State and Society (upto 1000 CE) — Class 9 MCQs with Answers
Class 9 CBSE Social Science · Chapter 5
80 practice questions · 24 Easy · 30 Medium · 26 Hard · Updated
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Practise the most important Class 9 CBSE Social Science questions from Chapter 5, "State and Society (upto 1000 CE)". You get 10 timed quizzes made from 80 NCERT-based MCQs, with answers and explanations. The questions are split into 24 Easy, 30 Medium and 26 Hard. Warm up on the basics, then move on to the exam-level questions that top scorers in CBSE Board exams get right.
To score well in "State and Society (upto 1000 CE)", focus on dates, cause and effect, and reading maps and sources. Each MCQ here is timed and uses exam-style marking (+4 correct, −1 wrong, 0 skipped). This helps you stay accurate when time is short, just as real papers need. Every question has a short explanation, so a wrong answer becomes a quick lesson. It is the fastest way to fix gaps before a test.
Use this chapter for focused revision. Start with the Easy set to check your basics on State and Society (upto 1000 CE), then move to Medium and Hard to practise applying them. Your accuracy, streaks and XP save automatically. This chapter also adds to your overall Class 9 Social Science mastery score. Try the 6 sample questions below: tap an option to see the answer and a worked explanation. Sign in free to start practising.
State and Society (upto 1000 CE) — important questions & MCQs with answers (Class 9 Social Science)
6 solved questions from this chapter's difficulty levels, each with its answer and explanation. Tap an option to check yourself.
0 of 6 answered
- Q1 of 6Easy
Which of the four Vedas is the oldest and the most important?
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Answer: Rigveda
Explanation: The Rigveda is the oldest of the four Vedas and is a collection of hymns chiefly dedicated to gods such as Indra and Agni.
- Q2 of 6Easy
The word 'janapada' literally means the land where a 'jana' did what?
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Answer: Set its foot or settled
Explanation: Janapada means the land where a jana (people or tribe) set its foot and settled down.
- Q3 of 6Medium
The Mauryan empire was so large that it was divided into provinces, each looked after by a governor, often a royal prince. This tells us that the Mauryas
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Answer: needed a layered administration to rule a vast territory
Explanation: Because the empire was huge, the Mauryas set up provinces under governors so that distant regions could be controlled from the centre at Pataliputra.
- Q4 of 6Medium
Assertion (A): In early India, guilds (śhreṇīs) also worked as banks and financiers. Reason (R): The Nāśhik cave inscription records that money deposited with guilds earned no interest.
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Answer: A is true but R is false
Explanation: A is true: the chapter says guilds functioned as banks, financiers and trustees. R is false: the Nāśhik inscription records that guilds had to pay a fixed rate of interest on the money deposited with them.
- Q5 of 6Hard
A later Vedic hymn describes the four varnas as arising from different parts of a cosmic being (the Purusha). Historians read such a passage chiefly as evidence that
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Answer: the varna order was being given religious sanction to make it seem natural and unchangeable
Explanation: By linking each varna to a part of the cosmic being, the hymn gives the social hierarchy a divine origin, presenting an existing order as natural and permanent.
- Q6 of 6Hard
Assertion (A): The introduction of regular taxation was an important step in the formation of the state. Reason (R): Taxes provided the resources needed to maintain armies and an administration.
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Answer: Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
Explanation: Regular taxes gave rulers a steady income to pay for armies and officials, which is exactly why taxation was central to building a state; R correctly explains A.
State and Society (upto 1000 CE) notes: key concepts (Class 9 Social Science)
Between the Vedic age and 1000 CE India moved from tribal societies to janapadas, then to large empires under the Mauryas and Guptas. This chapter follows that political development alongside the social, religious and cultural changes that accompanied it.
- After Harappa's declineVedic age: pastoral, later farming communities settle the Ganga plains
- Roughly 1000–600 BCEJanapadas: identity shifts from kinship to territory
- 6th century BCESixteen mahajanapadas in northern India
- Around 321 BCEChandragupta Maurya founds the Mauryan Empire
- After the Kalinga WarAshoka gives up war and follows dhamma
- After the MauryasShungas, Kushanas and Satavahanas rule regionally; trade with Rome and Central Asia
- Gupta agePolitical consolidation in the north; called a classical age
- 1Early Vedic: a tribal chief advised by the sabha and samiti, with no regular taxes or fixed territory
- 2Janapadas: settled tribes, identity based on territory
- 3Mahajanapadas: fortified capitals, standing armies and regular taxes
- 4Mauryas: a vast, centralised empire run through provinces under governors
- 5Guptas: large but more decentralised, with land grants and local rulers (samantas)
| Ruler | Known for |
|---|---|
| Chandragupta Maurya | Founded the Mauryan empire with Chanakya's guidance |
| Ashoka | Gave up war after Kalinga; spread dhamma through edicts on rocks and pillars |
| Kanishka | Best-known Kushana king; patron of Buddhism and art |
| Chandragupta I | Raised the Guptas to imperial status; took the title Maharajadhiraja |
| Samudragupta | Conquests praised in the Prayag Prashasti on the Allahabad Pillar |
| Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya) | Strong empire; court a centre of art, literature and learning |
| Mauryas | Guptas | |
|---|---|---|
| Remembered for | Ashoka's moral code of dhamma, spread through edicts | Patronage of art, literature, science and learning |
| Foreign visitor | Megasthenes, Greek ambassador; wrote Indica | Faxian, Chinese pilgrim |
| Building and craft | A governor's dam on the Sudarshana Lake, for irrigation | The rust-resistant Iron Pillar at Mehrauli |
- Vedic age
- The period following the Harappan decline, known from the Vedas, in which pastoral and later agricultural communities settled the Ganga plains.
