Question

Chronological arrangement from earlier to most recent.
(A) Maurya Empire Founded
(B) Birth of Gautam Buddha
(C) Invasion by Alexander
(D) Gupta Empire Founded
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

• A. (A), (B), (C), (D)
• B. (A), (B), (D), (C)
• C. (B), (A), (D), (C)
• D. (B), (A), (C), (D)

Hint:

Buddha first (6th c. BCE), Gupta last (4th c. CE). Only the Maurya and Alexander order is in doubt.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
We must put four events in order of time, oldest first. It helps to fix an approximate date for each event.

Step 2: Dates of the events:
Birth of Gautam Buddha: about 563 BCE (some sources say 566 BCE).
Invasion by Alexander: 326 BCE.
Founding of the Maurya Empire by Chandragupta Maurya: about 322 to 321 BCE.
Founding of the Gupta Empire: about 320 CE.

Step 3: Order the events:
Buddha is the earliest. Alexander (326 BCE) and the Maurya founding (about 321 BCE) are only a few years apart, and the Gupta Empire is the latest by far. Strictly the order is B, C, A, D.

Step 4: Compare with the options:
The exact order B, C, A, D is not printed in any option. Options 1 and 2 start with A, so they put Maurya before Buddha, which is clearly wrong. Option 3 puts Gupta before Alexander, which is wrong by centuries. Option 4 (B, A, C, D) has Buddha first and Gupta last and differs from the true order only in the two events that are about five years apart. So option 4 is the closest and is chosen as the answer. This item is doubtful because of that small mismatch.

Final Answer:
Option 4 (B), (A), (C), (D) is the nearest to the true order. \[ \boxed{\text{(B), (A), (C), (D)}} \]