Question

A Janapadin was the _________ of a Janapada.
A. Servant
B. Minister
C. Army General
D. Ruler

Answer 1

Hint: Janapada literally means the land where ‘jana’ or peasants set their ‘pada’ means foot and settled down. Many settlements were excavated by archaeologists such as Hastinapur near Meerut, and Atranjikhera, near Etah, etc. It was found that people lived in huts like home and kept cattle and many other animals.

Complete answer:
A Janapadian was the ruler of a Janapada. Some Janapadas became more important and were called mahajanapadas having fortified capital cities. Fortification might be solely for the purpose of protection from other rulers or maybe just a show of power and the riches of the city. The people living inside the fortified capitals could be controlled more easily by the Janapadian.
These Janapadian maintained armies and the soldiers were paid regular salaries. The rulers needed more resources and money for the maintenance of the forts and armies, so they started collecting regular taxes.

Hence, the correct answer is option (D).

Additional information:As described by the Vedic literature, there were 9 Janapadas, however by the sixth century B.C. Panini described 22 Janapadas out of which the most important ones are Magadha, Avanti, Kosala and Vatsa.

Note: The taxes taken by the Janapadian includes:
1.Taxes on crops as most of the peasants were farmers. Usually the tax was fixed as the one sixth of the produced share or ‘bhaga’.
2. Taxes were also taken by the crafts persons in the form of labour.
3. Herders paid taxes in the form of animals and animal produce.
4. Taxes on goods that were bought and sold.
5.Hunters and gatherers were to pay taxes by sharing the forest produce with the Janapadian or raja.