Class 7 Social Science Chapter 5: The Rise of Empires (Hinglish Notes)

Ye chapter kis baare mein hai?

Chapter Kautilya ke Arthashastra ke ek vichaar se shuru hota hai: rajya ko zameen chahiye, aur zameen ko uske log. Phir ye chaar Big Questions poochta hai: samrajya kya hai, samrajya kaise uthe aur unhone Bharatiya sabhyata ko kaise roop diya, kin baaton ne rajyon ko samrajya banne mein madad ki, aur 6th se 2nd century BCE ke beech log kaise jeete the.

Ek kahaani se shuruaat hoti hai. Bhavisha aur Dhruv apni nayi time machine ‘Itihasa’ chaalu karte hain aur aaj ke Patna ke paas Pataliputra ke baahar utarte hain. Ek lohaar ki beti Ira unhe khaai ke oopar uthaaye ja sakne waale pul (drawbridge) se baahar jaate sainik dikhati hai, aur ve pahaadiyan aur jangal jo sena ke liye lakdi, jadi-bootiyan aur haathi dete hain. Andar ve lakdi ki oonchi deewaarein aur nigraani burj, mahal, China ke resham aur dakshin ke masaale aur ratn bechta baazaar, aur sadak pe kartab dikhaate nat dekhte hain. Ira ka raja itni zameen pe raaj karta hai ki ghudsawaar ko sarhad tak pahunchne mein lagbhag do mahine lagte hain. Ira garv se kehti hai: ise samrajya kehte hain.

Samrajya kya hai?

Empire Latin shabd imperium se aaya hai, yaani ‘sabse badi shakti’. Samrajya chhote rajyon ya ilaakon ka samooh hai jo ek taakatwar shaasak ya shaasakon ke samooh ke neeche hota hai, aksar yuddh se jeeta hua. Chhote rajyon ke apne shaasak aam taur pe bane rehte the, par ve tributary, yaani vassal, ban jaate the: wafaadaari dikhaane ke liye ve samraat ko tribute dete the, jaise paisa, sona, anaaj, pashu ya haathi. Samraat ek rajdhani se raaj karta tha, jo aam taur pe vyapaar aur sarkaar ka bada kendra hoti thi. Sanskrit granth aise shaasak ko samraj, ‘sabka maalik’, adhiraja, ‘overlord’, ya rajadhiraja, ‘rajaon ka raja’, kehte hain.

Samrajya sena rakhta hai, adhikaariyon aur taxon ke saath prashaasan chalaata hai, kaanoon banaata hai aur sikke, baat aur maap jaari karta hai, khadaanon aur jangalon jaise sansaadhan sambhaalta hai, kala aur shiksha ko badhaava deta hai, aur sadkon aur jalmaargon ka khayaal rakhta hai. Bharat ke itihaas mein kai samrajya uthe aur gire; upmahadweep pe raaj karne waala aakhri samrajya ek sadi se bhi kam pehle khatam hua. Padho samrajya kya hai.

Vyapaar, raaste aur guilds

Door ke ilaakon mein yuddh bahut mehnga padta hai: sainikon ko khaana, hathiyaar aur vetan chahiye, haathiyon aur ghodon ki dekhbhaal chahiye, aur sadkein ya jahaaz banaane padte hain. Isliye samrajya ko mazboot arthvyavastha chahiye, aur vyapaar uski ek chaabi hai. Samrajya ke andar aur baahar vyapaar ke raaston pe niyantran ka matlab tha zyaada saamaan, utpaadakon ki zyaada kamaai aur shaasak ke liye zyaada tax. Sahitya aur khudaai batate hain ki Bharat ke log kapda, masaale, khet ki upaj, ratn, hastashilp aur jaanwar zameen aur samudra ke raaste door ke deshon tak bechte the.

