A) The Mauryan Empire expanded over nearly the entire region of what is now modern day India. Starting with Chandragupta and ending with his grandson Ashoka, the empire was expanded over a span roughly a hundred years. This was not an easy task because of the size of the land to be conquered. The area that is now known to be modern day India, is a peninsula. The Arabian Sea borders the land on the west, the Indian ocean borders it to the south and the Bay of Bengal borders it to the east. The Himalaya Mountains separated the rest of east Asia, including China, from the Mauryan Empire. The Hindu Kush Mountains to the north west of the Mauryan Empire separated it from the rest of the Middle East. The monsoon cycle effected the Mauryan Empire as well. High rainfall often lead to reoccurring floods and in the winter, especially inland, there was a lack of rainfall and that lead to droughts. Needless to say, it was hard to sustain a surplus of agriculture throughout the year. The location was still beneficial despite this. Trade over sea to east Asia flourished. the size of the subcontinent of India lead to the development of several languages in different and separate regions of the land. This is the reason why the development of the Mauryan Empire was is so important in history. That the empire existed is a testament to the strength of the rulers at the time to unify such a vast region.
B) There isn't much of a difference in geography between the Mauryan and the Gupta empires as the Gupta Empire was the predecessor of the Mauryan. This meant that the Gupta empire inherited the land owned by the Mauryan Empire. One obvious difference between the two empires is that the Gupta Empire was smaller that the Mauryan. The Gupta Empire is located in the northern region of the subcontinent underneath the Himalayan and Hindu Kush mountains. The people of the Gupta Empire where better adapted to the Monsoon cycle by building high houses to accommodate the floods. Because of this they were able to flourish agriculturally, boasting their economy.
