UPSC Previous Year Question | Prelims GS | 2025

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

Answer

Correct Answer

Only two

Explanation

Asmaka was situated along the Godavari river and Kosala along the Sarayu river, making pairs I and IV correct. Kamboja is associated with the region around present-day Afghanistan/Kashmir (not the Vipasa/Beas specifically as its defining river in this context) and Avanti is associated with the Shipra river, not the Mahanadi, making II and III incorrect. Hence only two pairs are correctly matched.

Topics: geography of ancient india, history, mahajanapadas