KSEEB Solutions for Class 8 English Prose Chapter 7 The Great Sacrifice
KSEEB Solutions for Class 8 English Prose Chapter 7 The Great Sacrifice
Karnataka State Board Class 8 English Prose Chapter 7 The Great Sacrifice
The Great Sacrifice Questions and Answers, Summary, Notes
Pre-Reading Task:
a) Read the extract from the Mahabharata and answer the following questions:
Kunti went to her son Karna and requested him not to reuse an arrow at the battlefield against Arjuna. Karna happily gave the boon. He thought that his mother was greater than his boon. Later on, he was easily killed by Arjuna in the battlefield as he would not re-use the arrow.
Question 1.
Why did Kunti go to Karna?
Answer:
Kunti went to Karna to ask for his Karna kundala and kavacha. She also requested him not to reuse an arrow in the battlefield against Arjuna.
Question 2.
Was Kunti right in taking away the three boons? Explain.
Answer:
No. She was not right in taking away the three boons. She knew that Karna could easily be killed without his armour. She wanted to save Arjuna by making Karna helpless.
Question 3.
What was the sacrifice made by Karna?
Answer:
Karna sacrificed not only his protective armour but also his life for the sake of his mother. He considered his mother’s wish more important than his life.
b) Discuss these points with your classmates:
Question 1.
What is the greatest thing that you can appreciate in your mother? Is it to give up everything she has for her child? Is it to give up her life for her child?
Answer:
Mother is considered to be God’s representative on the earth to take care of his children. Nothing can equal a mother’s love. A mother brings up her child with all the affection and love. In times of difficulty she is even ready to sacrifice everything she has for the sake of her child She does not care for her own comforts. Sometimes she sacrifices her own life. Both of these qualities are great. Only a mother does these and no one else. When it comes to the question of my mother, I do not want her to give up anything for me. I want her to lead a happy and contented life. I would do my best to keep her so.
I. Comprehension:
Answer the following in two or three sentences each:
Question 1.
Why were Padma and Panna worried?
Answer:
Padma and Panna were worried because everything was going wrong since the death of Ranaji. No one in the state of Mewar was happy.
Question 2. a.
Name the person who was ambitious.
Answer:
Banbir, a half brother of Prince Udai Singh.
Question b.
What is he compared to?
Answer:
He is compared to a snake.
Question c.
Why were the other nobles powerless against him?
Answer:
The nobles had become mean and selfish. They were quarrelling among themselves. Though they hated Banbir, they were not strong enough to go against him.
Question 3. a.
What did Banbir make up his mind to do?
Answer:
He resolved to kill Prince Udai Singh.
Question b.
Why had he resolved to do this?
Answer:
He wanted to become the permanent Rana of Mewar.
Question 4. a.
What did the Prince’s mother tell Panna when she was dying?
Answer:
The Prince’s mother told Panna that she had lost everything except her son. She was leaving him in her charge. She asked Panna to bring him up like her own child and protect him from all harm.
Question b.
What did Panna promise the Rani?
Answer:
Panna promised the queen that she would give her life to save the life of the prince.
Question 5. a.
What news did Champa bring?
Answer:
Champa said that Banbir was talking to a man outside, and he would be there in a few minutes.
Question b.
What did Banbir have in his hand?
Answer:
Banbir had a naked sword in his hand.
Question 6. a.
Why did Panna change the Prince’s clothes?
Answer:
Panna wanted to dress her own son in the Prince’s clothes. (She wanted the prince to look like an ordinary child.)
Question b.
Where did she put him?
Answer:
She put him in a basket.
Question c.
What did she cover him with?
She covered him with flowers and leaves.
Question 7.
Whose clothes did Panna make her baby wear? Whose bed did she put him in?
Answer:
Panna made her baby wear the Prince’s clothes. She’ put him in the ivory bed of the Prince.
Question 8.
Who did Banbir kill? Did he realise his mistake?
Answer:
Banbir killed Panna’s son, thinking that he was the Prince. He did not realise his mistake.
Question 9.
What are the main qualities you appreciate in Panna? Give reasons in support of your answer.
Answer:
Panna was a brave and courageous woman. In the time of danger she did not lose heart. She decided quickly what she should do to save the Prince’s life. She did not hesitate to sacrifice the life of her own son. She showed utmost courage and presence of mind. She was ready to do anything to keep her promise. Her resolute mind and loyalty deserve our appreciation.
