Question

Archaeologists have found palaces in the settlements of the ‘Janapadas’
a)True
b)False

Answer 1

Hint: ‘Janapadas’ was the name given to the capital cities and kingdoms in the Vedic Age, inscriptions and findings from these Janapadas prove that they were a part of the Mauryan dynasty, and they lasted from the bronze age till the iron age (1500BCE-6th Century BCE).

Complete answer: - Janapadas were formed after a raja (king) performed rituals or sacrifices prevalent in the Vedic age, like the Aswamedha Yagya, which was the horse-sacrifice, the areas or villages they captured in these yagyas then came under his control and were called Janapadas.
- Janapadas literally means ‘land where the Jana or public has set foot’. The public or the common population of the Janapada had settled down in this region.
- The main occupations of the people were agriculture, herding, trading, and crafts.
- The caste system was prevalent in the Janapadas and occupations were also divided according to that. The Raja or king also levied taxes from the people in the form of services, crops, animals and profits.
The given statement is false.
Therefore, option b is correct.

Note: Some important Janapadas which have been found by archaeologists are Hastinapur, Kaushambi, Rajagriha and Ujjain. Mahajanapadas were a larger form of the Janapadas, they had a more complex economy and society, the taxes levied were more than the Janapadas. Some important Mahajanapadas were Magadha, Koshala and Gandhara.