Mahajanapadas & The Magadhan Empire MCQ Questions

Correct Answer: (C) Avanti

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Pradyota is the founder of the dynasty and the ruler of Avanti. He is said to be the son of Pulika who is said to have killed his master at Ujjain, to make his son the King. Pradyota was a contemporary of Buddha & Bimbisara and found his name in Mahavagga (a part of Vinaya Pitaka) & Puranas. He is said to have ruled for 23 years. Bimbisara sends his Doctor (Raj Vaidhya) Jivak to Pradyota for treatment of Jaundice.

Correct Answer: (C) Mahendra

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The name of the ruler of Kosala, the Mahendra, is mentioned over the Samudragupta's "Prayag prashasti".

Correct Answer: (C) Kalinga

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Hathigumpha inscription indicates the Kalinga victory of Nanda’s King Mahapadmananda. According to this, King Nanda took away the statue of King Jinsen and built a canal in Kalinga.

Correct Answer: (C) Avantika

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Ujjain, located in Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh, is considered as the ancient historical town of India. This was one of the two capitals of Avanti which was one among the 16 Mahajanapadas. It is also known as Avantika.

Correct Answer: (C) Matsya, Avanti, Vatsa, Anga

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Options A, B, C, and D show Matsya, Avanti, Vatsa and Anga Mahajanapada respectively. Matsya Mahajanapada was located in the Jaipur region of Rajasthan. Viratnagar was its capital. Avanti Mahajanapada was located in the west and central region of Malwa. It had two parts- Northern Avanti (capital-Ujjayini) and Southern Avanti (capital-Mahishmati). Modern Allahabad and Banda districts constituted Vatsa Mahajanapada in ancient times. Its capital was Kaushambi. Modern Bhagalpur and Munger districts of Bihar were under the Anga Mahajanapada. Its capital was Champa.

Correct Answer: (C) 08

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Out of 16 Mahajanapadas, 8 were present in modern Uttar Pradesh.
Kuru – Meerut, Delhi and Thaneshwar Panchala - Bareilly, Badaun Shurasena – Near Mathura
Vatsa – Allahabad and Banda Koshal – Awadh area
Malla – Deoria Kashi – Varanasi
Chedi – Bundelkhand area

Correct Answer: (D) Anga

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Champa (Campa) was the capital of Anga Mahajanpada. It covers the modern districts of Munger and Bhagalpur in Bihar. It was later annexed to Magadha by Bimbisara. Magadha was located on its west.

Correct Answer: (C) Chedi

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In Sixth Century BC, Chedi Mahajanapada was located in modern Bundelkhand and its adjacent parts. Its capital was ‘Sotthivati’ which is known as ‘Suktimati’ of Mahabharata.

Correct Answer: (C) Assaka

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According to the Buddhist text ‘Anguttara Nikaya’ and Jain text ‘Bhagvati Sutra,’ the ‘Assaka’ or ‘Ashmaka’ was located in between Godavari and Narmada River during the 6th century whose capital was Paithan/Potan or Potali (Ancient name Prathisthana).

Correct Answer: (B) Kosala 3. Ahichhatra

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The location of 16 Mahajanapadas of the 6th century B.C. are found in Buddhist text “Anguttara Nikaya” and Jain text “Bhagavati Sutra”. The correctly matched list of Mahajanapadas and their Capitals is as follows:
Mahajanapads Capitals
Kuru - Indraprastha
Panchal - Ahichhatra
Kosala - Saket
Vatsa - Kaushambi