Chand-prodhyot was ruler of which ancient republic ?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — C, Avanti. Chanda Pradyota Mahasena (the 'Chand-prodhyot' of the paper) was the powerful ruler of Avanti, one of the sixteen mahajanapadas, with its northern capital at Ujjayini (Ujjain). He was a contemporary of the Buddha, of Bimbisara of Magadha and of Udayana of Vatsa. (The stem calls Avanti a 'republic', but Avanti was in fact a monarchy/kingdom — the genuine gana-sangha republics of that age were the Vajji and Malla confederacies.)

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Kashi (capital Varanasi) was a separate mahajanapada that was eventually absorbed by Kosala; it was not Pradyota's kingdom.  (b) Anga (capital Champa, in eastern Bihar) was annexed by Magadha under Bimbisara; it was never ruled by Pradyota.  (d) Vajji was itself a confederacy of republics (led by the Licchhavis of Vaishali), governed by an assembly rather than by a single monarch such as Pradyota — so it fits the word 'republic' but not the ruler.

Concept: By the 6th century BCE north India was organised into sixteen mahajanapadas — most were monarchies, a few were republics (gana-sanghas). Avanti, in western/central India, was one of the four most powerful monarchies; its northern capital was Ujjayini (Ujjain) and its southern capital Mahishmati. Its king Chanda Pradyota Mahasena was a leading political figure of the Buddha's time.

State PCS 2019 Q42 — History PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2019 Q42 — History PYQ with Answer