Ashoka, the Emperor Who Gave up War Class 6 Notes CBSE History Chapter 7 (Free PDF Download)

The Empire of Ashoka

• The realm that Ashoka administered was established by his grandfather, Chandragupta Maurya, over 2300 years prior.

• Chandragupta Maurya was helped by a wise man named Chanakya. His ideas and teachings were written down in the famous Arthashastra.

• Some of the cities of Ashoka include the following capitals, namely Taxila, Ujjain and Pataliputra. Ujjain connects north and south India. Craftspeople, merchants, and other essential officials lived in this place. In other areas, there were villages of farmers and herders.

• Many forests were located in Central India, where people used to go in search of food. It was a vast empire, and people spoke different languages, lived a different lifestyle, ate various kinds of food, and wore clothes of other patterns.

Difference Between Empires and Kingdoms 

Emperors need more resources than kings because empires are larger than kingdoms and need to be protected by armies. Emperors also need a larger number of officials who collect taxes.

Ruling an Empire

• Because the empire is so large, different regions have different ways of ruling. The area around Pataliputra was under the direct control of the emperor.Officials were appointed to collect taxes from farmers, herders, crafts persons and traders, who lived in villages and towns in the area.

• Officials also punished those who disobeyed the ruler's orders, and many of these officials were given salaries. 

• Messengers went to and fro, and spies kept a watch on the officials, and of course the emperor supervised them all, with the help of members of the royal family, and senior ministers.

• There were vast areas between the provincial centres, here the Mauryas tried to control roads and rivers, which were important for transport, and to collect whatever resources were available as tax and tribute.

Ashoka - A Unique Ruler

• A Unique Ruler He was the most famous Mauryan ruler, and was the first ruler who tried to take his message to the people through inscriptions.

• Most of Ashoka's inscriptions were in Prakrit and were written in the Brahmi script.

The Kalinga War

• In ancient times, coastal Orissa was known as Kalinga.

• Ashoka fought a war so that he could conquer the great Kalinga. But remained horrified when he found out the results of the war.

• He was terrified to see all the bloodshed and the massive loss of lives in both the kingdom.

• Ashoka is the only king in the history of the world who gave up conquest after winning a war.

Ashoka's Dhamma

• Ashoka's dhamma did not involve worship of a God, or performance of a sacrifice.

• He was also inspired by the teachings of the Buddha.

• A number of problems such as the people in the empire followed different religions, and this sometimes led to conflict, troubled him a lot.

• Slaves and servants were ill-treated, besides, there were quarrels in families and amongst neighbours. 

• Ashoka's role as Emperor is to solve all the problems that occur in his kingdom.

• Therefore, Ashoka appointed several officials known as dhamma mahamatta who went from place to place teaching people about dhamma.

• Ashoka got his messages inscribed on rocks and pillars, instructing his officials to read his message to those who could not read it themselves.

• He also sent messengers to spread ideas about dhamma to other lands, such as Syria, Egypt, Greece and Sri Lanka. He built roads, dug wells, rest houses, and he also arranged for medical treatment for both human beings and animals.

Class 6 History Chapter 7 - Ashoka, the Emperor Who Gave up War Notes

Class 6 History Chapter 7 Notes is a helpful note series that has helped the students in many examinations. The students can download the PDF version of the notes on their laptops, computer, tablets or android devices. They can now get the notes of History Class 6 Chapter 7 at their convenience, which will help them revise the night before the examination. 

Chapter 7 – Social Science

NCERT Class 6 History Chapter 7 Notes depict important points related to Emperor Ashoka’s life, battles, life-changing moments, preachings and impact on society. The following sections will reveal the details.

A Very Big Kingdom = An Empire

This section speaks about Emperor Ashoka’s dynasty. In this section, the students will learn about his family tree, the period when he ruled and his subordinates. Emperor Ashoka got the support of Chanakya, whose ideas were depicted in Arthashastra. The empire consisted of important historical cities like Taxila, Pataliputra, and Ujjain. This section also included details of the people’s occupation during that period. They have segregated the professions according to different regions of the empire. It also included details of the clothes, languages and food habits of these people.

