Class 7 Social Science New Beginnings Cities and States Solutions

5 to 7 marks in the Class 7 Social Science paper come from New Beginnings: Cities and States, the chapter that opens ancient Indian history in Exploring Society: India and Beyond. The NCERT Solutions below cover all 4 questions and activities on the Second Urbanisation, the mahajanapadas and Kautilya's Arthashastra for the 2026-27 session.

• Question coverage: All 4 questions and activities: Kautilya's Arthashastra, early republics, historical sources and iron metallurgy.
• Exam weight: These reasoning answers carry 5 to 7 marks in the annual paper.
• Also on this page: a Kautilya's-checklist image, a monarchy-vs-republic image, and links to the Notes and Book PDF.

Every NCERT solution for Class 7 Social Science Chapter 4 New Beginnings: Cities and States in this Collegedunia compilation is curated by subject experts, checked against the 2026-27 rationalised NCERT print, and written in the plain language a Class 7 student actually needs.

Why New Beginnings: Cities and States Matters for Class 7 Social Science

This chapter moves Class 7 Social Science, Exploring Society: India and Beyond, Part 1, into ancient Indian history: how city life returned a thousand years after the Harappan cities faded, and how small clan-territories grew into large, organised states.

NCERT tests whether a student can explain why cities and states rose again in the 1st millennium BCE, which is exactly what NCERT Solutions Class 7 Social Science Chapter 4 New Beginnings: Cities and States walks through for every question.

Most Class 7 papers build a long answer around Kautilya's Arthashastra or the sabha/samiti system. Naming the exact term, not describing it in general words, earns full marks.

New Beginnings: Cities and States Explained for Class 7 Boards

Source: Magnet Brains on YouTube

New Beginnings Question and Activity Breakdown

The chapter closes with four questions under Questions and Activities. Each asks for reasoning, comparison or evidence, not a single fixed fact, so NCERT rewards structure over a one-line reply.

Only four questions, but each is long-form. Teachers usually pick Q1 or Q4 for a periodic test, so practise both in full sentences first.

Kautilya's Arthashastra and What a Kingdom Needs

Q1 opens with a quotation from the Arthashastra, a treatise on statecraft by Kautilya, chief minister to the first Maurya emperor, Chandragupta Maurya. Reading it closely means picking out each recommendation and asking whether a country still needs the same thing today.

NCERT lists five features Kautilya believed a kingdom's land must have. Naming a clear modern equivalent for each one, not a vague "yes, it is still true", separates a full-mark Q1 answer from a half-mark one.

• A fortified capital and frontier towns. Today's equivalent: border security and armed forces.
• Land for citizens and outsiders in a crisis. The kingdom had to feed refugees too; today's equivalent: disaster relief and foodgrain reserves.
• Farmland, mines, forests and pastures. A mixed resource base mattered then and now, though elephants have been replaced by tanks and machinery.
• Irrigation, roads and waterways beyond rain. The ancient version of dams, canals, highways and railways.
• A productive economy with many commodities. Kautilya wanted trade in many goods, the ancient version of a diversified economy.

Fig. 4.1 shows the ruins of Rajagriha, capital of Magadha, exactly the fortified capital Kautilya recommends. A strong Q1 answer links each ancient point to one clear modern institution or technology.

How Rulers Were Chosen: Hereditary Rajas vs the Vajji and Malla Republics

A janapada was a clan-territory headed by a raja, with an assembly called sabha or samiti, first named in the Vedas. Q2 asks how a ruler actually came to power, and the chapter gives two different answers.

Surviving textual evidence for this remote period is incomplete. Treat "an assembly could remove a ruler" as a real possibility recorded in some texts, not as proof of a fixed, universal law. This caution line often separates a strong Q2 answer from an average one.

Sources Historians Use to Study the Mahajanapadas

Q3 asks students to imagine being a historian with no living witness to question. NCERT names two main kinds of evidence, archaeological remains and literary texts, and using more than one lets a historian cross-check one source against another.

• Archaeological excavations. Digging at Rajagriha and Kaushambi confirms fortified, moated cities existed exactly where texts place the mahajanapadas' capitals.
• Numismatic (coin) evidence. Punch-marked coins, first silver and later copper and gold, carry symbols showing which mahajanapada issued them and how trade crossed political boundaries.
• Literary evidence. Late Vedic, Buddhist and Jain texts name rulers, events and the frequently repeated list of sixteen mahajanapadas, detail stone and coins alone cannot supply.
• Regional excavations beyond the Ganga plains. Southern sites such as Kodumanal, near Erode in Tamil Nadu, show shell and gemstone industries, evidence of a southern urban and trade story the northern texts barely mention.

