NCERT Solutions for Class 9th Social Science Chapter 5 State and Society up to 1000 CE
Updated on 2026-09-08
About this chapter
The chapter covers roughly 2000 BCE to 1000 CE and its spine is Fig. 5.1: kin-based polities of the Ṛigveda in the Sapta-Sindhu region, then janapadas and mahājanapadas from about 800 BCE, then the emergence of empires of roughly pan-Indian dimension together with the early polities of southern India from about 300 BCE, and finally regional empires and the imperial polities of southern India from about 700 CE. Our knowledge of this period is richer than of the Harappan period for one reason the chapter states plainly: from at least the second millennium BCE we have literary sources — the Ṛigveda being the earliest — that supplement archaeology. The Harappan script is still undeciphered, so for the Sindhu–Sarasvatī civilisation we have objects without words; from the Vedic period onwards we
- Chapter opening
- Understanding Early Indian State and Society
- Political Institutions in the Vedic Period
- Assemblies during Vedic Period
- Fig. 5.3, First millennium BCE (iron finds)
- Duties and Ideals of the King
- Fig. 5.5, Junagadh Rock Inscription, Gujarat
- How Were Empires Administered?
- Varṇa and Jāti
- The Quest for Knowledge
Exercises
- Chapter opening — The Big Questions Page 95
- Fig. 5.1, Broad timeline of early India, and the running timeline at the foot of each page — LET'S EXPLORE Page 96–97
- Understanding Early Indian State and Society — In-text Questions Page 97
- Political Institutions in the Vedic Period — LET'S RECALL Page 100
- Assemblies during Vedic Period — THINK ABOUT IT Page 101
- Fig. 5.3, First millennium BCE (iron finds) — LET'S ANALYSE Page 102–103
- Duties and Ideals of the King — THINK ABOUT IT Page 108
- Fig. 5.5, Junagadh Rock Inscription, Gujarat — THINK ABOUT IT Page 111
- How Were Empires Administered? — THINK ABOUT IT Page 112
- Varṇa and Jāti — LET'S EXPLORE Page 118–119
- The Quest for Knowledge — LET'S EXPLORE Page 126
- Irrigation — LET'S RECALL Page 129
- Irrigation — THINK ABOUT IT Page 129
- The chapter's recap points, set out with the evidence behind each — Before we move on… Page 133
- End-of-chapter exercise — Questions and activities Page 134–135