When was the capital of Magadha shifted from Rajagaha to Pataliputra?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 3

The correct answer is Option (3) → Fourth century BCE

Note: This question is faulty, as NCERT contradicts itself, so there could be two answers to this question, the fourth century BCE (Option (3)) and the fifth century BCE (Option (2)). Both statements are in the chapter ‘Kings, Farmers and Towns’:

Main text, on Magadha: Rajagaha was at first the capital of Magadha; “Later, in the fourth century BCE, the capital was shifted to Pataliputra”.
Margin box ‘The history of Pataliputra’: “Then, in the fifth century BCE, the Magadhan rulers decided to shift their capital from Rajagaha to this settlement and renamed it.”

The answer given by NTA, Option (3), follows the main text. Both passages are given below.

NCERT (2026-27): “2.2 First amongst the sixteen: Magadha … However, early Buddhist and Jaina writers who wrote about Magadha attributed its power to the policies of individuals: ruthlessly ambitious kings of whom Bimbisara, Ajatasattu and Mahapadma Nanda are the best known, and their ministers, who helped implement their policies. Initially, Rajagaha (the Prakrit name for presentday Rajgir in Bihar) was the capital of Magadha. Interestingly, the old name means ‘house of the king’. Rajagaha was a fortified settlement, located amongst hills. Later, in the fourth century BCE, the capital was shifted to Pataliputra, present-day Patna, commanding routes of communication along the Ganga.…

The history of Pataliputra … Each city had a history of its own. Pataliputra, for instance, began as a village known as Pataligrama. Then, in the fifth century BCE, the Magadhan rulers decided to shift their capital from Rajagaha to this settlement and renamed it. By the fourth century BCE, it was the capital of the Mauryan Empire and one of the largest cities in Asia.…”