2. History of Indian Geography
Complete solutions to the Exercise. Maharashtra State Board (Balbharati), Grade Six Geography.
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Exercise
(1) Ancient Dweepas
The seven ancient islands (Saptadweep) described in ancient Indian scriptures.
The seven boxes are filled with the seven dweeps: Jambudweep, Plaksh Dweep, Shalmali Dweep, Kushdweep, Kraunchdweep, Shakdweep and Pushkardweep. They may be written in any order.
(2) Ancient geographic concepts
Blue boxes are given in the textbook; green boxes are the answers.
Figure 2.1 shows eight ancient Indian geographic concepts: the Universe, the Earth, Bharatvarsh, the atmosphere and seasons, directions, Dweep (Island), eclipse and time measurement. Three of them are already given, so any three of the remaining five may be written in the empty spaces — The Earth, Dweep (Island), Eclipse, The atmosphere and seasons or Directions.
(1) Most of the part of Jambudweep is in Asia continent.
Jambudweep covers most of the Asian continent and includes Bharatvarsh and many other countries.
(2) The area occupied by lakes with lotuses was a part of Pushkar Dweepa.
‘Pushkar’ means lotus. This region was full of lakes with lotus plants, so it was called Pushkardweep.
(3) In a lunar eclipse, the shadow of the Earth is cast on the Moon.
Because this shadow is circular, the ancient Indians concluded that the Earth is circular in shape.
(1) (a) Lakshdweep (b) Jambudweep (c) Kushadweep (d) Pushkardweep
Odd element: (a) Lakshdweep
Jambudweep, Kushdweep and Pushkardweep are among the seven ancient dweeps (Saptadweep). Lakshadweep is a present-day group of islands in the Arabian Sea and a Union Territory of India; it is not one of the ancient dweeps.
(2) (a) The Moon (b) Stars (c) Constellations (d) Chandrayan
Odd element: (d) Chandrayan
The Moon, stars and constellations are natural objects in the sky, which the ancient Indians observed. Chandrayaan is a man-made spacecraft sent to the Moon by ISRO in modern times.
(a) The land has plenty of Jamun trees — Jambudweep
(b) A big aquatic bird or the area of Kraunch Mountain — Kraunchdweep
(c) The land of Kush grass — Kushdweep
(d) The land surrounded by water — Dweep (Island)
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(1) The Universe
Indian thinkers put forth the concept of ‘Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam’ — the whole world is one family. Indian literature expresses a comprehensive thought about the Universe and its creation.
The Vedas give an in-depth explanation of the creation of the Universe. They say that gases, space, the Sun, the Moon and the other planets were formed in the process of its creation. In the Puranas the Universe is called ‘Bhahyantar’, and they give information about ‘Saptamahadweep’ (seven great islands) and ‘Saptasagar’ (seven seas).
In modern science, the Big Bang theory explains that the Universe began with the explosion of a very small body of infinite density, which then spread out at a very high speed.
(2) The Earth
In the Vedas the Earth is called ‘Pruthvi’ or ‘Dharani’, and elsewhere also ‘Bhu’. The Upanishads mention that the Earth evolved from water. Two gases, ‘Pran’ and ‘Apan’, which represent the gases in the atmosphere, are also mentioned.
The ancient Indian thinkers knew that the Earth is circular in shape. In the 6th century BC it was stated that the diameter of the Earth could be about 13,000 km, which is remarkably close to the modern measurement.
The ancient scriptures describe the Earth as ‘Saptadweep’, made up of seven dweeps, with Meru Parvat in the middle. They also mention four oceans — Kshir Sagar (Indian Ocean), Dadhi Sagar (Atlantic Ocean), Sura Samudra (Pacific Ocean) and Kshar Samudra (Arctic Ocean).
(3) Dweep
The ancient Indians proposed the concept of Dweep, meaning land that is naturally encircled by water. The scriptures describe seven such dweeps, each named after a feature found there:
- Jambudweep — abundant in Jamun trees; covers most of Asia and includes Bharatvarsh.
- Plaksh Dweep — occupied by Plaksh trees; spread around the Mediterranean Sea.
