Of the five major political centers of the Mauryan Empire mentioned in the Asokan inscriptions, which one served as its capital?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Pataliputra
The Mauryan Empire had five major political centres, all mentioned in Asokan inscriptions: the capital Pataliputra and the provincial centres of Taxila, Ujjayini, Tosali and Suvarnagiri. Almost the same message was engraved on the inscriptions everywhere, from the north-west of present-day Pakistan to Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Uttarakhand.
NCERT (2025-26): “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. If we examine the content of these inscriptions, we find virtually the same message engraved everywhere – from the present-day North West Frontier Provinces of Pakistan, to Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Uttarakhand in India. Could this vast empire have had a uniform administrative system?…” |