Which city was the capital of the Maurya, Gupta, and Nanda empires?

capital of several major Indian empires. The key to this question is the precise association expressed in its wording: “Which city was the capital of the Maurya, Gupta, and Nanda empires?” The answer Pataliputra matches that clue directly and is therefore factually appropriate. Option A — Rajgir — is incorrect because it does not match the exact person, district, location, institution, river, event or identifying feature required by the question. Option C — Vaishali — is incorrect because it does not match the exact person, district, location, institution, river, event or identifying feature required by the question. Option D — Nalanda — is incorrect because it does not match the exact person, district, location, institution, river, event or identifying feature required by the question. The correct method is to identify the central clue, match it with the relevant map location, historical period or official designation, and then eliminate every alternative separately. Pataliputra served as the capital of several major Indian empires.