- Shalmali Dweep — land of silk cotton (Savar) trees; includes Madagascar, Somalia and East African coastal areas.
- Kushdweep — land of Kush grass; includes Iran, Iraq, the adjoining desert and north-eastern Africa.
- Kraunchdweep — named after a big aquatic bird and Kraunch Parvat; included northern and central Europe.
- Shakdweep — a long stretch of land to the south-east of Jambudweep, including South-East Asian countries.
- Pushkardweep — full of lakes with lotus plants; the eastern part of Asia, including Russia, North and South Korea and Japan.
(4) Eclipse
At the time of a lunar eclipse, the shadow of the Earth falls on the Moon, and this shadow is circular. From this observation the ancient Indians understood that the Earth is circular in shape.
They had also developed the technique of accurately predicting the timings of eclipses from the positions of the Sun and the Moon. Terms were established for the stages of an eclipse — Grahansparsh (start of the eclipse), Khagras (total eclipse), Khandgras (partial eclipse) and Moksh (end of the eclipse).
The year is divided into three main seasons and six Rutus of two Indian months each. The completed cycle is given below. The Gregorian months are approximate, because Indian months follow the Moon and shift a little each year.
| Season | Rutu | Indian months | Gregorian months (approx.) | Festivals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summer | Vasant | Chaitra, Vaishakh | March – April – May | Gudhi Padva, Ram Navami, Akshay Tritiya |
| Summer | Grishma | Jyeshtha, Ashadh | May – June – July | Vatpournima, Ashadhi Ekadashi |
| Rainy | Varsha | Shravan, Bhadrapad | July – August – September | Nagpanchami, Raksha Bandhan, Gokulashtami, Pola, Ganeshotsav |
| Rainy | Sharad | Ashwin, Kartik | September – October – November | Navratri, Dasara, Kojagiri Pournima, Diwali |
| Winter | Hemant | Margashirsha, Paush | November – December – January | Datta Jayanti, Christmas, Makar Sankrant |
| Winter | Shishir | Magh, Phalgun | January – February – March | Maha Shivratri, Holi |
Festivals of other communities can be added in the right season — for example Christmas in December and Buddha Pournima in Vaishakh. Ramzan Eid is not fixed to a season, because the Hijari calendar is a lunar calendar and Ramzan moves about 11 days earlier every year.
(1) Which Dweepas are included in the African continent?
Shalmali Dweep and Kush Dweep. Shalmali Dweep covers eastern Africa, including Madagascar, Somalia and the East African coast, while Kush Dweep includes north-eastern Africa. The Plaksh Dweep, spread around the Mediterranean Sea, also touches the northern coast of Africa.
(2) To which ancient Dweepa, the land of India is related to?
Jambudweep — India (Bharatvarsh) lies in Jambudweep, which covers most of Asia.
(3) In which of the Dweepas, the eastern landmasses are included in?
Pushkardweep — it lies in the eastern part of Asia and includes present-day Russia, North and South Korea and Japan. The Shakdweep, to the south-east, includes the South-East Asian countries.
(1) Which of the following was understood by the ancient Indians through the observations of eclipses?
- a) change of seasons
- b) amount of rainfall
- c) velocity of wind
- ✓ d) positions of the earth and the other planetary objects
Answer: positions of the earth and the other planetary objects
An eclipse happens only when the Sun, the Earth and the Moon come into a particular position. By observing eclipses the ancient Indians understood these positions, and could predict eclipses and conclude that the Earth is circular.
(2) Which observations are useful for identifying the directions?
- a) Rain
- ✓ b) Sunrise
- c) Wind
- d) River
Answer: Sunrise
The Sun rises in the east. Once we face east, north is on our left, south on our right and west behind us.
(3) What is Jambudweep?
- a) a small island
- ✓ b) a large land mass
- c) mountain
- d) river
Answer: a large land mass
Jambudweep covered most of the Asian continent, so although it is called a dweep, it is a very large land mass surrounded by water.
The Project — presenting information about the ancient Indian thinkers on Geography Day — and the Activity — collecting information from the internet on the foreign travellers who visited India in the ancient period — are to be done by you with your teacher’s guidance.