Read the following excerpt and answer the questions that follow:

"Ashoka took special interest in erecting monolithic pillars, inscribed and uninscribed, in great numbers and designed on a magnificent scale. No less than thirty pillars set up by Ashoka have been found so far."

(Source: https://www.du.ac.in/up/oads/new-web/04012023_Appendix-108.pdf)

(a) What values are promoted in Ashoka's pillar edicts?

(b) Name any three locations where Ashoka's pillars have been discovered.

What was Bindusara's contribution to the Mauryan Empire?

Read the following excerpt and answer the questions that follow:

"The extent of Ashoka's empire can be traced through the spread of his inscriptions. From their distribution we know that the Mauryan Empire extended up to Kandahar in Afghanistan in the north-west."

(Source: https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/64794/1/Unit16.pdf)

(a) What were the eastern and western boundaries of Ashoka's empire?

(b) What does the extent of Ashoka's empire reveal about Mauryan military achievements?

Read the following excerpt and answer the questions that follow:

"The Arthashastra, Greek accounts and Ashokan inscriptions give us a good idea about the administrative system. The administrative structure involved a division of the empire into provinces."

(Source: https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/64794/1/Unit16.pdf)

(a) Who managed these provinces, and to whom were they accountable?

(b) What were the main responsibilities of the Mantri Parishad in the Mauryan Empire?