Architecture & sculpture

Answer: (a) Kanganahalli

The ruined stupa at Kanaganahalli, part of the Sannati complex on the Bhima in Kalaburagi (Gulbarga) district of Karnataka, yielded a relief of Ashoka with his queens that carries an inscription naming him, 'Ranyo Ashoka' (King Ashoka). That is the site the question describes.

• ✓ (a) The Sannati–Kanaganahalli stupa in Gulbarga district, the largest stupa site excavated in Karnataka, was decorated with sculptural reliefs; one panel shows Ashoka with his queens together with an inscription mentioning him.
• ✗ (c) Shahbazgarhi (in present-day Pakistan) has one of Ashoka's Major Rock Edicts, a text carved on rock with no portrait of the king.
• ✗ (d) Sohgaura in Uttar Pradesh is known for a copper-plate inscription of the 4th–3rd century BCE, not a relief sculpture.

Remember · Kanaganahalli (Sannati, Kalaburagi, Karnataka): relief of Ashoka with his queens, with the inscription 'Ranyo Ashoka'. Shahbazgarhi and Mansehra: sites of Ashoka's Major Rock Edicts.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I, Ch 4 (practise this chapter) · Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part I, Ch 2 (practise this chapter)

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). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) Vijayanagara

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)

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). Permalink · Report an error