Kings, Farmers and Towns Class 12 History PYQ

Class 12 History Kings, Farmers and Towns PYQ, free to download as a 101-page PDF. Theme 2 sits in Part I (Themes 1 to 4), which carries about 25 of the 80 marks, and in 120 solved questions from the 2009 to 2026 papers the board keeps returning to the same few ideas: the Mauryan empire and Ashoka (51 questions), inscriptions and prashastis (24), the Gupta rulers (19), Mahajanapadas and the rise of Magadha (18), coins (10) and farming and village life (8). 33 of the questions are MCQs and 3 are passage-based, so start with the objective ones and the Ashokan passages, then work through the 84 written answers.

Kings, Farmers and Towns Weightage in the Class 12 Board Paper

As per History Kings, Farmers and Towns weightage from past years, students can expect this theme to be part of the roughly 25 marks the board paper sets from Part I (Themes 1 to 4), out of 80 theory marks. CBSE does not print a separate figure for Theme 2, so the Part I figure is the one to use. It comes from the exam-pattern table on the Physics Wallah syllabus page and is unofficial, so check the curriculum on cbseacademic.nic.in.

The question bank carries no marks, so the table below shows how many questions of each type are in the set, not marks.

Kings, Farmers and Towns Questions by Topic

The Mauryan empire and Ashoka dominate, with 51 questions. They ask how historians reconstruct Mauryan history from a variety of sources, the main features of Mauryan administration, who Devanampiya Piyadassi was, the Kalinga War and Ashoka's dhamma. The topic counts come from keyword matches, so a question on two topics is counted under both.

24 questions are on inscriptions, edicts and prashastis, including the limits of epigraphy (asked in 2020, 2024, 2025 and 2026) and James Prinsep's decipherment of Brahmi and Kharosthi. 19 questions are on the Gupta rulers, covering Samudragupta's Allahabad Pillar inscription, Prabhavati Gupta's land grants and the features of Gupta coins. 18 questions are on Mahajanapadas and Magadha, such as naming Mahajanapadas, the causes of Magadha's growth and the difference between a Janapada and a Mahajanapada.

10 questions are on coins, 8 on agriculture, villages and rural life, 7 on the sixth century BCE as a turning point, 7 on Pataliputra and other capitals, 4 on land grants and 4 on trade routes and goods.

Seven of the 33 MCQs are assertion-reason, 4 ask you to arrange rulers or events in chronological order and 4 are match-the-column.

How to Approach the Kings, Farmers and Towns Set

Begin with the 33 MCQs, which cover rulers, dynasties, coins and the Ashtadhyayi of Panini, and then take the three source passages: the Anguish of the King, the History of Pataliputra and the Orders of the King. The passages are built on Ashokan edicts and the Pataliputra extract, and each can be answered from the text with one added fact.

Of the 84 written answers, 9 begin "Describe any three", so keep three-point answers ready on Mauryan administration, ancient coinage, inscription limitations and Mahajanapada features. The same prompts return with new wording, for example the Mauryan sources statement in 2015, 2017, 2025 and 2026. Write one full answer for each and reuse its points.

Source: Humanities Wallah - Class 12th

Common Mistakes in Kings, Farmers and Towns Questions

• Writing Ashoka's name where a question asks for Devanampiya Piyadassi, or the reverse, without saying they are the same ruler.
• Naming Kautilya as the author of the Arthashastra but placing him under Ashoka instead of Chandragupta Maurya.
• Listing sources for the Mauryan empire without saying what each one tells us.
• Saying inscriptions are complete records, when the question asks for their limits: damaged letters, missing details, and what was never inscribed.
• Mixing the first gold coins (Kushanas) with the finer Gupta gold coins in a difference question.
• Giving two features when "any three" is asked.

Using the Answer Key and Solutions

The PDF is 101 pages and free to download. Each section is sorted newest year first, the Answer Key lists every MCQ at a glance, and each question links to its worked solution and back. Attempt a section first, check the key, then read the solution and note the common mistake given with it. The solutions are written by Collegedunia's History experts and are not official CBSE marking schemes.

Class 12 History PYQs by Theme