State and Society up to 1000 CE – Class 9 Social Science Chapter 5 Notes & NCERT PDF

The Big Questions

Introduction

After the Bronze Age, our picture of the past becomes richer because, from at least the second millennium BCE, literary sources — the Ṛigveda being the earliest — add to archaeological evidence. This chapter follows how kin-based groups (jana, kula) grew into janapadas and mahājanapadas, and then into empires such as the Mauryas and Guptas in the north and the Cholas in the south. Alongside change, it highlights continuity: the ideal of a pan-Indian monarch (the aśhvamedha yajña, the chakravarti samrāṭ) and the ethical principle of dharma.

A society is a system of social relationships among people who share territory, culture and a sense of belonging, regulated mainly by customs. A State is an organised political system based on rules and laws, with rights and duties of rulers and subjects and institutions to enforce them.

Key Concepts

The Vedas

The Vedas are the earliest known body of Indian literature and existed orally for centuries before being written down. The date of the Ṛigveda is debated — estimates range from the fifth to the second millennium BCE. It was composed in the northwest, in the Sapta–Sindhu region (the Indus, its five tributaries and the Sarasvatī).

Each Veda has four parts: samhitā (hymns), brāhmaṇa (prose explanations of rituals), āraṇyaka (forest reflections) and upaniṣhad (the Self, Ātman, and Brāhman).

Political institutions of the Vedic period

Early Vedic society was organised into janas (clans). The Ṛigveda mentions about thirty janas; five — Yadu, Turvaśha, Puru, Anu and Druhyu — were the pañchajana. The name "Bharata" first appears for the Bharata jana. The rājā was mainly a clan chief who led in war and protected his people. Three assemblies appear:

Janapadas and mahājanapadas

Between about 1000 BCE and 600 BCE, kin groups became territorial units called janapadas — where a people (jana) "set its feet". From about 600 BCE to 300 CE came bigger units, the sixteen mahājanapadas, of which Magadha (in present-day Bihar) grew most powerful, leading to the Mauryan Empire (founded 321 BCE by Chandragupta Maurya). Northern India had both monarchies (rājyas) and republics (gaṇas or saṁghas). The first millennium BCE shows iron tools, more grain, PGW pottery and later the glossy NBPW.

In the Deccan, the Satavāhana Empire lasted nearly 500 years (2nd century BCE–3rd century CE). Further south were the Cholas (lower Kaveri), Pandyas (Tamraparni and Vaigai), Keralaputras (Cheras) and Satiyaputras — mentioned in Aśhoka's inscriptions. Sangam literature (300 BCE–300 CE) calls the Chera, Chola and Pandya rulers the three crowned kings, "Vendar of Tamilakam" (emblems: tiger, bow, fish).

Duties and ideals of the king

Kauṭilya's Arthaśhāstra: "Only if a king is himself energetically active, do his officers follow him energetically."

The Yajurveda coronation oath asks the king to judge strong and weak fairly; the Śhānti Parva of the Mahābhārata guides kings on justice and protection. Kingship was usually hereditary, but there are references to kings being elected or even expelled. Rulers thought of the whole subcontinent: terms like Jambudvīpa, Bhāratavarṣha, Prithivi and chakravarti kśhetra ("domain of a universal paramount ruler"). The Arthaśhāstra defines Prithivi as the area between the Himalayas and the sea. The Chera king Nedunjeral Adan claimed conquests up to the Himalayas; the Chola Rajendra I took the title Gangaikonda in the 11th century.

Council of ministers and the Saptāṁga

Kauṭilya's seven constituents (Saptāṁga) of the State: the king (swāmi), ministers (amātya), territory and people (janapada), forts (durga), treasury (koṣha), army/law and order (daṇḍa) and allies (mitra). The mantri–pariṣhad (council of ministers) advised the king; an Aśhokan inscription shows it could decide independently in the king's absence.

Junagadh Rock Inscription (Girnar, Gujarat) carries records of three rulers across about 700 years: Aśhoka (Prakrit edicts), the Western Satrap Rudradaman I (c. 150 CE, Sanskrit; repair of Sudarshana Lake) and the Gupta emperor Skandagupta (5th century CE).

How empires were administered

Uttaramerur inscription of Parantaka I (10th century, Vaikunṭha Perumal Temple, Kanchipuram district) describes the Kudavolai (ballot pot) system: names on palm leaves in a pot, drawn by a child in public, to choose village assembly members and committees.

Ethics: the foundation of law and life

Society: varṇa, jāti and mobility

Early Vedic texts show no fixed status by birth; identity came from many factors, especially occupation. A Ṛigveda verse (9.112.3) speaks of a poet whose father is a physician and mother a grinder of corn. The four varṇas first appear in the Puruṣhasūkta (Book 10 of the Ṛigveda); the book describes the division as functional. The Sutta Nipāta says a brāhmaṇa is such "by his deeds". Over time flexibility reduced, and jātis (unlimited in number) formed through intermarriage, endogamous migrant groups and region. Rulers came from diverse backgrounds (Nandas, Mauryas, Śhuṅgas, Satavāhanas, Vākāṭakas, Guptas, Puṣhyabhūtis). The Mandsaur inscription (473 CE) records silk weavers who moved from Lata to Dashapura and also practised archery and astrology. The Tolkappiyam and Pattinappalai describe an occupation-based Tamil society.

Family, āśhramas and puruṣhārthas

kula → grāma → viśha (under a viśhapati) → jana. Gotra is a patrilineal lineage traced to a ṛiṣhi. Four āśhramas: brahmacharya, gṛihastha, vānaprastha, saṁnyāsa; sixteen rites, the ṣhoḍaśha saṁskāras. Four puruṣhārthas: dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣha.

Role of women

Women took part in learning, rituals, chariot races and the sabhā; hymns are attributed to Apālā, Viśhvavārā, Ghoṣhā and Lopāmudrā. The Manu-smṛiti (3.56) says gods rejoice where women are honoured. Their status later fluctuated and even declined. Prabhāvatī Gupta ruled as regent of the Vākāṭakas; Sangam poetesses Avvaiyar and Vennikuyattiyar; the Chola queen Sembiyan Mahādevī supported temple building.

Religion and Bhakti

Vedic deities were linked to nature (sun, rain, fire, dawn). Renunciants (parivrājaka, bhikṣhu, śhramaṇa) appeared mid-first millennium BCE. Worship of Viṣhṇu, Śhiva and Śhakti grew into Bhakti, which became widespread from the 6th century in the Tamil region through the twelve Āḻvārs (Viṣhṇu) and sixty-three Nāyanmārs (Śhiva).

The quest for knowledge

The gurukula taught Vedas, grammar, logic, mathematics, medicine, astronomy, arts, yoga and archery through the guru-śhiṣhya paramparā. Centres of learning included Takṣhaśhilā, Nālandā (427 CE), Vallabhī (480 CE), Vikramśhilā (783–820 CE). Texts: Pāṇini's Aṣhṭādhyāyī, Kālidāsa's Raghuvaṃśha, Charakasamhitā and Suśhrutasamhitā, Tiruvalluvar's Tirukkural, Silappadikāram and Maṇimēkalai.

Economy

Think About It

Key Terms

Map & Timeline Corner

Connect to Today

Ballot boxes and local panchayats echo the Kudavolai and village assemblies; banks and cooperatives echo the guilds; the Grand Anicut still irrigates fields.

Common Mistakes

Questions and Activities (hints)