Vyapaari aksar guilds (shrenis) mein judte the, aur kaarigar, saahukaar aur kisaan bhi. Guild ka ek mukhiya hota tha, aam taur pe chuna hua, aur aise adhikaari jinse imaandaari ki ummeed thi. Sadasya muqaabla karne ki jagah saath kaam karte the, sansaadhan aur baazaar ki khabrein baantte the, aur guild raja ki dakhal ke bina apne niyam banaati thi. Guilds poore Bharat mein phaili aur sadiyon tak chalin, jo dikhata hai ki Bharatiya samaaj khud ko kitni achhi tarah sangathit kar sakta tha.

Magadha ka uday

6th se 4th century BCE ke beech uttar Bharat mein gehre badlaav aaye. Solah mahajanapadon mein se Magadha, yaani dakshin Bihar aur aas-paas ka ilaaka, sabse taakatwar bana, Ajatashatru jaise rajaon ki madad se, jinke samay mein Buddha aur Mahavira jeeye. Ye upjaau Ganga ke maidaanon mein tha, lakdi aur haathiyon ke liye jangalon ke saath, aur paas ki pahaadiyon mein loha tha: lohe ke hal se fasal badhi aur lohe ke hathiyaaron se sena mazboot hui. Bache hue anaaj ne logon ko shilp ke kaam ke liye aazaad kiya, aur Ganga aur Son nadiyan vyapaar ka saamaan dhoti thin. Padho Magadha ka uday.

Lagbhag 5th century BCE mein Mahapadma Nanda ne Nanda vansh shuru kiya, uttar aur poorvi Bharat ke hisson mein phaila samrajya banaaya, sikke chalaaye aur badi sena rakhi. Sanskrit ke niyam 3,996 sutron mein likhne waale mahaan vyakaranaachaarya Panini Nanda kaal mein jeeye. Aakhri Nanda samraat Dhana Nanda bahut ameer tha par apni praja pe zulm karta tha aur napasand ho gaya.

Greeks ka aagman

Usi samay uttar-pashchim mein chhote rajya Mediterranean jaane waale ek purane raaste pe the. Macedonia ke yuva Greek raja Alexander ne 334–331 BCE mein Persian samrajya jeeta aur phir 327–325 BCE mein Bharat mein ghusa. Usne Punjab mein Pauravas ke raja Porus ko haraaya aur sthaaniya logon ka kada virodh jhela; Greek lekhon ke anusaar kuch ladaaiyon mein auratein bhi purushon ke saath ladin. Uske thake sainikon ne Ganga ki or badhne se mana kar diya, isliye vo laut gaya aur raaste ke registaanon mein uske bahut se sainik maare gaye. 32 saal ki umr mein Babylon mein uski maut hui, aur uske senapatiyon aur satraps ne uska samrajya baant liya. Bharat mein is abhiyaan se raajneetik badlaav kam hua, par Indo-Greek saanskritik sampark ka darwaaza khula. Ek mashhoor kahaani mein Alexander Bharat ke santon, ‘Gymnosophists’, ko paheliyon se parakhta hai; unke shaant, samajhdaar jawaabon se prabhaavit hokar vo sabko chhod deta hai.

Shaktishaali Maurya

Lagbhag 321 BCE mein, Alexander ke jaane ke kuch saal baad, Chandragupta Maurya ne Maurya samrajya ki neev rakhi. Uske shuruaati jeevan ki kahaaniyan alag hain, par sab maanti hain ki usne Nandon ko hataaya aur Pataliputra se raaj kiya. Uske guru Kautilya the, jinhe Chanakya ya Vishnugupta bhi kehte hain, Takshashila ke ek shikshak jinka Dhana Nanda ne apmaan kiya tha. Magadha ki taakat aur Kautilya ki salaah se Chandragupta ne dheere-dheere vistaar kiya, uttar-pashchim ke Greek satraps ko haraaya aur uttar ke maidaanon se Deccan tak raaj kiya. Usne Greeks se dosti ke rishte rakhe, aur Greek itihaaskaar aur doot Megasthenes ne apni kitaab Indika mein Bharat ke baare mein likha, jo ab sirf uddharanon se jaani jaati hai.