How are Empires Different from Kingdoms?

This small section speaks about the differences between an empire and a kingdom. In terms of size, an empire is much larger than a kingdom. Therefore, it needs to be ably supported by resources, protected by big armies, and maintained by many officials for different purposes like collecting taxes. 

Ruling the Empire

Since the size of an empire is huge, it needs to be controlled in parts. For example, Emperor Ashoka controlled the city of Pataliputra and the area around it. Several officials were appointed for tax collection, providing judgement and punishing the wrong-doers. The section also included information about spies having an eye on these officials. A provincial capital was set up to control other regions like Ujjain and Taxila. However, Emperor Ashoka maintained some control over these regions. These centres were also granted provision to make their local rules and customs.

Tribute

This section considers the tribute concept, which is regarded as an offering from people willing or unwilling to give.

Ashoka, a Unique Ruler

This portion of the notes of History Class 6 Chapter 7 details the uniqueness of Emperor Ashoka in his approaches. For example, he introduced the concept of inscriptions for sending messages to the people. He used Brahmi script, one of the mother languages of most Indian languages, to prepare these inscriptions in Prakrit. 

Ashoka’s War in Kalinga

The Kalinga war is the turning point of Emperor Ashoka’s life. The ancient name of the coasts of Orissa is Kalinga. Ashoka was previously considered a destructive, heartless human being who made other states suffer severely in battles. The Kalinga war is the outcome of such an attitude. However, Ashoka was horrified at the bloodshed, violence and pain that the war brought. Therefore, after the war, he gave up conquest, being the only king in the world’s history.

What was Ashoka’s Dhamma?

After the Kalinga war, Emperor Ashoka was a changed person. He introduced a new Dhamma, which is mainly based on services for others. It did not include any sacrifices or idol worshipping. His officials were called the dhamma mahamatta, whose job was to go places and preach about the ideas. He also ensured that his ideas spread to foreign lands like Greece, Egypt, Syria, and Sri Lanka.

Along with his preachings, he devoted his life to the services of other people. He dug wells, built roads and upgraded medical assistance for both humans and animals. This section speaks about Ashoka’s dhamma.

Exercise Unit 5 total Solutions: 6 Questions (2 short questions 4 Long questions) 

Overview of Class 6 History Chapter 7 – Ashoka, The Emperor Who Gave up War

In the third chapter of the Class 6 History section, students will get to learn the story of Ashoka the Mauryan ruler and the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya. Ashoka’s life leadings and his empire is discussed in the chapter and that too in precise detail. Students will also delve deeper into History and learn about the great Kalinga War. They will get to understand the story of Ashoka and how he renounced his empire to take the path of Buddhism and Dhamma. This is a chapter that details the events in history with accurate precision. After reading the chapter, students will need the support of revision notes in order to understand the details and retain information.

The History experts at Vedantu have composed the revision notes for Class 6 History Chapter 7 to make sure that students are able to understand the chapter accordingly. Students can read the revision notes and perform well in their exams by gaining a proper understanding of the chapter. Students will get to know the life of King Ashoka, his battles, his preaching and the life-changing moments that he went through. All the sections of King Ashoka’s life have been explained in detail in these revision notes. Students can refer to the notes and understand all the details of the chapter in an easy and effective way.

Benefits of Revision Notes for Class 6 History Chapter 7

• Chapter 7 of Class 6 History named Ashoka, The Emperor Who Gave Up War recounts all the incidents in the life of King Ashoka. All the chapters of his life are explained in the revision notes. Students can download the notes and read them to understand the chapter properly.

• There are textbook questions provided at the end of Chapter 7. Students will find a lot of help in answering the questions from the exercise with these revision notes. Since all topics have been explained properly, they will be able to answer any question with the information that they have.

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Key features of NCERT Solutions for Class 6 Science Chapter 7 

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