What is financial infrastructure?

The network of banks, payment systems and stock markets that helps manage money

What are the main things a bank does?

Holds deposits and lends money as loans

How do banks make money?

They pay lower interest on deposits and charge higher interest on loans

Earning interest on previous interest as well as on the original amount

What period does this chapter cover, and what is it sometimes called?

It surveys India from about 600 CE to 1200 CE, the centuries after the Gupta era, which historians have called 'post-classical', 'late classical' or 'early medieval'.

Who was Harsha, and where did he rule?

Harsha was a powerful 7th-century king who ruled from Kannauj, a city by the Ganga, and hosted poets and scholars at his court.

Who was Xuanzang, and why is he important?

He was a Chinese pilgrim who travelled across India in the 7th century and left detailed accounts of its society, governance, learning and culture, which serve as valuable historical sources.

What was the tripartite struggle?

It was the three-way contest among the Gurjara-Pratiharas, the Palas and the Rashtrakutas for control over the strategically important city of Kannauj.

Which dynasties were powerful in the south and Deccan in this period?

The Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas in the Deccan, and the Pallavas, Cholas and Pandyas in the south, all great patrons of temples and art.

What is rock-cut architecture, and where is it seen?

It is the art of carving temples and caves directly out of rock, seen in the Pallava monuments at Mamallapuram and the magnificent Rashtrakuta cave temple at Ellora.

How did the bhakti tradition spread in the south?

Through saint-poets known as the Alvars and Nayanars, who taught personal devotion to the divine and helped make spirituality more accessible.

Who was Adi Shankaracharya?

He was an influential philosopher of this period associated with the school of Advaita Vedanta, whose ideas had a lasting impact on Indian thought.

What happened with the early Arab incursions?

Arabs made repeated attempts to invade and dominate parts of north India, including Sindh, but in the end these incursions had little overall impact on India.

Despite political fragmentation, what continued to flourish in this period?

Trade, art, architecture, literature, philosophy and science continued to flourish, and Indian culture spread to Southeast Asia through exchange.

Empires and Kingdoms: 6th to 10th Centuries

Class 7 Social Science · Exploring Society Part 2 · Chapter 3

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Summary

This chapter surveys India from about 600 CE to 1200 CE, the centuries after the Gupta era, sometimes called 'post-classical', 'late classical' or 'early medieval'. Through the device of a young traveller journeying across the Subcontinent, it introduces the many kingdoms that rose and fell during this dynamic period. In the north, it describes the rise of Harsha of Kannauj and the Pushyabhuti dynasty, the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang who visited India in the 7th century and left valuable accounts, and the tripartite struggle among the Gurjara-Pratiharas, Palas and Rashtrakutas for control of Kannauj. In the Deccan and south, it covers the Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Pallavas, Cholas and Pandyas, with their magnificent temples and rock-cut architecture, such as the Pallava monuments at Mamallapuram and the Rashtrakuta cave at Ellora. It explores the flourishing of art, architecture, literature, philosophy and science, including the work of mathematicians like Brahmagupta, the spread of bhakti through saints like the Alvars and Nayanars, and the philosophy of Adi Shankaracharya. It also notes the early Arab incursions into Sindh and how, despite political fragmentation, trade, learning and cultural exchange continued, with Indian influence spreading to Southeast Asia.

India from 600 to 1200 CEHarsha and the northThe tripartite struggleSouthern kingdoms and templesBhakti, philosophy and learning

Key terms

Early medieval period

A name historians give the centuries from about 600 to 1200 CE, the dynamic period after the Gupta era covered in this chapter.

Tripartite struggle

The three-way contest among the Gurjara-Pratiharas, Palas and Rashtrakutas for control of the strategic city of Kannauj.

Rock-cut architecture

A style of carving temples and caves directly out of rock, seen in Pallava monuments at Mamallapuram and the Rashtrakuta cave at Ellora.

Bhakti

A path of personal devotion to the divine, spread in the south by saints such as the Alvars and Nayanars.

Xuanzang

A Chinese pilgrim who travelled across India in the 7th century and left detailed accounts of its society, learning and culture.

Advaita Vedanta

The philosophical school associated with Adi Shankaracharya, an influential thinker of this period.

Empires and Kingdoms: 6th to 10th Centuries

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