Arthashastra mein Kautilya ne saptanga, yaani rajya ke saat ang, bataaye aur zor diya ki raja ko praja ka kalyan sabse pehle rakhna chahiye. Padho Maurya samrajya aur Ashoka.

Shaanti chunne waala raja

Chandragupta ke pote Ashoka (268–232 BCE) ne samrajya ko door dakshin chhodkar lagbhag poore upmahadweep tak phailaaya. Phir usne aaj ke Odisha, Kalinga, pe hamla kiya. Us yuddh ke khoon-kharaabe ne use jahan tak ho sake hinsa chhodne aur Buddha ke shaanti ke raaste pe chalne ko prerit kiya. Usne Sri Lanka, Thailand aur Central Asia tak doot bheje, aur chattaanon aur stambhon pe edicts khudwaaye, zyaadatar Prakrit bhaasha aur Brahmi lipi mein, jinmein logon se dharma maanne ko kaha. Khud ko Devanampiya Piyadasi kehte hue usne daava kiya ki vo logon aur jaanwaron ka ilaaj karwaata hai, jaanwaron pe kroorta rokta hai, sadkon ke kinaare kuen khudwaata, vishraam-ghar banwaata aur ped lagwaata hai, aur sabhi sampradaayon se ek doosre ka samman karne ko kehta hai.

Maurya kaal ka jeevan

Pataliputra jaise shehron mein mahal, saarvajanik imaaratein aur yojana se bani sadkein thin, aur tax aur vyapaar khazaane ko bhara rakhte the. Megasthenes ke anusaar zyaadatar log kheti karte the; saal mein do fasalon aur bhare godaamon se akaal kam padte the, aur yuddh mein bhi kisaanon ko chhua nahi jaata tha. Kaarigar shehron mein rehte the, ghar lakdi ke aur do manzil tak oonche the, sadkon pe sanket-patt aur aag ke liye paani ke bartan rakhe jaate the, aur harkaare sandesh le jaate the. Sohgaura ki taambe ki plate akaal se bachaav ke liye banaaye gaye ek godaam ka zikr karti hai. Maurya kala apne bahut chamakdaar patthar ke stambhon ke liye mashhoor hai; Sarnath stambh ka lion capital aaj satyameva jayate ke saath Bharat ka rashtriya chinh hai.

Samrajya naazuk kyun hote hain

Ashoka ke baad Maurya samrajya lagbhag pachaas saal chala, par kamzor uttaraadhikaari pakad kho baithe, chhote rajya alag ho gaye, aur lagbhag 185 BCE mein itihaas ka naya daur shuru hua. Samrajya kai kaaranon se girte hain: tribute ki badhti maangon se naraazgi aati hai, kamzor shaasak dekhkar sthaaniya raja tribute dena band kar dete hain, door ke ilaake alag ho jaate hain, aur sookha ya baadh arthvyavastha ko hila dete hain. Samrajya ekta, kam yuddh aur zyaada samriddhi la sakte hain, par aam taur pe yuddh se bante aur taakat se tike hone ke kaaran naazuk rehte hain.

Aage badhne se pehle

Bharat ke pehle samrajya praakritik sansaadhanon, nadiyon aur vyapaar se bharpoor ilaakon mein bane. Mauryon ki virasat lambi chali: mazboot vyapaar ke raaste, sikkon ka vyapak upyog, yojana se bane shehar, vistrit prashaasan aur mahaan kala, aur Ashoka ne khud ko dharma ki seekh dene waale dayaalu shaasak ke roop mein pesh kiya. Big Questions, saare Let’s Explore aur Think About It, aur naun sawaalon ke jawaab Chapter 5 ke NCERT solutions mein hain.