Quick Revision Table

Topic	Most Important Exam Point
Mahajanapadas	16 major states in 6th century BCE
Rise of Magadha	Iron, fertile land, elephants, strategic location
Buddhism	Four Noble Truths + Eightfold Path
Jainism	Triratna + Five Vows
Buddhism vs Jainism	Anatman vs Jiva
Mauryan Empire	Chandragupta Maurya
Ashoka & Dhamma	Kalinga War + Rock Edict XIII
Mauryan Administration	Centralised administration + provinces
Post-Mauryan India	Shungas, Indo-Greeks, Shakas, Kushanas, Satavahanas
Gupta Empire	Samudragupta, Chandragupta II, culture and science

High-Yield Places to Memorise

Buddha:
Lumbini → Birth
Bodh Gaya → Enlightenment
Sarnath → First Sermon
Kushinagara → Mahaparinirvana

Mahajanapadas:
Magadha → Rajagriha/Pataliputra
Gandhara → Taxila
Vatsa → Kaushambi
Surasena → Mathura
Anga → Champa
Kosala → Shravasti
Avanti → Ujjain
Vajji → Vaishali

Mauryas:
Chandragupta → Foundation
Bindusara → Expansion
Ashoka → Kalinga + Dhamma

Guptas:
Chandragupta I → Imperial foundation
Samudragupta → Conquests
Chandragupta II → Western expansion + Faxian
Kalidasa → Literature
Aryabhata → Science/Mathematics