatva | The principle of sameness — all bodies are made of the same matter, and all forms of consciousness are manifestations of one supreme consciousness. | Page 116 | Characters from all varṇas in the Mahābhārata uphold it; the ideal ruler is “one who works for the welfare of all beings” |
| Ṛita | The all-pervading cosmic order described in the Ṛigveda — harmony and balance in nature and in human society. | Page 116 | Paired with satya (real, true) as a description of the supreme consciousness |
| Varṇa | The fourfold functional order — brāhmaṇas, kṣhatriyas, vaiśhyas, śhūdras — based on a system of values placing knowledge highest, then political power, then wealth. | Pages 118–119 | Earliest reference in the Puruṣhasūkta, a hymn in Book 10 of the Ṛigveda. The number of varṇas was fixed at four |
| Jāti | A distinct social structure that emerged gradually from intermarriage among the varṇas, migrating communities becoming endogamous, and territorial differences. | Pages 119–120 | Unlike varṇa, there was no restriction on the number of jātis; as new groups and occupations developed, the number kept growing |
| Endogamy | The practice of marrying within one's own social group, community, clan or tribe. | Page 119 margin | One of the factors the chapter names in the formation of jātis |
| Kula, grāma, viśha, jana | The nested social units: kula (family) → grāma (village, several families) → viśha (a group of grāmas, headed by a viśhapati) → jana (with the rājā as chief protector). | Page 121 | “In this way, the family or kula was inseparable from the jana.” |
| Gotra | A patrilineal lineage or clan traced to a common ancestor, traditionally a Vedic sage (ṛiṣhi). | Page 121 | Gotra affiliation often regulated marriage practices |
| Patrilineal | A social system in which family identity and inheritance pass strictly through the male line. | Page 121 margin | Used to define gotra |
| The four āśhramas | Brahmacharya (studentship), gṛihastha (householder), vānaprastha (life in the forest), saṁnyāsa (renunciation). | Page 121; Fig. 5.8 | Accompanied by the ṣhoḍaśha saṁskāras, the sixteen rites of passage. Vānaprastha and saṁnyāsa show renunciation was already inside the Vedic tradition |
| The four puruṣhārthas | The four goals of life: dharma (righteousness), artha (material well-being), kāma (fulfilment of desires), mokṣha (liberation). | Page 122 | Artha is desirable “provided it is guided by dharma, that is, aligned with the welfare of society” |
| Votive inscription | Text engraved on stone, metal or other material, dedicating a gift, sculpture or structure to a deity or sacred place. | Page 123 margin | Women appear as donors on several votive inscriptions from the post-Maurya period |
| Āḻvārs and Nāyanmārs | The twelve Āḻvār saint-poets of Viṣhṇu and the sixty-three Nāyanmār saint-poets of Śhiva. | Page 124 | The organised Bhakti tradition gained prominence in the 6th century Tamil region through them |
| Śhramaṇa, bhikṣhu, parivrājaka | Terms for renunciants who appeared around the middle of the first millennium BCE — one who strives, one who lives by begging alms, a wanderer. | Page 124 | Gautama Buddha and Mahāvīra emerged as influential thinkers of this trend |
| Guru-śhiṣhya paramparā | The teacher–student relationship, regarded as sacred; the teacher's home was the centre of the gurukula and the student was treated as a member of the teacher's family. | Pages 125–126 | Subjects: Vedas, grammar, logic, philosophy, ethics, mathematics, science, medicine, astronomy, plus music, dance, painting, physical education and archery |
| Śhreṇī (guild) | A collective organisation of traders, artisans or merchants of the same profession, craft or occupation. | Pages 131–132 | The Jātaka literature refers to eighteen types of guilds. They fixed prices, ran guild courts, and acted as banks, financiers and trustees |
| Dakṣhiṇāpatha and Uttarāpatha | The two major land routes that had emerged by about the 6th century BCE and were later maintained and expanded by successive dynasties. | Pages 129, 131; Fig. 5.12 | Fig. 5.12 marks Dakṣhiṇāpatha in yellow and Uttarāpatha in purple, linking inland cities to ports such as Bhārukachchha, Sopārā, Tāmralipti, Muziris and Arikameḍu |
Exercises
- Chapter opening — The Big Questions Page 95
- Fig. 5.1, Broad timeline of early India, and the running timeline at the foot of each page — LET'S EXPLORE Page 96–97
- Understanding Early Indian State and Society — In-text Questions Page 97
- Political Institutions in the Vedic Period — LET'S RECALL Page 100
- Assemblies during Vedic Period — THINK ABOUT IT Page 101
- Fig. 5.3, First millennium BCE (iron finds) — LET'S ANALYSE Page 102–103
- Duties and Ideals of the King — THINK ABOUT IT Page 108
- Fig. 5.5, Junagadh Rock Inscription, Gujarat — THINK ABOUT IT Page 111
- How Were Empires Administered? — THINK ABOUT IT Page 112
- Varṇa and Jāti — LET'S EXPLORE Page 118–119
- The Quest for Knowledge — LET'S EXPLORE Page 126
- Irrigation — LET'S RECALL Page 129
- Irrigation — THINK ABOUT IT Page 129
- The chapter's recap points, set out with the evidence behind each — Before we move on… Page 133
- End-of-chapter exercise — Questions and activities Page 134–135