Page 14 - SST Class 07
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They were appointed as the village head. Many
                                                                    of art and architecture such as forts, temples and
            Rajput women ruled the kingdom as a queen.              paintings. The best specimen of art are available
                   F ind Outind Out                                 in the magnificent temples built in this period. The
                                                                    Lingaraja Temple of Bhubaneshwara, the Sun
            Find out the names of two Rajput queens who are         Temple of Konark, the temples of Khajuraho and
            known for their bravery.                                the   Jagannath   Temple     of  Puri   are   worth

             Economy                                                mentioning in this regard. Most of the temples and
                                                                    forts had paintings depicting relevant scenes on
            Agriculture was the main occupation of the              the walls. Mural paintings and miniature paintings
            people. The villages were self-sufficient. Trade
                                                                    were in vogue. Later these styles were picked up
            and commerce flourished well. Skilled artisans
                                                                    by the Mughals, the Jain monks and the Buddhists
            produced various kinds of articles. India imported      of Nepal.
            gold, copper, tin, dates, wine and horses and
            exported silk, cotton, woollen clothes, spices and
            precious stones. Metal working was common,
            metals used commonly were copper, lead, brass,
            silver and gold. The people were prosperous.
            Traders and merchants had organised themselves
            into guilds to safeguard their interests.

            The wealthy people built rest houses and
            charitable institutions. They also laid out gardens
            and dug up wells for public use.                              Lingaraja Temple          Jagannath Temple

             Religion                                                Education
            During the Rajput period, Hinduism, Jainism and         The Brahmins were the chief persons who
            Buddhism were main religious cults. The Rajputs         imparted education. They not only performed
            were followers of Hinduism so this religion made        religious ceremonies but also taught the people.
            great progress under them. Buddhism and Jainism         So, the temples became the places of learning
            decline due to the Turkish attack. Hinduism was         where the students belonging to the upper class
            divided into two sects, the Vaishnavism and             came to study. They learnt religious literature,
            Shaivism. These two sects had a large number of         mathematics and philosophy. The most famous
            followers in northern India. Besides, the people        centres of learning of that period were Kanchi,
            worshipped mother goddess Durga, a symbol of            Kashi, Nalanda, Ujjain, Vikramashila, Kashmir,
            power.                                                  Madurai and Shringeri. Bhaskaracharya        was a
                                                                    noted astronomer of this period. Charaka Panini
                                                                                                                ,
                 Info Bits                                          and Patanjali  were other noted scholars of this
                 Info Bits
                                                                    period. Charaka wrote a book on medical science,
                                                                    Panini did great work in Sanskrit and Patanjali
            Krishna and Rama were the most common forms in
            which Lord Vishnu was worshipped.                       was a great grammarian
                                                                    whose        commentary
            In the south, a number of popular Bhakti saints         Mahabhashya       is   an
            called Alvars  and Nayanars  flourished. The Bhakti     impressive    study     of
            saints disregarded caste inequalities and laid          syntax and the evolution
            emphasis on Vedas. Their teachings became               of words. The famous
            popular all over the country.                           literary  work   of   this
             Art and Architecture                                   period were, Kathasarit         Nalanda University
                                                                    Sagar , a collection of stories and biographies like
            The richness of the age is also reflected in works
                                                                    Bilhana’s    Vikramankadeva       Charita ,  Chand
                     Contemporary Social Science-7
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