With reference to ancient India (600–322 BC), consider the following pairs:

How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. Only three
4. All the four

Explanation

Pair I is correct

• The Assakas (Asmaka) inhabited the banks of the Godavari River near modern Paithan in Maharashtra, which has been identified with ancient Pratishthana—their capital. It was the only Mahajanapada located south of the Vindhya Range, in the region known as Dakshinapatha.

Pair II is incorrect

• Kamboja was located somewhere close to Gandhara, around the present-day Poonch area. Vipas (Beas River) passes through Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.

Pair III is incorrect

• The core area of this kingdom would roughly correspond to the Ujjain district of Madhya Pradesh, extending up to the river Narmada. It had another important city, Mahismati, which is sometimes mentioned as its capital. Mahanadi mainly flows through Chhattisgarh and Odisha.

Pair IV is correct

• Kosala was bound by the Sadanira (modern-day Gandak) on the east and the Gomati on the west, the Sarpika or Syandika (Sai) on the south, and the Nepal hills to the north. The Sarayu River divided it into a northern and a southern part. Shravasti (identified with modern Saheth Maheth) was the capital of north Kosala, and Kushavati was the capital of south Kosala.
• Pasenadi (Prasenajit), king of Kosala, was the Buddha’s contemporary and is frequently mentioned in Pali texts.

Answer: (b) Only two; Difficulty Level: Hard