Hinglish

Meanwhile in the South and Northeast

Class 7 Social Science · Chapter 7: The Gupta Era: An Age of Tireless Creativity · NCERT Exploring Society: India and Beyond section 7.5

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While the Guptas ruled the north, the Pallavas rose in the south, probably as tributaries of the Sātavāhanas who grew powerful as their overlords declined. They ruled parts of today's Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Mostly devotees of Śhiva, they built magnificent temples and rock-cut caves. Their capital Kānchīpuram, the "city of a thousand temples", became a great centre of learning, helped by ghaṭikās, centres of education.

In the northeast, the Kāmarūpa kingdom of the Varman dynasty spread over the Brahmaputra valley (present-day Assam) and parts of Bengal and Bangladesh. Its ancient name, Prāgjyotiṣha, appears in the Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata. Temples and monasteries made it a centre of learning. In central India the Vākāṭakas, with their capital near present-day Nagpur, were the Guptas' allies. Samudragupta defeated rulers of the Pallavas and Kāmarūpa but let them keep their thrones in return for tribute, a pattern we have now seen many times.

Explore: which kingdom?

  1. Sort each clue.

Remember

  • The Pallavas ruled the south from Kānchīpuram and built temples; the Varmans ruled Kāmarūpa in the northeast.
  • Samudragupta let defeated southern and northeastern kings rule as tributaries; the Gupta legacy shaped India for centuries.

Quick check

Kānchīpuram, the "city of a thousand temples", was the capital of the …

  1. Pallavas
  2. Guptas
  3. Vākāṭakas
  4. Varmans
Answer

Pallavas. It was a major centre of learning in the south.

Think about it

Why might an emperor prefer tributary kings to ruling distant lands directly?

One answer

Local kings know their people and land, so governing is cheaper and smoother; the emperor still gets tribute and loyalty without the cost of a large occupying army.

Practice

Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.