Trade Routes during the Age of the Mahajanapadas

Choose the Correct Answer

Correct Answer : Option c

Explanation
Statement 1 is correct: There were two major trans-regional Janapadas and Mahajanapadas routes at that time, known as the Uttarapatha and Dakshinapatha. The Uttarapatha was the major trans-regional trade route of northern India. It stretched from the north-west, across the Indo-Gangetic plains, up to the port of Tamralipti on the Bay of Bengal. The Uttarapatha had a northern and a southern sector. The northern sector ran through Lahore, Jalandhar, Saharanpur, along the Gangetic plains to Bijnor, and then through Gorakhpur, towards Bihar and Bengal. The southern sector connected Lahore, Raiwind, Bhatinda, Delhi, Hastinapura, Kanpur, Lucknow, Varanasi, and Prayagraj, and then moved on towards Pataliputra and Rajagriha.

Statements 2 and 3 are correct: The Dakshinapatha — the great southern trade route—is mentioned in the Arthashastra but was operational from the early historical period. It stretched from Patliputra in Magadha to Pratishthana on the Godavari, and was also connected to ports on the western coast. The physician Jivaka moved along the Dakshinapatha on his way to Avanti. The discovery of PGW in the Malwa region and NBPW in central India and the Deccan provide archaeological
corroboration of this route.