Minimalist IAS
Prelims 2019 paper

UPSC CSE Prelims 2019 · GS Paper I · Question 11 · Architecture & sculpture

किसके राज्य में ‘कल्याण मंडप’ की रचना मंदिर-निर्माण का एक विशिष्ट अभिलक्षण था?

UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2019, General Studies Paper I, Question 11 — Architecture & sculpture.

Prelims 2019 · Q11

Architecture & sculpture Easy

किसके राज्य में ‘कल्याण मंडप’ की रचना मंदिर-निर्माण का एक विशिष्ट अभिलक्षण था?

Read this question in English

Building 'Kalyaana Mandapas' was a notable feature in the temple construction in the kingdom of

(a) Chalukya · (b) Chandela · (c) Rashtrakuta · (d) Vijayanagara

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (d) विजयनगर

Vijayanagara temple complexes (14th–16th centuries) added new elements: towering raya gopurams, pillared corridors and mandapas, including the kalyana mandapa, a pavilion built to celebrate the ritual marriage of the deities.

  • ✓ (d) NCERT's study of Hampi lists mandapas and pillared corridors among the distinctive features of Vijayanagara temples and illustrates a kalyana mandapa meant for divine weddings.
  • ✗ (a) The early western Chalukyas built their Deccan temples before about 750 CE, when the Rashtrakutas took over; the kalyana mandapa is not their hallmark.
  • ✗ (c) The Rashtrakutas' greatest architectural achievement is the rock-cut Kailashnath temple at Ellora, not kalyana mandapas.

Remember · Vijayanagara temple hallmarks: raya gopurams, pillared mandapas and corridors, kalyana mandapas (divine weddings), chariot streets — e.g. Virupaksha and Vitthala temples, Hampi.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part II, Ch 3 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part II, Ch 3 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I, Ch 6 (practise this chapter)

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2019, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·

Cite this question: UPSC CSE Prelims 2019, Q11 — minimalistias.com/pyqs/prelims/2019/q11

In the UPSC syllabus: Architecture & sculpture › Temple architecture: Nagara, Dravida, Vesara See it and tick it covered →

Timed · 25 minutes Take Art & culture · Set 2 as a test This question is in it — with UPSC's marking and an instant score. Start the set Or the whole 2019 paper →

More on Architecture & sculpture

All Architecture & sculpture questions →

Same topic in the Mains syllabus