The war engines rathamusala and mahashilakantaka are associated with the campaigns of which ruler?
- A.Bimbisara
- B.Ajatashatru
- C.Prasenajit
- D.Pradyota
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Ajatashatru. Buddhist and Jain traditions credit him with two engines used in the long war against the Vajji confederacy: the rathamusala, a chariot fitted with a swinging mace that cut down men as it was driven through them, and the mahashilakantaka, a catapult that hurled heavy stones. He also sent his minister Vassakara to Vaishali to divide the Licchavis before the attack.
Option A, Bimbisara, his father, expanded Magadha mainly by annexing Anga and by marriage alliances, not by these engines. Option C, Prasenajit, was the king of Kosala and a contemporary rival whose sister was married to Bimbisara; he fought Ajatashatru but is not linked with the engines. Option D, Pradyota, ruled Avanti from Ujjain and was known for his temper rather than for siege machines. Attach both unusual weapon names to Ajatashatru and the Vajji war.
Read the full article: Mahajanapadas and Rise of Magadha: Capitals and Dynasties
Practice Questions
View allThe list of sixteen mahajanapadas of the sixth century BCE is found in which of the following texts?
- A.Arthashastra
- B.Anguttara Nikaya
- C.Mahabhashya
- D.Ashtadhyayi
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It is a text of the Sutta Pitaka of the Buddhist canon and it names the sixteen great states of the age of the Buddha, from Magadha and Kosala in the east to Gandhara and Kamboja in the north-west.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following mahajanapadas was situated south of the Vindhyas?
- A.Assaka
- B.Chedi
- C.Matsya
- D.Surasena
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Of the sixteen mahajanapadas only Assaka lay in the Deccan, on the banks of the Godavari, with its capital at Potana, also written Potali.
Read the full explanation →Ujjain was the capital of which mahajanapada?
- A.Vatsa
- B.Kosala
- C.Avanti
- D.Panchala
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Avanti covered the Malwa region and had two capitals: Ujjain in its northern half and Mahishmati on the Narmada in its southern half.
Read the full explanation →Bimbisara, a contemporary of the Buddha, belonged to which dynasty?
- A.Shishunaga dynasty
- B.Nanda dynasty
- C.Maurya dynasty
- D.Haryanka dynasty
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Bimbisara was the first great ruler of the Haryanka line of Magadha, traditionally dated from about 544 BCE, with his capital at Girivraja, also called Rajgriha.
Read the full explanation →The First Buddhist Council was held at Rajgriha under the patronage of which ruler?
- A.Ajatashatru
- B.Kalashoka
- C.Ashoka
- D.Kanishka
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The First Buddhist Council met at Rajgriha soon after the death of the Buddha, with Ajatashatru of the Haryanka dynasty as its patron and Mahakassapa presiding, and it settled the Vinaya Pitaka and the Sutta Pitaka as recited by Upali and Ananda.
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