Identify the correct statements for the army of the Mauryan empire:
(A) Megasthenes mentions a committee with six subcommittees for coordinating military activity.
(B) One committee looked after the navy.
(C) The second committee looked after transport and provisions.
(D) The third committee was responsible for agriculture.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → (A), (B) and (C) only
(A) Megasthenes mentions a committee with six subcommittees for coordinating military activity. Correct. Megasthenes describes this committee, which shows how the army, an important means of protecting those on the move across the empire, was organised.
(B) One committee looked after the navy. Correct. The first of the six subcommittees looked after the navy.
(C) The second committee looked after transport and provisions. Correct. Its work was varied: arranging bullock carts to carry equipment, procuring food for soldiers and fodder for animals, and recruiting servants and artisans.
(D) The third committee was responsible for agriculture. Incorrect. The third was responsible for foot-soldiers; the fourth, fifth and sixth looked after horses, chariots and elephants. All six were military, and none dealt with agriculture.
NCERT (2025-26): “3.2 Administering the empire … Megasthenes mentions a committee with six subcommittees for coordinating military activity. Of these, one looked after the navy, the second managed transport and provisions, the third was responsible for foot-soldiers, the fourth for horses, the fifth for chariots and the sixth for elephants. The activities of the second subcommittee were rather varied: arranging for bullock carts to carry equipment, procuring food for soldiers and fodder for animals, and recruiting servants and artisans to look after the soldiers.…” |