Shravasti was the capital of which mahajanapada?

The correct answer is A, Kosala. Shravasti was the capital of Kosala in eastern Uttar Pradesh, and Ayodhya and Saketa were its other important towns. Its king Prasenajit was a contemporary of the Buddha, who spent many rainy seasons at the Jetavana monastery in Shravasti, which is why the town appears so often in Buddhist literature.

Option B, Malla, was a republic with two centres, Kushinagar, where the Buddha died, and Pava, where Mahavira died. Option C, Chedi, lay in Bundelkhand with its capital at Suktimati. Option D, Magadha, had Girivraja or Rajgriha as its first capital and Pataliputra later. A common trap pairs Shravasti with Magadha or with the Mallas, so remember the chain Kosala, Shravasti, Prasenajit, Jetavana. Kosala also absorbed the neighbouring state of Kasi before it was itself taken by Magadha, and the long struggle between Prasenajit and Ajatashatru over the Kashi village given in dowry to Bimbisara is a favourite statement question in the same set.