With reference to the Shunga dynasty, Patanjali refers to the yavanas reaching up to Saketa and Madhyamika. The place Madhyamika is identified as located near

The correct answer is A, Chittor. Madhyamika is the ancient town now called Nagari, about 13 km north of Chittorgarh in Rajasthan. The grammarian Patanjali, who lived in the time of Pushyamitra Shunga in the second century BCE, wrote in his Mahabhashya the examples "the Yavana besieged Saketa" and "the Yavana besieged Madhyamika". This shows that Indo-Greek forces had raided deep into India, up to Saketa near Ayodhya and Madhyamika in Rajasthan. Coins and inscriptions found at Nagari confirm it was a large town of that period; one of the earliest Sanskrit inscriptions of a Vaishnava shrine, the Ghosundi inscription, comes from the same area. Option B is wrong because Ujjain was the ancient Avanti capital in Malwa, not Madhyamika. Option C is wrong because Kaushambi, near Prayagraj, was the capital of Vatsa. Option D is wrong because Pataliputra, modern Patna, was the capital of Magadha and of the Shungas themselves. Exam tip: Patanjali's Mahabhashya: Yavanas besieged Saketa (Ayodhya) and Madhyamika (Nagari near Chittor).