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?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) Only two
Of the sixteen mahajanapadas, Asmaka lay on the Godavari in the Deccan and Kosala around Ayodhya on the Sarayu, so those two pairs are right. Kamboja lay in the north-west beside Gandhara, not on the Vipas (the Beas of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab), and Avanti, whose capital was Ujjayini in western Madhya Pradesh, is nowhere near the Mahanadi.
- ✓ I Asmaka (Ashmaka) lay in central India close to the Godavari River, as NCERT says.
- ✗ II Kamboja lay in the north-west, beside Gandhara on NCERT's map of the early states. The Vipas is the Sanskrit name of the Beas, a river of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, so the pair is wrong.
- ✗ III Avanti's capital was Ujjayini (NCERT map), the present Ujjain in western Madhya Pradesh on the Malwa Plateau; the Mahanadi rises in Chhattisgarh and flows through Odisha.
- ✓ IV Kosala was the ancient kingdom whose capital was Ayodhya, which stands on the banks of the Saryu (Sarayu).
Remember · Mahajanapada rivers: Asmaka–Godavari (Deccan); Kosala–Sarayu (Ayodhya); Avanti–Ujjayini (Malwa); Kamboja–north-west, beside Gandhara; Vipas = Beas.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 7 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Ch 4 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 India: Physical Environment, Ch 3 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part I, Ch 2 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 7 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Chapter 4 “extending from Gandhara in the northwest to Anga in the east and to Ashmaka in central India, close to the Godavari River (see map).”
- District Ayodhya, Government of Uttar Pradesh: About District ↗ “Ayodhya is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu. … Ayodhya used to be the capital of the ancient Kosala Kingdom.”
- NCERT Class 11 · India: Physical Environment, Chapter 3 “The Mahanadi rises near Sihawa in Raipur district of Chhattisgarh and runs through Odisha to discharge its water into the Bay of Bengal.”
- NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part I, Chapter 2 “KAMBOJA GANDHARA Pushkalavati Taxila SHURASENA Mathura MATSYA Indraprastha Ahichchhatra KURU PANCHALA Kaushambi CHEDI AVANTI Ujjayini ASHMAKA”
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: Beas River (Sanskrit name Vipasha) ↗ · reference work “Also known as: Bias River, Hyphasis River, Vipasha River … river in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab states, northwestern India”
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: Ujjain ↗ · reference work “city, western Madhya Pradesh state, central India . It is located on the Malwa Plateau on the east side of the Sipra (Shipra) River”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2025, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·