CDS History · Ancient India
Mahajanapadas and the Mauryas
The Mahajanapadas and the rise of Magadha, the Mauryan state as the Arthashastra describes it, Ashoka's turn to Buddhism, and where his edicts stand.
Why this matters
Fifteen questions, the largest page in this chapter. Eight of them are about Ashoka and his inscriptions, so the edict sites and the stories of his conversion are worth learning name by name.
Concept 1 of 4: Mahajanapadas and the rise of Magadha
In the sixth century BCE north India had sixteen big states. Most were ruled by kings, a few by assemblies of many rulers. Magadha beat them all because its land gave it food, iron and elephants.
Definition
- Buddhist texts such as the Anguttara Nikaya list sixteen Mahajanapadas.
- Most were monarchies, such as Magadha, Kosala and Avanti. Some were ganas or sanghas, ruled by many people together; the best known is the Vajji confederacy, centred on Vaishali.
- Magadha rose because of fertile farmland in the middle Ganga plain, iron mines nearby, elephants from the forests for its army, and rivers for transport.
- Magadha's capital moved from Rajagaha to Pataliputra. Avanti's capital was Ujjayini; Kosala's was Shravasti.
- The ancient city of Mahishmati stood on the Narmada, near modern Maheshwar.
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2026 · CDS (I) 2026 — General Knowledge · Q65Moderate
Example 1 · Ancient India · Mahajanapadas and the Mauryas
Which of the following factors was/were responsible for the rise of Magadha as the most powerful Mahajanapada during the 6th century BCE ?
1. Region of productive agriculture
2. Accessibility to iron-mines
3. Availability of elephants in the region
Select the answer using the codes given below :
All three reasons for Magadha
Magadha's rise rested on fertile farmland, iron and elephants together. An option that keeps only one or two of them is incomplete.
Concept 2 of 4: The Mauryan state and the Arthashastra
Kautilya's Arthashastra is a handbook on running a state. It names the parts of a kingdom, the officers who ran it, and even what to do with forest peoples and famines.
Definition
- The saptanga (seven limbs) of the state: swami (king), amatya (ministers), janapada (territory and people), durga (fort), kosha (treasury), danda (army or force) and mitra (ally).
- Officers: the samahartri collected revenue; the samnidhatri kept the treasury and stores; the akshapatala kept records and accounts; the dauvarika headed the palace guard; the senapati led the army.
- Forest peoples (atavikas) were brought under control and used as soldiers, spies and assassins. The state claimed forest wealth for itself and punished the burning of forests.
- In a famine the Arthashastra tells the king to give people work on forts and irrigation in return for food.
- Ashoka's empire reached Baluchistan and Kashmir and took in north Bengal, but the Brahmaputra valley of Assam lay outside it.
| Office or term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Samahartri | Chief collector of revenueQ CDS 2024 (II): the Dauvarika paired with the army was the wrong match. |
| Samnidhatri | Treasurer and keeper of stores |
| Akshapatala | Office of records and accounts |
| Dauvarika | Chief of the palace guard |
| Senapati | Head of the army |
| Atavikas | Forest peoples; used as soldiers, spies and assassinsQ |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2022 · CDS (I) 2022 — General Knowledge · Q82Moderate
Example 2 · Ancient India · Mahajanapadas and the Mauryas
Which one of the following was not a part of Kautilya's Saptanga Theory of the State ?
Dhamma is not a limb of the state
Dhamma is Ashoka's word for his moral teaching. Kautilya's seven limbs are swami, amatya, janapada, durga, kosha, danda and mitra.
Dauvarika guarded the palace
The dauvarika was chief of the palace guard. The army was led by the senapati.
Concept 3 of 4: Ashoka's turn to Buddhism
The Kalinga war filled Ashoka with remorse and he became a Buddhist. His own edicts and the later Buddhist chronicles tell the story, but the chronicles do not agree on who first drew him to the faith.
Definition
- After the Kalinga war Ashoka felt deep remorse (Rock Edict XIII) and became a Buddhist.
- He did not disband his army or abolish the death penalty: a pillar edict gives condemned prisoners three days' respite.
- The Sri Lankan chronicles Mahavamsa and Dipavamsa say the young monk Nigrodha, his nephew, turned him to the dhamma. The north Indian Divyavadana gives the credit to Samudra, a merchant turned monk.
- Minor Rock Edict I shows a gradual deepening of his faith over more than two and a half years, not a sudden change.
- The Rummindei pillar marks his visit to Lumbini, the Buddha's birthplace. The Nigali Sagar pillar records that he enlarged the stupa of an earlier Buddha, Konakamana.
| Source | What it says |
|---|---|
| Rock Edict XIII | Remorse after the Kalinga war |
| Mahavamsa | Sri Lankan chronicle of Ashoka's reign; Nigrodha turns him to the dhammaQ |
| Divyavadana | Samudra, a merchant turned monk, draws him to the Buddha's teachingQ CDS 2019 (II): the Dipavamsa does not tell the Samudra story. |
| Minor Rock Edict I | A gradual deepening of faith, not a sudden changeQ |
| Rummindei pillar | His visit to Lumbini, the Buddha's birthplace |
| Nigali Sagar pillar | He enlarged the stupa of the earlier Buddha Konakamana |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2016 · CDS (II) 2016 — General Knowledge · Q53Moderate
Example 3 · Ancient India · Mahajanapadas and the Mauryas
Statement I :
King Ashoka abolished capital punishment and disbanded his army.
