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UPSC Prelims 2025 GS Paper 1, question 17

Topic: Ancient history

Q17

With reference to ancient India (600–322 BC), 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 pairs given above are correctly matched?

  1. (a) Only one
  2. (b) Only twoCorrect answer
  3. (c) Only three
  4. (d) All the four

Solution.

Answer: (b) Only two

  1. Pair I is correctly matched: Asmaka (Assaka), the southernmost Mahajanapada in Dakshinapatha, was located along the banks of the Godavari river.
  2. Pair II is incorrectly matched: Kamboja was situated in the north-western frontier (Hindukush / Pamir-Badakhshan / Hazara region), whereas the Vipas (Beas) flows through Punjab.
  3. Pair III is incorrectly matched: Avanti (with capitals Ujjayini and Mahishmati) was located in the Malwa region drained by the Shipra and Narmada rivers, not the Mahanadi.
  4. Pair IV is correctly matched: Kosala (with capitals Shravasti and Ayodhya) was located in eastern Uttar Pradesh along the Sarayu (Ghaghara) river.