Multiple Choice Questions:
Four alternatives are given for each of the following questions/ incomplete statements. Choose the most appropriate alternative.
Question 1.
The nurse of the infant Udai Singh was
A) Padma
B) Panna
C) Champa
D) Kunti
Answer:
B) Panna
Question 2.
The half-brother of Udai Singh who was ruling Mewar was
A) Kama
B) Ranaji
C) Rana Sangha
D) Banbir
Answer:
D) Banbir
Question 3.
The scene in the play takes place in the palace of
A) Chittoor
B) Mewar
C) Jodhpur
D) Udaipur
Answer:
A) Chittoor
Question 4.
Padma and Panna were worried because
A) both the Prince and Panna’s son were asleep
B) there was discontent among the people
C) everything was going wrong since the death of Ranaji
D) Banbir had resolved to kill the prince
Answer:
C) everything was going wrong since the death of Ranaji
Question 5.
Banbir is compared to
A) a snake
B) the Rana of Mewar
C) a fox
D) a murderer
Answer:
A) a snake
Question 6.
The nobles were powerless against Banbir because
A) they were quarrelling among themselves
B) they had become mean and selfish
C) they were not strong enough to oppose him
D) all of the above
Answer:
D) all of the above
Question 7.
Banbir had resolved to
A) become the permanent Rana of Mewar
B) kill the prince Udai Singh
C) kill some of the nobles
D) form a party of his own
Answer:
B) kill the prince Udai Singh
Question 8.
Panna had promised the Rani that
A) she would give her life to save the life of the prince
B) she would make the prince, the permanent Rana of Me war
C) she would be a mother to the prince and protect him from all harm
D) she would save the prince from Banbir
Answer:
A) she would give her life to save the life of the prince
Question 9.
Champa brought the news that
A) Banbir is talking to a man outside
B) Banbir is only a hundred yards away from there
C) Banbir is coming to kill the prince
D) All of the above
Answer:
D) All of the above
Question 10.
Panna saved the life of the prince by
A) putting him in a basket and sending it out of the palace
B) dressing her own child in the clothes of the prince
C) putting her own child in the prince’s bed
D) all of the above
Answer:
D) all of the above
Question 11.
Panna kept her promise to the Rani by
A) saving the life of the prince
B) making him the Rana of Mewar
C) taking the prince out of the palace
D) taking the prince to Asa Jha for protection
Answer:
D) taking the prince to Asa Jha for protection
Vocabulary:
A. Use the following present time expressions in meaningful sentences:
(still, yet, now, just).
He has still not completed his work.
He hasn’t come yet.
He has just gone out.
She has cooked some food now.
III. Rewrite these sentences using words given in brackets at the appropriate places:
a) The children have returned from the zoo. (just)
The children have just returned from the zoo.
b) I have had a ride on a camel, (never)
I have never had a ride on a camel.
c) We have had our lunch, (already)
We have had our lunch already.
d) Lata has sung before foreign audiences, (often)
Lata has often sung before foreign audiences.
e) I have seen the Republic Day Parade, (only once in my life)
I have seen the Republic Day parade only once in my life.
IV. Use the present perfect tense of the verbs given in brackets and fill in the blanks to complete the sentence:
V. a. Match the words in column A with their antonyms in column B:
| A | B |
| Strong | Inside |
| Like | Begin |
| End | Dislike |
| Out side | Weak |
Answer:
strong × weak
like × dislike
end × begin
outside × inside.
b) Fill in the blanks with words from the first column and add sentences using words from column B as well:
1. Don’t go It is raining.
Don’t go outside. It is raining. Stay inside.
2. The hero dies at the of the film.
The hero dies at the end of the film. Now, let’s begin our work.
3. All of us ice cream.
All of us like ice cream. Arun dislikes it.
4. This chair is You cannot break it.
This chair is strong. You cannot break it. You’re weak. You cannot even lift it.
c) Fill in the blanks using the correct tense forms of the verbs given in brackets:
The farmers and their families ………. a ………. (be) in their fields since six O’ clock in the morning. The farmers ……. b …….. (plough) their fields and their wives …….. c …….. (sow) the seeds. Their daughters …….. d …….. (put) earth on the seeds and their sons ………… e ……….. (water) the fields.