Statement II :
After Kalinga War, Ashoka was remorseful and became a Buddhist.
Examine these two statements carefully and
select the correct answer using the code given below.
Ashoka kept his army and the death penalty
Remorse after Kalinga did not make Ashoka disband his army or end capital punishment. His own edict gives prisoners sentenced to death three days' respite.
Nigrodha in Sri Lanka, Samudra in the north
The Mahavamsa and Dipavamsa credit Nigrodha; only the Divyavadana credits Samudra. A statement putting Samudra in the Dipavamsa is false.
Concept 4 of 4: Reading and placing Ashoka's edicts
Ashoka's edicts were carved across his empire, mostly in Prakrit in the Brahmi script. For centuries nobody could read them, until a British mint officer cracked the script in the 1830s.
Definition
- James Prinsep deciphered Brahmi and Kharoshthi in the 1830s. In the edicts Ashoka calls himself Devanampiya Piyadassi.
- Most edicts are in Prakrit in the Brahmi script; in the north-west they use Kharoshthi, and in Afghanistan Greek and Aramaic. None is in Sanskrit.
- Major Rock Edicts stand at Kalsi (Uttarakhand), Girnar (Gujarat), and Dhauli and Jaugada (Odisha), among others. Dhauli and Jaugada, inside Kalinga, leave out Rock Edict XIII on the war and carry two Separate Kalinga Edicts instead.
- Minor Rock Edicts stand at Sasaram (Bihar), Maski (Karnataka), Bahapur (Delhi) and Rajula-Mandagiri (Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh), among others.
| Site | Where | Edict |
|---|---|---|
| Kalsi | Dehradun district, Uttarakhand | Major Rock EdictsQ CDS 2025 (I): Kalsi was the correct statement. |
| Girnar | Junagadh, Gujarat | Major Rock Edicts |
| Dhauli and Jaugada | Odisha | Major Rock Edicts, with the Separate Kalinga Edicts |
| Sasaram | Bihar | Minor Rock Edict |
| Maski | Karnataka | Minor Rock Edict that names Ashoka |
| Bahapur | Delhi | Minor Rock Edict |
| Rajula-Mandagiri | Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh | Minor Rock Edict |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2026 · CDS (I) 2026 — General Knowledge · Q62Hard
Example 4 · Ancient India · Mahajanapadas and the Mauryas
Which of the pairs of Ashokan inscription and location is/are correctly matched ?
Select the answer using the codes given below :
| Ashokan inscription | Location |
|---|---|
| 1. Jaugada | Karnataka |
| 2. Bahapur | New Delhi |
| 3. Rajula-Mandagiri | Andhra Pradesh |
No Ashokan edict is in Sanskrit
Ashoka wrote in Prakrit, in Brahmi script, with Kharoshthi in the north-west and Greek and Aramaic in Afghanistan. A Sanskrit edict is a false option.
Jaugada is in Odisha
Jaugada is one of the two Kalinga sites in Odisha, beside Dhauli. An option placing it in Karnataka is wrong.
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (4)
The Mauryan state and the Arthashastra6 rows
| Office or term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Samahartri | Chief collector of revenueQ CDS 2024 (II): the Dauvarika paired with the army was the wrong match. |
| Samnidhatri | Treasurer and keeper of stores |
| Akshapatala | Office of records and accounts |
| Dauvarika | Chief of the palace guard |
| Senapati | Head of the army |
| Atavikas | Forest peoples; used as soldiers, spies and assassinsQ |
Ashoka's turn to Buddhism6 rows
| Source | What it says |
|---|---|
| Rock Edict XIII | Remorse after the Kalinga war |
| Mahavamsa | Sri Lankan chronicle of Ashoka's reign; Nigrodha turns him to the dhammaQ |
| Divyavadana | Samudra, a merchant turned monk, draws him to the Buddha's teachingQ CDS 2019 (II): the Dipavamsa does not tell the Samudra story. |
| Minor Rock Edict I | A gradual deepening of faith, not a sudden changeQ |
| Rummindei pillar | His visit to Lumbini, the Buddha's birthplace |
| Nigali Sagar pillar | He enlarged the stupa of the earlier Buddha Konakamana |
Reading and placing Ashoka's edicts7 rows
| Site | Where | Edict |
|---|---|---|
| Kalsi | Dehradun district, Uttarakhand | Major Rock EdictsQ CDS 2025 (I): Kalsi was the correct statement. |
| Girnar | Junagadh, Gujarat | Major Rock Edicts |
| Dhauli and Jaugada | Odisha | Major Rock Edicts, with the Separate Kalinga Edicts |
| Sasaram | Bihar | Minor Rock Edict |
| Maski | Karnataka | Minor Rock Edict that names Ashoka |
| Bahapur | Delhi | Minor Rock Edict |
| Rajula-Mandagiri | Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh | Minor Rock Edict |
Watch out for (7)
- All three reasons for Magadha→ Mahajanapadas and the rise of Magadha
- Dhamma is not a limb of the state→ The Mauryan state and the Arthashastra
- Dauvarika guarded the palace→ The Mauryan state and the Arthashastra
- Ashoka kept his army and the death penalty→ Ashoka's turn to Buddhism
- Nigrodha in Sri Lanka, Samudra in the north→ Ashoka's turn to Buddhism
- No Ashokan edict is in Sanskrit→ Reading and placing Ashoka's edicts
- Jaugada is in Odisha→ Reading and placing Ashoka's edicts
Test yourself on Ancient India
20 past CDS questions from this chapter, timed at 20 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.