Consider the following pairs: <table><tr><th>Site of Ashoka's major rock edicts</th><th>Location in the State of</th></tr><tr><td>1. Dhauli</td><td>— Odisha</td></tr><tr><td>2. Erragudi</td><td>— Andhra Pradesh</td></tr><tr><td>3. Jaugada</td><td>— Madhya Pradesh</td></tr><tr><td>4. Kalsi</td><td>— Karnataka</td></tr></table> How many pairs given above are correctly matched?

Answer: B. Only TWO pairs are correct (1: Dhauli–Odisha, 2: Erragudi–Andhra Pradesh). Ashoka's MAJOR ROCK EDICTS (a series of 14) were inscribed at multiple peripheral sites of his empire. Pair 1 (Dhauli — Odisha): CORRECT. DHAULI hill, near Bhubaneswar in ODISHA, is the site of Ashoka's rock edicts on the bank of the river Daya. Significant because it is near the site of the Kalinga War, and the edicts here include the Separate Kalinga Edicts. Pair 2 (Erragudi — Andhra Pradesh): CORRECT. ERRAGUDI (also Yerragudi/Yerragudi) is in Kurnool district of ANDHRA PRADESH and bears the Major Rock Edicts of Ashoka. Pair 3 (Jaugada — Madhya Pradesh): WRONG. JAUGADA is in GANJAM DISTRICT OF ODISHA, NOT Madhya Pradesh. Jaugada too has Major Rock Edicts including the Kalinga Separate Edicts. Pair 4 (Kalsi — Karnataka): WRONG. KALSI is in DEHRADUN DISTRICT OF UTTARAKHAND, NOT Karnataka. It bears the northernmost Major Rock Edicts of Ashoka. (Ashoka's Karnataka sites are MINOR ROCK EDICTS like Brahmagiri, Maski, etc., not Major Rock Edicts.) So only pairs 1 and 2 are correctly matched. Source: NCERT Class 12 Themes in Indian History Part I (Ashoka chapter) / Romila Thapar, Ashoka and the Decline of the Mauryas.