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New NCERT textbook · Class 8 Social Science

Exploring Society: India and Beyond, period by period — fitted to your timetable.

Tell Meyy your periods and their length; it plans every chapter of Exploring Society: India and Beyond to fit, and you tick off sections as you teach.

Chapter 3 · Period 1 of 16 · 45 min

Who Are the Marathas? Roots of a People

Inquiry

This unit opens the chapter, so orient students to the Deccan plateau as the physical setting before introducing the political and cultural narrative. A common confusion is assuming the Marathas suddenly appeared with Shivaji — make clear that centuries of shared language, bhakti poetry, and cultural identity preceded the political empire. The map annotation keeps geographic grounding concrete while the writing task elevates the discussion to social analysis.

0-8Students examine the outline map and shade the Deccan plateau, then mark Devagiri. Teacher asks: 'What geographic feature do you notice about the Maratha homeland — mountains, coast, plateau — and why might that shape the people who live there?' Students share observations in pairs.
8-20Teacher narrates: The Marathas are identified by the Marathi language, which has a literary history from the 12th century. The Yadava dynasty ruled from Devagiri until the Khilji Sultanate overthrew them in the early 14th century. Through these political upheavals, bhakti saints — Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Tukaram, Ramdas — composed devotional poetry in Marathi, translated the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, and made philosophy accessible to ordinary people. Students annotate their maps with two labels: 'Yadava capital: Devagiri' and 'Khilji conquest: early 14th century.'
20-33Students individually answer: 'The bhakti saints wrote in Marathi rather than Sanskrit. What does this choice tell you about who they wanted to reach, and how did it help build a shared Maratha identity across different social groups?' Students write 3–4 sentences connecting the linguistic choice to cultural inclusion.
33-45Class shares responses. Teacher consolidates: the bhakti movement created a shared cultural foundation that crossed caste lines — similar to what the Sikh gurus did in Punjab — and this cultural cohesion preceded and enabled later political organisation. Students note one 'cultural foundation' and one 'political awareness' insight in the margin of their map.
Assessment

Competency (C-2.1). Analyse major historical changes constituted by the rise, expansion, and fall of the Maratha Empire

Learning outcome. Students can trace the cultural and political preconditions that enabled a people to organise as a historical power.

The bhakti saints of Maharashtra chose to write devotional poetry in Marathi rather than Sanskrit. What was the most significant political consequence of this choice for the Maratha people?

  • A It allowed ordinary people across different social groups to access shared cultural and philosophical ideas, building a common identity.
  • B It led directly to the military defeat of the Khilji Sultanate by uniting Maratha warriors.
  • C It made the Marathi language the official administrative language of the Yadava dynasty at Devagiri.
  • D It replaced Sanskrit entirely in Hindu religious ceremonies across the Deccan plateau.

A. It allowed ordinary people across different social groups to access shared cultural and philosophical ideas, building a common identity.

What each wrong option reveals

  • B Conflates cultural production with direct military causation; the chapter does not claim the bhakti movement led to military campaigns against the Khiljis.
  • C Confuses the linguistic-cultural choice with administrative policy; the Yadava dynasty predated the bhakti saints' movement and Sanskrit was the court language.
  • D Overstates the scope of the Marathi choice; the bhakti saints added Marathi to religious discourse, they did not abolish Sanskrit from ceremonies.
Chapter 3 · 16 periods of 45 min

Also saved as 10 periods or 13 periods.

  • 2Shivaji's Early Campaigns: Swarājya Takes Shape
  • 3Coronation and Conquest: Chhatrapati Shivaji's Formal Empire
  • 4After Shivaji: Survival, Dispersal, and Northward Expansion
  • 5Confederacy, Peshwas, and the Limits of Empire
  • 6Civilian Administration: Abolishing Hereditary Power
  • 7Military Might: Cavalry, Forts, and Artillery
  • 8Maritime Supremacy: The Maratha Navy and European Trade Passes
  • 9Justice and Trade: Two Pillars of the Maratha State
  • 10Cultural Revival: Swarājya in Language, Symbol, and Faith
  • 11Tarabai and Ahilyabai: Leadership Beyond the Battlefield
  • 12Thanjavur: Maratha Rule and a Syncretic Cultural Flourishing
  • 13Chauth, Sardeshmukhi, and the Politics of Protection
  • 14The Maratha Legacy: Empire, Culture, and the Seeds of Independence
  • 15Bhakti, Swarājya, and Inclusion: The Cultural Foundations Revisited
  • 16Swarājya: A Whole-Chapter Synthesis
Exploring Society: India and Beyond · Class 8 · 15 chapters

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