Choose the correct options given below regarding 'Magadha'.

A. Brahmaputra provided a means of cheap communication.
B. Between the sixth and fourth centuries B.C.E. Magadha became the most powerful 'mahajanapada'.
C. Taxila was the prominent capital.
D. The growth of the Magadha culminated in the emergence of the Mauryan Empire.
E. Bimbisara and Ajatasattu were not ambitious.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

B, D only

The correct answer is Option (1) → B, D only

Given statements regarding 'Magadha':

A. Brahmaputra provided a means of cheap communication.
B. Between the sixth and fourth centuries B.C.E. Magadha became the most powerful 'mahajanapada'.(Correct)
C. Taxila was the prominent capital.
D. The growth of the Magadha culminated in the emergence of the Mauryan Empire. (Correct)
E. Bimbisara and Ajatasattu were not ambitious.

Between the sixth and the fourth centuries BCE, Magadha (in present-day Bihar) became the most powerful mahajanapada. Modern historians explain this development in a variety of ways: Magadha was a region where agriculture was especially productive. Besides, iron mines (in present-day Jharkhand) were accessible and provided resources for tools and weapons. Elephants, an important component of the army, were found in forests in the region. Also, the Ganga and its tributaries provided a means of cheap and convenient communication. 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 present-day 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 growth of Magadha culminated in the emergence of the Mauryan Empire. Chandragupta Maurya, who founded the empire (c. 321 BCE), extended control as far northwest as Afghanistan and Baluchistan, and his grandson Asoka, arguably the most famous ruler of early India, conquered Kalinga (present-day coastal Orissa).

There were five major political centres in the Mauryan empire – the capital Pataliputra and the provincial centres of Taxila, Ujjayini, Tosali and Suvarnagiri, all mentioned in Asokan inscriptions.