Identify the Mahajanapada which was geographically located in present-day Afghanistan.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Gandhara
Gandhara, one of the important mahajanapadas, lay in the far north-west of the subcontinent, around Taxila and Pushkalavati.
Note: The map of early states shows Gandhara in the far north-west, but the NCERT book (2026-27) does not name the present-day country it lies in. Gandhara covered the Peshawar valley of present-day north-western Pakistan and stretched west into eastern Afghanistan. This is explained here for the benefit of the students.
NCERT (2026-27): “2.2 First amongst the sixteen: Magadha … Early Buddhist and Jaina texts (see also Chapter 4) mention, amongst other things, sixteen states known as mahajanapadas. Although the lists vary, some names such as Vajji, Magadha, Koshala, Kuru, Panchala, Gandhara and Avanti occur frequently. Clearly, these were amongst the most important mahajanapadas.…”
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