Ans: A

Exp:

According to Anguttara Nikaya there were the following Mahajanapadas:

(i) Anga (including the modern districts of Monghyr and Bhagalpur in Bihar) with its capital of Champa.

(ii) Magadha (covering the districts of Patna, Gaya, and parts of Shahabad) with its earlier capital at Rajgriha or Girivraj. 

(iii) Vajji (8 confederacy of eight republican clans, situated to the north of the river Ganga in Bihar) with its capital Vaishali. 

(iv) Malla (also a republic all confederacy covering the modern districts of Deoria, Basu, Gorakhpur, and Siddharthnagar in eastern Uttar Pradesh) with two capitals at Kusinara and Pawa.

(v) Kasi with its capital at Varanasi.

(vii)  Kosala (covering the present district of  Faizabad, Gonda, Bahraich, etc.), with its capital at Sravasti. 

(vii) Vatsa (covering the modern districts Allahabad, Mirzapur, etc.), with its capital at Kausambi. 

(viii) Chedi, (covering the modern Bundelkhand area with its capital at Shuktimati). 

(ix) Kuru (covering the modern Haryana and Delhi area to the west of river Yamuna) with its capital at Indraprastha (modern Delhi). 

(x) Panchala (covering the area of western Uttar Pradesh up to the east or river Yamuna up to the Kosaia Janapada) with its capital at Ahichhatra. 

(xi) Surasena (covering Brij Mandal with its capital at Mathura). 

(xii) Matsya (covering the area of Alwar, Bharatpur, and Jaipur in Rajasthan). 

(xiii) Avanti (modern Malwa) with its capital at Ujjayini and Mahishmati.

(xiv) Ashmaka (between the rivers Narmada and Godavari) with its capital at Potana. 

(xv) Gandhara (area covering the western part of Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan) with its capitals at Taxila and Pushkalavati.

(xvi) Kamboja is identified with the modern district of Hazara district of Pakistan.

Ans: B

Exp:

There were non-monarchical states in Ancient India which can be called republics or ganasanghas. Buddhist texts reveal that during the time of the Buddha there were many such republican states.

 Some of the important ones were: 

(i) Mallas of Kusinara 

(ii) Mallas of Pava 

(iii) Sakyas of Kapilavastu 

(iv) Koliyas of Ramagrama 

(v) Moriyas of Pipphalivana 

(vi) Bulis of Nakappa 

(vii) Kalamas of Kesaputta 

(viii) Bhaggas of Sumsumaragiri 

(ix) Lichchhavis of Vaisali

The Vajjis were the most important republican state during the period of Buddha. 

Ans: B

Exp:

Statement 1 is correct:  The earliest important ruler of Magadh was the king Bimbisara, who ruled for 52 years from 544 BC to 492 BC. He pursued a three-pronged policy, namely, matrimonial alliances, friendship with strong rulers and conquest of weak neighbours to expand the empire. He was a contemporary of both Buddha and Mahavira and paid equal respect to them.

Statement 2 is correct: Under the policy of matrimonial alliances, he married the sister of Prasenjit, the king of Kosala. She brought in dowry the territory of Kashi, which yielded a revenue of 1,00,000 coins.

Statement 3 is incorrect: He also conquered Anga by defeating its ruler Brahmadatta. Anga and specially its capital Champa were important for the inland and maritime trade. Thus, Kashi and conquest of Anga became the launching pad for the expansion of Magadh. Bimbisara did not make Champa his capital. He conquered Anga and its capital Champa, which were important for trade, but his capital remained Rajagriha (modern Rajgir) in Magadh.

Ans: B

Exp:

The earliest important ruler of Magadh was the king Bimbisara, who ruled for 52 years from 544 BC to 492 BC. He was a contemporary of both Buddha and Mahavira and paid equal respect to them. Hence, option 1 is correct.

During the time of Buddha, the Lichchhavis, under the leadership of Chetaka, were the most prominent gana in the Vajji sangha. They are also called Kshatriyas. Hence, option 2 is correct.

Gautama Buddha, or Siddhartha, was a contemporary of Mahavira. According to tradition, he was born in 567 BC in a Shakya Kshatriya family in Lumbini in Nepal, near Kapilavastu. Hence, option 3 is correct.

Mahapadma Nanda ( 4th century BCE) was the first Emperor of the Nanda Empire of ancient India. He was not a contemporary of Gautama Buddha.

Ans: A

Exp:

Statement 1 is incorrect: Bimbisara ruled for fifty-two years, roughly from 544 to 492 BC. He was succeeded by his son Ajatashatru (492–60 BC). Ajatashatru killed his father and seized the throne for himself. Ajatasatru was succeeded by Udayin. Udayin was succeeded by the dynasty of Shishunaga. 

Statement 2 is correct: Ajatasatru was an aggressive person and first came into conflict with his maternal uncle Prasenajit, who was aggrieved by the treatment meted out to Bimbisara. He asked Ajatasatru to return the territory of Kasi, which was given to his mother in dowry. Ajatasatru refused and it was only after a fierce battle Prasenajit agreed to leave Kasi with Magadh. Similarly he fought with his maternal grandfather Chetaka, the chief of Vaishali and after 16 long years of war Ajatasatru succeeded in breaking the might of Vaishali. Therefore, he not only retained Kasi, but also added Vaishali to Magadh.

Statement 3 is incorrect: Ajatashatru was succeeded by Udayin (460–44 BC). His reign is important because he is said to have built a fort at the confluence of the Ganges and Son at Patna. This was done because Patna lay at the centre of the Magadhan kingdom, which now extended from the Himalayas in the north to the hills of Chhotanagpur in the south. Patna’s position, as will be seen later, was crucially strategic.