Question
Q. What purpose/s did the rulers seek to achieve, through the system of land grants during ancient India ?
Which of the statements given above is /are correct?
- To seek religious merit.
- Expansion of agriculture to new areas.
- To win allies to their side.
Which of the statements given above is /are correct?
Answer: Option D
:
D
Explanation:
From the early centuries of the Common Era, we find grants of land being made, many of which were recorded in inscriptions. Some of these inscriptions were on stone, but most were on copper plates which were probably given as a record of the transaction to those who received the land. The records that have survived are generally about grants to religious institutions or to Brahmanas. An agrahara was granted land to a Brahmana. Thus through the grants to religious functionaries the rulers sought religious merit.
Land grants such as this one have been found in several parts of the country. There were regional variations in the sizes of land donated – ranging from small plots to vast stretches of uncultivated land – and the rights given to donees (the recipients of the grant).Historians believe that land grants were part of a strategy adopted by ruling lineages to extend agriculture to new areas.Others suggest that land grants were indicative of weakening political power: as kings were losing control over their samantas, they tried to win allies by making grants of land. They also feel that kings tried to project themselves as supermen because they were losing control: they wanted to present at least a façade of power.
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:
D
Explanation:
From the early centuries of the Common Era, we find grants of land being made, many of which were recorded in inscriptions. Some of these inscriptions were on stone, but most were on copper plates which were probably given as a record of the transaction to those who received the land. The records that have survived are generally about grants to religious institutions or to Brahmanas. An agrahara was granted land to a Brahmana. Thus through the grants to religious functionaries the rulers sought religious merit.
Land grants such as this one have been found in several parts of the country. There were regional variations in the sizes of land donated – ranging from small plots to vast stretches of uncultivated land – and the rights given to donees (the recipients of the grant).Historians believe that land grants were part of a strategy adopted by ruling lineages to extend agriculture to new areas.Others suggest that land grants were indicative of weakening political power: as kings were losing control over their samantas, they tried to win allies by making grants of land. They also feel that kings tried to project themselves as supermen because they were losing control: they wanted to present at least a façade of power.
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