A single coin or text can be damaged, biased or incomplete. Historians trust a conclusion more when archaeology, numismatics and literature all point the same way. A well-structured Q3 answer names all four source types and explains, in one line each, what only that evidence can show.

Why Iron Metallurgy Fuelled the Second Urbanisation

Iron metallurgy is the technology of extracting iron from ore and shaping it into tools and weapons. Urbanism needs a food surplus large enough to support non-farmers: traders, craftspeople, soldiers and rulers. Q4 asks students to connect these two ideas using the chapter and their own reasoning.

Fig. 4.5 shows a Sanchi stupa panel depicting a smithy, workers bringing firewood and water, stoking the fire and beating the iron. Better tool, more food, surplus, non-farming specialists, a city: naming this whole chain, not the technology alone, earns full marks on Q4.

Common Mistakes Students Make in the New Beginnings Chapter

How to Study New Beginnings: Cities and States Effectively

This chapter mixes definitions, reasoning and source analysis. Short revision blocks work better than one long sitting.

1. Block 1, 20 minutes. Read Kautilya's five recommendations and write a modern equivalent for each from memory.
2. Block 2, 25 minutes. Learn the janapada vs mahajanapada distinction, then note why Vajji and Malla differed from other states.
3. Block 3, 20 minutes. List the four types of historical evidence and what each shows that the others cannot.
4. Night before, 15 minutes. Re-read the Common Mistakes list and answer Q1 and Q4 from memory.

More New Beginnings Class 7 Resources

Also Check: NCERT Solutions Class 7 Social Science Chapter 4 New Beginnings: Cities and States is also available in other formats. Read the solutions first, then the notes for a deeper topic walk-through.

NCERT Solutions for Class 7 Social Science Part 1: All Chapters

The table below lists NCERT Solutions for every chapter of Part 1, so you can move to the next chapter once this one is done.

Sample Solutions from New Beginnings Chapter 4

Below are two of the four questions from NCERT Solutions Class 7 Social Science Chapter 4 New Beginnings: Cities and States, answered in full. Every question in the complete PDF gets this same level of detail, a concept explanation, a step-by-step answer, and a boxed final answer.

• Concept used: the exact NCERT term or idea the question is testing, named upfront.
• Step-by-step answer: the reasoning broken into short, exam-ready points.
• Boxed answer: a final, one-look summary a student can revise from directly.

Ques. According to the text, how were rulers chosen in early Vedic society?

A janapada was a clan-territory headed by a raja or ruler. Each janapada also had an assembly, called sabha or samiti, first named in the Vedas. In most mahajanapadas, Magadha, Kosala, Avanti and others, the raja's position was hereditary, though he was expected to rule with the advice of the sabha or samiti.

At least two mahajanapadas, Vajji (or Vrijji) and neighbouring Malla, worked differently. Here the sabha or samiti held more power and chose the raja through discussion and, if necessary, a vote, making these two states early republics rather than monarchies.

Boxed answer: In most mahajanapadas, the raja's position was hereditary, passed from father to son, though he ruled with the sabha or samiti's advice. In Vajji and Malla, the sabha/samiti itself chose the raja through discussion and vote, an early, assembly-based republic rather than a monarchy.

Ques. Imagine you are a historian studying ancient India. What types of sources would you use to learn more about the mahajanapadas?

A historian would combine archaeological excavations of cities such as Rajagriha and Kaushambi, which confirm fortifications and city layout, with numismatic evidence, punch-marked coins that show which mahajanapada issued them and how trade crossed borders.

Literary evidence, late Vedic, Buddhist and Jain texts, supplies names, political events and the list of sixteen mahajanapadas. Regional excavations such as Kodumanal in Tamil Nadu add a southern perspective the northern texts barely mention.

Boxed answer: A historian would combine archaeological excavations, numismatic evidence from punch-marked coins, literary evidence from Vedic, Buddhist and Jain texts, and regional excavations such as Kodumanal, cross-checking each source type against the others to build a reliable picture.