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The First Territorial States — Mahajanapadas — GK Questions with Answers

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14 questions
  1. Which of these is NOT true of a janapada?
    1. It literally means the land where the people set foot
    2. It was basically a farming settlement
    3. It was often named after the dominant Kshatriya clan
    4. Its rise shows that trade had become the chief factor in life
    Show answer

    Answer: (D) Its rise shows that trade had become the chief factor in life

    Janapadas were agricultural settlements; trade grew later.

  2. Which is the correct chronological order of invaders of ancient India? (IAS 2006)
    1. Greeks, Shakas, Kushanas
    2. Greeks, Kushanas, Shakas
    3. Shakas, Greeks, Kushanas
    4. Shakas, Kushanas, Greeks
    Show answer

    Answer: (A) Greeks, Shakas, Kushanas

    Greeks (326 BC onward), then Shakas, then Kushanas.

  3. Why did Magadha become the most important state about 2,600 years ago? 1. Buddhism and Jainism arose there 2. Able rulers enlarged it 3. Its geography and fertile plain 4. Plenty of elephants
    1. 1, 2 and 3
    2. 2, 3 and 4
    3. 1, 3 and 4
    4. All four
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) 2, 3 and 4

    The new faiths are not a cause of its political rise.

  4. Assertion (A): Urban states flourished in the 6th century BC because of iron. Reason (R): India got its iron by importing it from Europe and Central Asia.
    1. Both true, R explains A
    2. Both true, R does not explain A
    3. A true, R false
    4. A false, R true
    Show answer

    Answer: (C) A true, R false

    Iron was produced locally — from the ores of south Bihar and nearby.

  5. Which is the correct sequence of dynasties of Magadha?
    1. Brihadratha, Haryanka, Shishunaga, Nanda
    2. Haryanka, Brihadratha, Shishunaga, Nanda
    3. Haryanka, Shishunaga, Nanda, Brihadratha
    4. Brihadratha, Shishunaga, Haryanka, Nanda
    Show answer

    Answer: (A) Brihadratha, Haryanka, Shishunaga, Nanda

    The legendary Brihadrathas came first; the Nandas last before the Mauryas.

  6. Which king fixed the capital at Pataliputra for good, bringing it back from Vaishali?
    1. Ajatashatru
    2. Shishunaga
    3. Kalashoka
    4. Mahapadma Nanda
    Show answer

    Answer: (C) Kalashoka

    Shishunaga ruled from Vaishali for a while; his son Kalashoka returned to Pataliputra.

  7. Which factor lay behind Magadha’s supremacy? (a) rivers on three sides and Rajagriha ringed by five hills (b) fertile soil and plenty of iron ore
    1. Only (a)
    2. Only (b)
    3. Both (a) and (b)
    4. Neither
    Show answer

    Answer: (C) Both (a) and (b)

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  8. Who among these were contemporaries of Gautama Buddha? 1. Ajatashatru 2. Bimbisara 3. Prasenjit (IAS 2003)
    1. 1 only
    2. 2 and 3
    3. 1 and 3
    4. All three
    Show answer

    Answer: (D) All three

    All three ruled during the Buddha’s lifetime.

  9. Who is regarded by tradition as a founder of the Magadha kingdom?
    1. Brahmadatta
    2. Palaka
    3. Jarasandha
    4. Mahasena
    Show answer

    Answer: (C) Jarasandha

    Brihadratha and his son Jarasandha are the legendary founders.

  10. The capital of the Kamboja Mahajanapada was —
    1. Rajapura
    2. Taxila
    3. Suktimati
    4. Potana
    Show answer

    Answer: (A) Rajapura

    Kamboja lay in the far north-west; Taxila was Gandhara’s capital.

  1. Which ruler ended the rule of the Pradyotas in Avanti?
    1. Bimbisara
    2. Udayin
    3. Shishunaga
    4. Dhanananda
    Show answer

    Answer: (C) Shishunaga

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  2. The Kharosthi script developed from —
    1. Brahmi
    2. Aramaic
    3. Greek
    4. Sumerian
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) Aramaic

    Aramaic came with the Persian administration of the north-west.

  3. Porus ruled the land between which two rivers?
    1. Indus and Jhelum
    2. Jhelum and Chenab
    3. Chenab and Ravi
    4. Ravi and Beas
    Show answer

    Answer: (B) Jhelum and Chenab

    The Greeks called them the Hydaspes and the Acesines.

  4. Which Mahajanapada was a republic (gana-sangha)?
    1. Avanti
    2. Vatsa
    3. Malla
    4. Anga
    Show answer

    Answer: (C) Malla

    Vajji, Malla and Kamboja were the republics among the sixteen.

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