Question

Assertion (A): Chandragupta Maurya failed in his first campaign against Magadha.
Reason (R): He did not begin with the frontiers, but invaded the heart of Magadha.
A) Both A and R is true and R is the correct explanation of A.
B) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
C) A is true but R is false.
D) A is false but R is true.

Answer 1

Hint: Chandragupta Maurya was the last ruler of the Nanda dynasty. He brought down the Nanda dynasty and progressed to the throne of Magadha kingdom. He attacked the Magadha’s border and moved into its capital city by weakening them.

Complete answer:
Chanakya invested a lot of time in training Chandragupta for the military attacks. Hence, he was able to conquer small territories and their tribes which had already been put down by Alexander. This helped him in creating a strong base to attack Magadha. Chanakya prepared him for the attack through spies, political manipulation and intrigue. In spite of these efforts, he failed in his first attempt but in 321BCE, he killed Dhanananda and assumed power. Hence, Assertion is correct.

Chandragupta adopted various methods to rule out Nanda power. But according to the Buddhist traditions, he failed to succeed in the first campaign as he committed a blundering mistake of attacking the centre of Magadha instead of beginning with the frontiers. This didn’t let him down instead he took this as a lesson and defeated the opponent in the second attack. Hence, the reason is also correct.

Therefore, option (A) is correct, Both A and R is true and R is the correct explanation of A.


Note: The people in Magadha celebrated the death of Dhanananda. They all were very happy and they welcomed the young emperor Chandragupta through the streets of Magadha.