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
- (a)A-4, B-2, C-1, D-3
- (b)A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2
- (c)A-3, B-4, C-1, D-2
- (d)A-2, B-3, C-4, D-1
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.
- (a)A-4, B-2, C-1, D-3 — 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)A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2 — 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)A-2, B-3, C-4, D-1 — Wrong — every pair is misplaced: Matsya→Potan, Kuru→Virat Nagar, Surasena→Indraprastha, Asmaka→Mathura; none is a correct capital.
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.
Matching questions are best cracked by anchoring the pairs you are sure of and eliminating. Surasena–Mathura and Asmaka–Potan are the two most distinctive (Mathura is the Krishna/Surasena heartland; Asmaka is the lone Deccan state on the Godavari). Fixing those two immediately rules out options (a) and (d) and separates the true answer (c) from the trap (b).
- Matsya → Viratanagar (Bairat, modern Rajasthan)
- Kuru → Indraprastha (region of modern Delhi)
- Surasena → Mathura (associated with Krishna worship; the 'Sourasenoi' of Greek accounts)
- Asmaka/Assaka → Potana/Potali, the only mahajanapada in the Deccan, on the Godavari
The correct one-to-one mapping gives the code A-3, B-4, C-1, D-2 = option (c).
- Confusing Kuru's capital Indraprastha with Hastinapura
- Assuming Asmaka lay in the north — it was the sole Deccan mahajanapada on the Godavari
UPPSC/UPSC ask these as match-the-list or as map-based questions locating a mahajanapada — memorise the capital and the broad region together.
The following map shows four of the sixteen mahajanapadas that existed in ancient India. The places marked A, B, C and D respectively are
- (a) Matsya, Cedi, Kosala, Anga
- (b) Surasena, Avanti, Vatsa, Magadha
- (c) Matsya, Avanti, Vatsa, Anga
- (d) Surasena, Cedi, Kosala, Magadha
Answer(c) Matsya, Avanti, Vatsa, Anga
Same concept — identifying the sixteen mahajanapadas by their location; both reward knowing where each realm (and its capital) lay.
Consider the following pairs: Territorial region : River flowing in the region I. Asmaka : Godavari II. Kamboja : Vipas III. Avanti : Mahanadi IV. Kosala : Sarayu How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?
- (a) Only one
- (b) Only two
- (c) Only three
- (d) All four
Answer(b) Only two
Same concept — mahajanapada geography; it confirms Asmaka's association with the Godavari (the river of its capital Potana).
- practice — not a real PYQ
The capital of the Surasena mahajanapada was
- (a)Mathura
- (b)Viratanagar
- (c)Indraprastha
- (d)Ujjayini
Answer(a) Mathura — the Surasena heartland, later a major centre of Krishna worship.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which one of the following mahajanapadas was located in the Deccan, south of the Vindhyas?
- (a)Avanti
- (b)Asmaka
- (c)Kashi
- (d)Vatsa
Answer(b) Asmaka (Assaka) — the only one of the sixteen mahajanapadas in the Deccan, on the Godavari.