Match List – I (Mahajanpadas) with List – II (Capitals) and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists :
List – I: A. Matsya, B. Kuru, C. Sursena, D. Asmak
List – II: 1. Mathura,

Question

Match List – I (Mahajanpadas) with List – II (Capitals) and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists :
List – I: A. Matsya, B. Kuru, C. Sursena, D. Asmak
List – II: 1. Mathura, 2. Potan, 3. Virat Nagar, 4. Indraprastha

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — C, A-3, B-4, C-1, D-2. Among the sixteen mahajanapadas of the 6th century BCE: Matsya had its capital at Viratanagar (Virat Nagar / Bairat, in modern Rajasthan) → A-3; the Kuru mahajanapada was centred on Indraprastha (in the region of modern Delhi) → B-4; Surasena's capital was Mathura → C-1; and Asmaka (Assaka), the only mahajanapada south of the Vindhyas, had its capital at Potana/Potali (Potan, on the Godavari) → D-2. Only option (c) pairs all four correctly.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Wrong — it makes Matsya's capital Indraprastha and Kuru's capital Potan, and places Asmaka at Virat Nagar; only Surasena–Mathura (C-1) is correct here.  (b) Wrong — Matsya–Virat Nagar (A-3) and Asmaka–Potan (D-2) are right, but it wrongly assigns Mathura to Kuru and Indraprastha to Surasena.  (d) Wrong — every pair is misplaced: Matsya→Potan, Kuru→Virat Nagar, Surasena→Indraprastha, Asmaka→Mathura; none is a correct capital.

Concept: The sixteen mahajanapadas ('great realms') were the major territorial states of northern and central India in the 6th–5th centuries BCE, listed in Buddhist texts such as the Anguttara Nikaya. Each had a capital that was often a fortified urban centre; UPSC/UPPSC repeatedly test the mahajanapada–capital pairings and their approximate geography.

State PCS 2020 Q6 — History PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2020 Q6 — History PYQ with Answer