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Class 9 History: State and Society up to 1000 CE, 8 practice questions with answers

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These are 8 practice questions on the fifth chapter, State and Society up to 1000 CE, of the new NCERT Class 9 Social Science textbook, Understanding Society: India and Beyond (Part 1, first published June 2026). It is the book's second History chapter, after Chapter 4, Early Humans and Beginning of Civilisation. Each question has a worked answer and the textbook page it comes from. They follow the chapter: a timeline from the Mauryas to Rājarāja I, the Vedic assemblies, Kauṭilya's seven parts of the state, the names of the administrative levels in the north and south, the Junagadh rock, the Uttaramerur ballot pot, land tax and trade, and early India's books and universities. Try each one on paper before you open the answer.

These questions are our own, drafted with AI help. Every fact was checked against the textbook page it cites, but no practising teacher has reviewed them yet. If you find a mistake, please tell us.

Searching for "Class 9 History Chapter 2"? The old Class 9 History book, India and the Contemporary World I, is not the 2026-27 book. In the new single Social Science book, History is Chapters 4 and 5 of Part 1, and this is Chapter 5.

How this chapter is examined

The CBSE Class IX Social Science curriculum for 2026-27 gives this chapter 9 teaching hours (curriculum, page 9). CBSE has not yet given the marks for each unit (page 14), so ask your school how the annual exam is split.

What the chapter says you need

Facts from the NCERT textbook (Understanding Society: India and Beyond, Part 1 for Grade 9, Chapter 5, printed pages 95 to 136):

A timeline from the Mauryas to Rājarāja I

Question 1. (a) Put these in order, earliest first, with the date the chapter gives for each: (P) Nalanda university is established; (Q) Rājarāja I begins his reign; (R) Chandragupta Maurya founds the Mauryan Empire; (S) the Saka Era begins; (T) Aśhoka begins his reign; (U) Xuanzang's visit begins. (b) How many years did Aśhoka reign, and how many did Rājarāja I? (c) How many years passed from the founding of the Mauryan Empire to the founding of Nalanda? Remember there is no year 0.

Answer.

(a) R, T, S, P, U, Q.

(b) Aśhoka: 272 − 232 = 40 years. Rājarāja I: 1014 − 985 = 29 years.

(c) From 321 BCE to 1 BCE, then 1 CE to 427 CE: 321 + 427 − 1 = 747 years. You take away 1 because 1 BCE is followed directly by 1 CE.

The Vedic assemblies

Question 2. (a) The Ṛigveda and Atharvaveda name three assemblies. Match each to its description: (i) a large assembly for policy and political affairs, which stood for the wider population; (ii) a smaller body of select elites with mainly judicial work; (iii) a popular gathering of the community where war and other matters were discussed. (b) What was the rājā in early Vedic times? (c) About how many janas does the Ṛigveda mention, and which five made up the pañchajana?

Answer.

(a) (i) Samiti, (ii) sabhā, (iii) vidhata (page 101).

(b) Mainly a clan chief, who led his people in war and kept them safe (page 100).

(c) About thirty. The five of the pañchajana were the Yadu, Turvaśha, Puru, Anu and Druhyu (page 100).

Kauṭilya's seven parts of the state

Question 3. Kauṭilya saw the state as a whole made of seven parts, the Saptāṁga: swāmi, amātya, janapada, durga, koṣha, daṇḍa and mitra. Which part does each made-up item mainly concern? (i) A neighbouring king signs a pact to help in war. (ii) The royal storehouse of coins and grain is counted. (iii) The walls of the capital are repaired. (iv) The chief minister and councillors meet. (v) Soldiers and police are paid. (vi) Farmers settle new land at the edge of the kingdom. (vii) The ruler himself leads the review. (b) The Arthaśhāstra compares a ruler to a carriage that cannot run on a single wheel. What does that comparison tell us about governing?

Answer.

(a) The seven parts and their items (pages 108 to 109):

(b) A king cannot govern alone. He needs a working team of officials, which is why the chapter goes on to the council of ministers (pages 108 to 109).

Names of the administrative levels

Question 4. Between about 300 and 800 CE, kingdoms were split into levels for easier rule. Fill in the northern and southern names for each level, from the largest down. Then give the four levels of the Chola empire, from the province down to the single village.

Answer.