Answer:
a – have been
b – have ploughed
c – have sowed
d – have put
e – have watered.
d) Rewrite the above passage in the singular form. Begin this way.
A farmer and his family ……………. (be) in their field since six O’ clock in the morning.
Answer:
A farmer and his family has been in their field since six o’clock in the morning. The farmer has ploughed his field and his wife has sowed the seeds. His daughter has put earth (soil) on the seeds and his son has watered the field.
e) Imagine that the above scene took place yesterday. Rewrite the passage making minor alterations where necessary:
First sentence:
At 5 o’clock in the morning the farmers ……………. (plough) …………
Answer:
At 5 o’clock in the morning the farmers were ploughing their fields. The farmers ploughed their fields, and their wives sowed the seeds. Their daughters gut earth (mud) on the seeds and their sons watered the fields.
VI. Use the correct forms of the verbs given in brackets and fill in the blanks:
a. My wife …………. (try) to get a job but she has not succeeded yet.
b. The patient has had biscuits and has also ………..(drink) a glass of milk.
c. The bridegroom has ……….. (decide) not to take a single paisa as dowry.
d. The farmers had ………….. (know) that the sheaf of corn would fall.
e. The village Panchayat has …………. (nominate) my father as a member of the Panchayat.
Answer:
a – has been trying
b – drunk
c – decided
d – known
e – nominated.
VII. Imagine that Panna has just come out of the bed-chamber and is talking to you. Complete this paragraph:
Panna: I ……. a …… (save) Udai Singh’s life. I ……. b ……. (hide) him in a basket. Padma and Champa ……. c …… (take) the basket out. Banbir ……. d ……. (kill) my innocent little baby but I am not heart-broken. I …….. e ……… (do) my duty. I ………. f ……… (keep) my promise to the late queen.
Answer:
a – have saved
b – have hidden
c – have taken
d – has killed
e – have done
f – have kept.
The Great Sacrifice Summary in English
Characters:
Panna – The nurse of the infant Udai Singh.
Padma and Champa – Maids.
Banbir – a half-brother of Udai Singh, who was ruling Mewar for Udai Singh.
When the curtain rises we find infant prince Udai Singh sleeping on his ivory bed and Panna, his nurse, sitting on another bed. Her son, who is of the same age as the prince, is asleep beside her.
Padma, a maid, comes in. Panna and Padma are greatly worried about the political situation in Mewar. From their conversation we learn that Banbir, the half brother of the prince, had become ambitious. He had killed some nobles and suppressed the others. He had become an autocrat. Everyone was afraid of him. After the death of Ranaji nothing was going right. No one was happy. The nobles had become mean and selfish and quarrelsome. There was discontent among the people and in the army. Though Banbir was not liked by anyone, no one was courageous enough to oppose him.
Panna compares him to a snake. She says Banbir is an ungrateful person, and a curse to the house of Mewar. Padma tells her that Banbir was planning to become the permanent Rana of Mewar, and that he had decided to kill prince Udai Singh. Panna says, if Banbir has resolved to kill the prince, she has resolved to save the prince. Panna recalls the day on which she had promised the dying queen, the mother of Udai Singh, that she would give her life to save the life of the prince.
While Panna and Padma are talking, Champa, another maid, comes in running. She informs Panna that she had seen Banbir rushing towards the bed chamber of the prince with a sword in his hand. Panna requests Champa and Padma to help her. She lifts Udai Singh from the bed, changes his clothes and puts him in a basket and then covers him with flowers and leaves. She asks Padma and Champa to take the basket out of the palace and to hide themselves near the gate. She says that she would join them later. Champa is afraid that no one in Mewar would help them. Panna assures them saying that they would go to Asa Shah, a good and reliable man. Panna is confident that he would definitely protect the prince.
The maids depart with the prince in the basket. Panna dresses her own son in the clothes of the prince and puts’him in the prince’s bed. She kisses him a number of times and lies down on her bed. Banbir comes in hurriedly and asks her where the prince is. She points to the bed where her own child is sleeping. Banbir, without thinking, rushes towards the bed and kills the child with his sword. Panna cries aloud and falls on her son’s body. Banbir goes out. Panna thus saves the life of prince Udai Singh and keeps her promise by sacrificing the life of her own son.
Glossary:
discontent – dissatisfaction, unrest
resolve – decide
precious – valuable or dear
trembling – shaking, quivering
shriek – scream, cry out
choked – suffocated
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