Q. Which of the following statements with regard to early Buddhist literary sources is/are correct?
1.Geographical context of the Pali Canon corresponds primarily to the middle Ganga valley.
2.Anguttara Nikaya provides a major textual listing of the sixteen Mahajanapadas.
3.Jataka tales primarily depict the socio-economic and political conditions of the Vedic Age prior to the emergence of iron technology.
Select the answer using the code given below:
Answer: A
Notes:
Explanation:
- Statement 1 is correct: The events and locations recorded in the Pali Canon (composed between the and centuries BCE) are situated in the middle Ganga basin.
- Statement 2 is correct: The Anguttara Nikaya (a division of the Sutta Pitaka) contains the list of sixteen great states (Shodasha Mahajanapadas) existing around the time of the Buddha.
- Statement 3 is incorrect: The Jatakas (stories of the Buddha’s previous births) reflect the socio-economic realities of the century BCE and later periods, detailing flourishing trade, urban centers, and monetized transactions—not the pre-iron pastoral Vedic Age.