LevelNorthSouth
Provincebhuktimaṇḍala or maṇḍalam
Divisionviṣhaya or bhogakoṭṭam or valanāḍu
Districtadhiṣhṭhāna or paṭṭananāḍu
Group of villages (like a tahsīl today)vithipaṭṭalā or kūṛṛam

The village was the lowest unit everywhere (pages 111 to 112). The Chola empire went maṇḍalam (province), valanāḍu (district), nāḍu (group of villages), ur (village) (pages 114 to 115).

One rock, three rulers

Question 5. The Junagadh rock near Girnar in Gujarat carries the records of three rulers. (a) Put them in order, with the date and language the chapter gives: Skandagupta, Aśhoka, Rudradaman I. (b) Taking Aśhoka's record as about 250 BCE and Skandagupta's as about 450 CE, check the chapter's figure of "about 700 years". (c) Which lake do the later records mention, and who first built a dam on it, for which ruler?

Answer.

(a) The three records (page 110):

  1. Aśhoka, Mauryan, 3rd century BCE: Major Rock Edicts in Prakrit.
  2. Rudradaman I, Western Satrap, about 150 CE: a long Sanskrit record of his wars and of repairs to the lake.
  3. Skandagupta, Gupta, 5th century CE: a record of the lake being restored after heavy damage.

(b) 250 + 450 − 1 = 699, which is about 700 years.

(c) Sudarshana Lake. Puṣhyagupta, a governor appointed by Chandragupta Maurya, built a dam on it (page 129).

The ballot pot at Uttaramerur

Question 6. (a) Where is the Uttaramerur inscription, and which ruler's time is it from? (b) Describe the kuḍavolai, or "ballot pot", method step by step. (c) Name two qualities the inscription wants in candidates. (d) What were variyams, and name two tasks they handled.

Answer.

(a) In Tamil Nadu's Kanchipuram district, in the Vaikuṇṭha Perumal Temple. It is from the time of the Chola ruler Parantaka I, in the 10th century CE (page 115).

(b) The steps (page 115):

  1. The names of eligible candidates are written on palm leaves and put into a large pot.
  2. At a public gathering, often at a temple, a young child draws the leaves one by one.
  3. The draw happens in full view of everyone, so it is seen to be fair.

(c) "Honest earnings" and being "pure" of mind (page 117).

(d) Variyams were specialised committees of elected members. Any two of these tasks: managing irrigation (the tank committee), administering justice, collecting taxes (page 115).

Land tax, routes and guilds

Question 7. (a) Under the Mauryas the basic land tax was generally one-sixth of the produce. A made-up village harvests 2,400 kg of grain. How much would go as tax, and how much would stay with the village? (b) Name the two major land routes that had emerged by about the 6th century BCE, and two ports the chapter names. (c) How many types of guilds does the Jātaka literature mention, and name two things guilds did besides making goods.

Answer.

(a) 2,400 ÷ 6 = 400 kg as tax, leaving 2,400 − 400 = 2,000 kg (page 128).

(b) Dakṣhiṇāpatha and Uttarāpatha (pages 129 to 131). For the ports, any two of Muziris, Kāveripaṭṭinam, Arikameḍu and Masulipaṭnam (page 131).

(c) Eighteen (page 131). Any two of these (pages 131 to 132):

Books and universities of early India

Question 8. (a) The chapter's chart of early India's literary heritage puts works into groups. Place each work in its group: Pāṇini's Aṣhṭādhyāyī; the Charakasamhitā; Tiruvalluvar's Tirukkural; Kālidāsa's Raghuvaṃśha; the Yājñavalkya Smṛiti. (b) Nalanda was established in 427 CE. How many years before 2026 is that? (c) Name the four āśhramas in order and the four puruṣhārthas.

Answer.

(a) The groups in the chart (page 127):

(b) 2026 − 427 = 1,599 years (page 109).

(c) Āśhramas: brahmacharya (student), gṛihastha (householder), vānaprastha (life in the forest), saṁnyāsa (renunciation) (page 121). Puruṣhārthas: dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣha (page 122).

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Sources

All opened and read on 3 November 2026. Page numbers are the printed page numbers of the textbook.

The facts and dates are from the textbook pages above. The questions, worked answers, the sums and the made-up items are our own. This guide is general information; follow your teacher and the official CBSE notices.

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