2023 · Q82
Which one of the following was an important contributing factor in the rise of Magadha as the most powerful Mahajanapada between the Sixth and the Fourth Centuries BCE?
Indian EconomyInflation and external sector
- AEasy access to rich gold mines
- BSuperior cavalry
- CAn agriculturally productive region
- DRepublican system of governance
Explanation
Magadha's rise rested on the fertile alluvial plains of the middle Ganga, yielding a rich agricultural surplus, supplemented by iron deposits and war elephants. It had no rich gold mines (A), its military edge was elephants rather than cavalry (B), and it was a monarchy, not a republic (D). Hence C.