Question map
Not attempted Correct Incorrect ★ Bookmarked
Loading…
Q35 (CDS-I/2014) History & Culture › Ancient India › Mahajanapadas and Buddha Answer Verified

Which one of the following statements about ancient Indian Mahajanapadas is correct?

Result
Your answer: —  ·  Correct: D
Explanation

Ancient Indian history identifies sixteen major states known as Mahajanapadas during the sixth century BCE [2]. Early Buddhist texts, such as the Anguttara Nikaya, and Jaina texts like the Bhagavati Sutra provide lists of these sixteen states [2]. While the specific names in these lists vary slightly, they consistently recognize sixteen entities [5]. Regarding the other options: not all Mahajanapadas were oligarchies; many were monarchies ruled by kings, while others like the Vajji were ganas or sanghas (oligarchies) [2]. Geographically, they were not restricted to eastern India; they spanned from Gandhara in the northwest to Ashmaka in central India near the Godavari River [6]. Furthermore, these states maintained organized military forces, as evidenced by Magadha's use of elephants and iron weapons for conquest [4]. Therefore, only the statement regarding the Buddhist and Jaina lists is correct.

Sources

  1. [1] History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 3: Rise of Territorial Kingdoms and New Religious Sects > Sixteen Mahajanapadas > p. 35
  2. [2] THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART I, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 2: Kings, Farmers and Towns > 2.1 The sixteen mahajanapadas > p. 29
  3. [5] Exploring Society:India and Beyond ,Social Science-Class VII . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 4: New Beginnings: Cities and States > Janapadas and Mahājanapadas > p. 69
  4. [6] https://www.britannica.com/place/India/The-beginning-of-the-historical-period-c-500-150-bce
  5. [3] History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 4: Emergence of State and Empire > 4.1 Rise of Magadha under the Haryanka Dynasty > p. 47
  6. [4] THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART I, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 2: Kings, Farmers and Towns > 2.2 First amongst the sixteen: Magadha > p. 31
How others answered
Each bar shows the % of students who chose that option. Green bar = correct answer, blue outline = your choice.
Community Performance
Out of everyone who attempted this question.
60%
got it right
✓ Thank you! We'll review this.

SIMILAR QUESTIONS

NDA-I · 2025 · Q53 Relevance score: 2.67

Which one among the following mahajanapadas in ancient India was an oligarchy ?

IAS · 2004 · Q26 Relevance score: 2.08

With reference to ancient Jainism, which one of the following statements is correct?

IAS · 2012 · Q7 Relevance score: 1.62

With reference to the guilds (Shreni) of ancient India that played a very important role in the country’s economy, which of the following statements is/ are correct? 1. Every guild was registered with the central authority of the State and the king was the chief administrative authority on them. 2. The wages, rules of work, standards and prices were fixed by the guild. 3. The guild had judicial powers over its own members. Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

CDS-II · 2025 · Q58 Relevance score: 1.59

With reference to the "Amara-Nayaka system", which one of the following statements is not correct ?

CDS-I · 2025 · Q35 Relevance score: 1.58

Which one of the following statements about the Ajivikas is not correct ?