Prelims 2016 · Q94
MediumConsider the following pairs:
| Famous place | Region | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Bodhgaya | Baghelkhand |
| 2. | Khajuraho | Bundelkhand |
| 3. | Shirdi | Vidarbha |
| 4. | Nasik (Nashik) | Malwa |
| 5. | Tirupati | Rayalaseema |
Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) 2 and 5 only
Only pairs 2 and 5 are correct: Khajuraho lies in Bundelkhand and Tirupati in Rayalaseema. Bodh Gaya is in Bihar, Shirdi is in Ahmednagar district (not in Vidarbha), and Nashik is in Maharashtra, so pairs 1, 3 and 4 name the wrong region.
- ✗ 1. Bodh Gaya is in Gaya district of Bihar, about 115 km south of Patna (UNESCO). Baghelkhand is a region of Madhya Pradesh, which includes the Rewa division.
- ✓ 2. The Madhya Pradesh government's Bundelkhand tourism portal lists the temples of Khajuraho among the Bundela and Chandela attractions of Bundelkhand.
- ✗ 3. Shirdi is a village in Ahmednagar (now Ahilyanagar) district of Maharashtra. The Government of Maharashtra describes Vidarbha as the Amravati and Nagpur divisions, whose districts are Akola, Amravati, Buldhana, Washim, Yavatmal, Nagpur, Wardha, Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli; Ahmednagar is not among them.
- ✗ 4. Nashik is in Maharashtra (the Amravati division page lists a Nashik Division of the State). Malwa is a plateau region of Madhya Pradesh, as NCERT's mention of the Malwa plateau of Madhya Pradesh shows.
- ✓ 5. An expert committee report published by the Ministry of Home Affairs describes the Rayalaseema arc as made up of Kurnool, Anantapur, Tirupathi, Kadapa and Chittoor, so Tirupati belongs to Rayalaseema.
Remember · Khajuraho = Bundelkhand; Tirupati = Rayalaseema. Bodh Gaya is in Bihar, Shirdi (Ahmednagar) and Nashik are in Maharashtra, outside Vidarbha and Malwa.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 India: Physical Environment, Ch 3 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya ↗ “The Mahabodhi Temple Complex, Bodh Gaya lies 115 km south of the state capital of Bihar, Patna and 16 km from the district headquarters at Gaya, in Eastern India.”
- Rewa Division, Government of Madhya Pradesh ↗ “The division forms a part of the Baghelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh.”
- Bundelkhand's Heritage, Culture and Tourism (Government of Madhya Pradesh), About Us ↗ “Enriched with various Bundela and Chandela tourist attractions like UNESCO World Heritage Site- the temples of Khajuraho”
- Ahilyanagar (Ahmednagar) District, Government of Maharashtra: Shirdi ↗ “A small village in Ahmedanagar district Shirdi ,has acquired a lot of fame & followers for Sant Shree Sai Baba.”
- Amravati Division, Government of Maharashtra: Introduction (Vidarbha) ↗ “Amravati and Nagpur divisions constitute the ancient Vidarbha region. … Districts : Akola, Amravati, Buldhana, Washim, Yavatmal”
- Nagpur Division, Government of Maharashtra: Administrative Setup ↗ “Nagpur Division comprises six districts: Nagpur Wardha Bhandara Gondia Chandrapur Gadchiroli”
- NCERT Class 11 · India: Physical Environment, Chapter 3 “The Chambal rises near Mhow in the Malwa plateau of Madhya Pradesh”
- Report of the Expert Committee to study alternatives for the new capital of the successor State of Andhra Pradesh (Ministry of Home Affairs) ↗ “Rayalaseema Arc comprising Kurnool, Anantapur, Tirupathi, Kadapa and Chittoor”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·