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RAS question

Potana (Paudanya) was the capital of which Mahajanapada?

Correct answer: (B) Assaka (Asmaka).

Potana, also written as Paudanya or Podana, was the capital of the Assaka or Asmaka Mahajanapada.

  1. (A)

    Matsya

  2. (B)

    Assaka (Asmaka)

  3. (C)

    Chedi

  4. (D)

    Surasena

Explanation

Potana or Paudanya belongs to Assaka, also called Asmaka, among the sixteen Mahajanapadas. Assaka lay in the Godavari river valley, in the modern Maharashtra/Telangana region, and was the only Mahajanapada south of the Vindhyas. eGyanKosh (IGNOU), Unit 13 PDF lists Assaka or Asmaka in the Godavari valley and gives its capital as Potana/Podana, identified with modern Bodhan. That makes option B the historically grounded choice: the clue is not just the city name, but its southern Deccan-Godavari association, which separates Assaka from the better-known northern Mahajanapadas.

Why the other options are wrong

  • (A) Matsya is not the Mahajanapada whose capital was Potana/Paudanya.
  • (C) Chedi is a wrong match here because Potana/Podana belongs to Assaka or Asmaka, not to Chedi.
  • (D) Surasena does not fit the Potana clue, since Potana/Podana is specifically linked with Assaka or Asmaka in the Godavari valley.

Concept

This tests the Ancient India syllabus theme of the sixteen Mahajanapadas and their capitals. It recurs in RAS because location-based clues, especially Assaka as the southern Mahajanapada, help distinguish similar factual lists.

Source

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