In the map given below, the dotted line marks:

A) the extent of the Kushan Empire
B) the extent of the Pallava Empire
C) the maximum extent of the Mauryan Empire
D) the maximum extent of the Satavahana Empire

The dotted line on the original map refers to the Kushan Empire during its peak under Kanishka I (2nd century CE). This empire was a transcontinental power that connected Central Asia with the Indian subcontinent.

• Territorial Extent: It stretched from the Oxus River in Central Asia through the Hindu Kush, covering modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Northern India as far as Pataliputra and Varanasi.
• Key Features: The empire was famous for its two capitals at Purushapura (Peshawar) and Mathura.
• Distinction: Unlike the Mauryan Empire (which covered nearly the entire subcontinent) or the Satavahana Empire (centered in the Deccan), the Kushan map is uniquely identified by its extension into Bactria and the Tarim Basin.