2025 GS Paper I, all questions

UPSC Prelims 2025 · GS Paper I

Question 17: History and Culture

With reference to ancient India (600–322 BC), consider the following pairs :

Territorial regionRiver flowing in the region
I.AsmakaGodavari
II.KambojaVipas
III.AvantiMahanadi
IV.KosalaSarayu

How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

aOnly one
bOnly two
cOnly three
dAll the four

AnswerThe answer is (b).

Of the mahajanapadas, Asmaka (Assaka) lay on the Godavari and Kosala on the Sarayu (Ghaghara), so those pairs are correct. Kamboja lay in the north-west, around the Hindu Kush region of present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan, far from the Vipas (Beas). Avanti was in the Malwa region with Ujjain and Mahishmati as capitals, on the Shipra and Narmada, not the Mahanadi. So two pairs are correct. Remember: Asmaka and Godavari; Kosala and Sarayu.

  • I. Asmaka lay on the Godavari.
  • II. Kamboja was in the north-west, not on the Vipas.
  • III. Avanti was in Malwa, not on the Mahanadi.
  • IV. Kosala was on the Sarayu.

How you could have got this

No shortcut here: in a “how many” question, ruling out options doesn’t help. Every statement has to be judged.

This follows an unofficial answer: UPSC has not published its key for this year, and if that answer is wrong, so is this path.

Which options go is worked out from UPSC’s key and the options, not by a model.

Why each option is right or wrong
  • (a) Wrong: two pairs, Asmaka and Kosala, are correct.
  • (b) Right: only the Asmaka-Godavari and Kosala-Sarayu pairs are correct.
  • (c) Wrong: both Kamboja and Avanti are mismatched, so three overcounts.
  • (d) Wrong: Kamboja and Avanti pairs are incorrect.

Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2025, General Studies Paper I, Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.