In the Mauryan Empire, which centres were situated on important long-distance trade routes?
(A) Taxila
(B) Ujjayini
(C) Pataliputra
(D) Sarnath
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → (A) and (B) only
The Mauryan empire had five major political centres: the capital Pataliputra and the provincial centres of Taxila, Ujjayini, Tosali and Suvarnagiri. These centres were carefully chosen.
(A) Taxila — Correct. Taxila was situated on important long-distance trade routes.
(B) Ujjayini — Correct. Ujjayini too was situated on important long-distance trade routes.
(C) Pataliputra — Incorrect. Pataliputra was the capital of the empire; of the provincial centres, the ones picked out for their place on long-distance trade routes are Taxila and Ujjayini.
(D) Sarnath — Incorrect. Sarnath was not one of the political centres of the empire; it is the place where the Buddha gave his first sermon.
NCERT (2026-27): “3.2 Administering the empire … There were five major political centres in the empire – the capital Pataliputra and the provincial centres of Taxila, Ujjayini, Tosali and Suvarnagiri, all mentioned in Asokan inscriptions.… …It is likely that administrative control was strongest in areas around the capital and the provincial centres. These centres were carefully chosen, both Taxila and Ujjayini being situated on important long-distance trade routes, while Suvarnagiri (literally, the golden mountain) was possibly important for tapping the gold mines of Karnataka.…” |