- Vedic society and varna
- Society came to be described in four varnas — Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra — a division that hardened over time into birth-based hierarchy.
- Janapadas and mahajanapadas
- Early territorial states formed as tribes settled; sixteen larger mahajanapadas emerged, of which Magadha grew strongest.
- Rise of Magadha
- Magadha's fertile land, iron ore, elephants and control of river routes let it absorb its rivals and become the base of empire.
- Mauryan empire
- The first large pan-Indian empire, founded by Chandragupta Maurya with Chanakya's guidance and reaching its height under Ashoka.
- Ashoka and dhamma
- After the Kalinga war Ashoka renounced conquest and promoted dhamma — tolerance, non-violence and welfare — proclaimed on rock and pillar edicts.
- Mauryan administration
- A centralised system with provinces under governors, a large bureaucracy, spies and a standing army, described in the Arthashastra.
- Post-Mauryan period
- After the Mauryas, kingdoms such as the Shungas, Kushanas and Satavahanas ruled regionally, and trade with Rome and Central Asia flourished.
- Gupta empire
- A period of political consolidation in the north often called a classical age for its achievements in art, literature and science.
- Gupta achievements
- Aryabhata's astronomy and the concept of zero, Kalidasa's poetry, advances in metallurgy shown by the Iron Pillar, and the murals of Ajanta.
- Buddhism and Jainism
- Gautama Buddha and Mahavira emerged as influential thinkers around the middle of the first millennium BCE, among renunciants (shramanas) who gave up material comforts; renunciation was already part of the Vedic tradition.
- Spread of religion and patronage
- Rulers and merchants endowed monasteries and stupas, and monastic networks carried Buddhism along trade routes into Central and East Asia.
- Trade, guilds and towns
- Craft and merchant guilds regulated production and credit, and towns grew along routes linking ports to inland centres.
- Sources for the period
- Inscriptions, coins, monuments and texts such as the Arthashastra and accounts of foreign travellers, each with its own limits.
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State and Society (upto 1000 CE) — FAQs
What are the key concepts in Class 9 Social Science State and Society (upto 1000 CE)?+
Between the Vedic age and 1000 CE India moved from tribal societies to janapadas, then to large empires under the Mauryas and Guptas. This chapter follows that political development alongside the social, religious and cultural changes that accompanied it. Key ideas include Vedic age, Vedic society and varna, Janapadas and mahajanapadas, Rise of Magadha, Mauryan empire, Ashoka and dhamma.
What does Class 9 Social Science Chapter 5 (State and Society (upto 1000 CE)) cover on XamBaaz?+
It has 80 NCERT-based MCQs on "State and Society (upto 1000 CE)": 24 Easy, 30 Medium and 26 Hard. Together they make 10 timed quizzes, and you never get the same set twice. Every question has an instant explanation. They help you prepare for CBSE Board exams.
Are these "State and Society (upto 1000 CE)" questions free to practise?+
Yes. Sign in with Google to practise "State and Society (upto 1000 CE)" free. Full unlimited access is ₹999/year. One year from the day you pay. You stay in Class 9 till 31 March; on 1 April your account moves up to Class 10 and the rest of your year carries over. No chapter is charged separately.
How should I revise "State and Society (upto 1000 CE)" for the exam?+
Start with the Easy quiz to check your basics, then try Medium and Hard to practise applying them. There are 10 timed quizzes on this chapter, so you can come back for a fresh set instead of one you have seen. Read each explanation, retry the questions you miss, and track your accuracy until it stays high.
Are these "State and Society (upto 1000 CE)" MCQs available with answers?+
Yes. 6 sample questions are on this page with answers: tap an option, or "Show answer", to see the correct option and a step-by-step explanation. Sign in free with Google to start practising, with instant scoring.
Is there negative marking in the "State and Society (upto 1000 CE)" quizzes?+
Yes. The timed quizzes use exam-style marking: +4 for a right answer, −1 for a wrong one and 0 for a skip. MHT-CET and CBSE board papers have no negative marking. Our mocks for those are scored their way.
What are the important questions from State and Society (upto 1000 CE) (Class 9 Social Science)?+
The questions that matter most test Vedic age, Vedic society and varna, Janapadas and mahajanapadas, Rise of Magadha, Mauryan empire, Ashoka and dhamma. This page shows 6 solved important MCQs with answers and explanations. Sign in to practise all 80 questions on the chapter as timed quizzes.
Is there an online quiz for State and Society (upto 1000 CE)?+
Yes — Class 9 Social Science State and Society (upto 1000 CE) has timed online quizzes at Easy, Medium and Hard levels, with instant scoring and a worked explanation on every question. The first quiz on the chapter is free.
Are there question answers and extra questions for State and Society (upto 1000 CE) (Class 9 Social Science)?+
Yes. This page has 6 solved questions on State and Society (upto 1000 CE), each with the correct answer and a short explanation. Sign in to practise all 80 questions on the chapter as timed quizzes.
Are there assertion–reason and case study questions for State and Society (upto 1000 CE) (Class 9 Social Science)?+
Yes. The State and Society (upto 1000 CE) question bank has 6 assertion–reason questions and 1 case-based (case study) question in the CBSE board format, alongside the regular MCQs. Each comes with the answer and a worked explanation. Sign in to practise them in timed quizzes.