The rise of Mahajanapadas has NOT been causally linked to:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → The threat of foreign conquest
The rise of the mahajanapadas in the sixth century BCE belongs to an era of early states, cities, the growing use of iron and coinage; each option is checked against these developments.
Option (1) Growth of trade and Urbanisation — Correct statement. The period is associated with cities and coinage; urbanisation in the Ganga valley, the mahajanapadas and punch-marked coins all date to c. 600-500 BCE.
Option (2) Extensive use of Iron — Correct statement. The era is associated with the growing use of iron.
Option (3) The threat of foreign conquest — Incorrect statement. No foreign threat is linked to the rise of the mahajanapadas. The first foreign invasion in this period, that of Alexander of Macedon, came in c. 327-325 BCE, about two centuries after the mahajanapadas arose.
Option (4) Agrarian expansion — Correct statement. From c. sixth century BCE plough agriculture spread in fertile river valleys such as that of the Ganga, and paddy transplantation raised production.
NCERT (2026-27): “2.1 The sixteen mahajanapadas … The sixth century BCE is often regarded as a major turning point in early Indian history. It is an era associated with early states, cities, the growing use of iron, the development of coinage, etc. It also witnessed the growth of diverse systems of thought, including Buddhism and Jainism. Early Buddhist and Jaina texts (see also Chapter 4) mention, amongst other things, sixteen states known as mahajanapadas.… 5.2 Strategies for increasing production … One such strategy was the shift to plough agriculture, which spread in fertile alluvial river valleys such as those of the Ganga and the Kaveri from c. sixth century BCE. The iron-tipped ploughshare was used to turn the alluvial soil in areas which had high rainfall.…”
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