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Prelims · Medieval India · 12 questions

Early medieval kingdoms (c. 700–1200)

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Early medieval kingdoms (c. 700–1200) questions per year: 2016: 0, 2017: 1, 2018: 0, 2019: 0, 2020: 3, 2021: 0, 2022: 1, 2023: 1, 2024: 0, 2025: 2, 2026: 0 Asked in 5 of 11 years · most in 2020 (3)

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Prelims 2021 · Q31

Medium

With reference to Chausath Yogini Temple situated near Morena, consider the following statements:

  1. 1.It is a circular temple built during the reign of Kachchhapaghata Dynasty.
  2. 2.It is the only circular temple built in India.
  3. 3.It was meant to promote the Vaishnava cult in the region.
  4. 4.Its design has given rise to a popular belief that it was the inspiration behind the Indian Parliament building.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (c) 1 and 4

The hilltop temple at Mitaoli (Mitawali) in Morena district, Madhya Pradesh, is a circular yogini temple built by the Kachchhapaghata king Devapala in the 11th century. It has 64 cells for the sixty-four yoginis, a Shakta-Tantric cult rather than a Vaishnava one, and is one of very few circular temples, not the only one. Its round plan led many to believe it inspired the circular Parliament House (Sansad Bhavan).

  • ✓ 1. An inscription dated 1323 CE records that the Kachchhapaghata king Devapala (c. 1055–1075) built it, and the temple is circular.
  • ✗ 2. It is described officially as one of the very few circular temples in India; other yogini temples, such as Hirapur in Odisha, are also circular.
  • ✗ 3. It is dedicated to the sixty-four yoginis, goddesses linked to Tantric worship; its cells now hold Shiva lingas, hence the name Ekattarso Mahadeva temple. Nothing links it to the Vaishnava cult.
  • ✓ 4. Because both are circular, many visitors have concluded that the temple inspired the design of Parliament House, though this is a popular belief, not a documented fact.

Remember · Chausath Yogini (Ekattarso Mahadeva) temple, Mitaoli, Morena: circular, 64 cells, Kachchhapaghata king Devapala (11th century). Yogini temples: Tantric goddess cult (Hirapur, Bheraghat, Khajuraho).

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I, Ch 6 (practise this chapter)

Sources

  • District Morena (Government of Madhya Pradesh), Chausath Yogini Temple, Morena ↗ “According to an inscription dated to 1323 CE (Vikram Samvat 1383), the temple was built by the Kachchhapaghata king Devapala (r. c. 1055 – 1075). … This circular temple is one among the very few such temples in India. This is a yogini temple dedicated to sixty-four yoginis. … Many of these curious visitors have compared this temple with the Indian parliament building (Sansad Bhawan) as both are circular in style. Many have drawn conclusions that this temple was the inspiration behind the Sansad Bhawan.”
  • NCERT Class 11 · An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I, Chapter 6 “each dedicated to devis or goddesses associated with the rise of Tantric worship after the seventh century. Several such temples were dedicated to the cult of the yoginis across Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and even as far south as Tamil Nadu.”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2021 · Q34

Medium

From the decline of Guptas until the rise of Harshavardhana in the early seventh century, which of the following kingdoms were holding power in Northern India?

  1. 1.The Guptas of Magadha
  2. 2.The Paramaras of Malwa
  3. 3.The Pushyabhutis of Thanesar
  4. 4.The Maukharis of Kanauj
  5. 5.The Yadavas of Devagiri
  6. 6.The Maitrakas of Valabhi

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

Answer & explanation

Answer: (b) 1, 3, 4 and 6

When the imperial Guptas faded in the 6th century, northern India split among successor kingdoms: the later Guptas in Magadha, the Maukharis at Kanauj, the Pushyabhutis at Thanesar and the Maitrakas at Valabhi in Gujarat. The Paramaras of Malwa (10th century) and the Yadavas of Devagiri (12th–13th centuries) came much later, and Devagiri is in the Deccan.

  • ✓ 1. A later line of Guptas ruled in Magadha after the imperial Guptas declined; Devagupta, a Later Gupta ruler, joined Shashanka of Bengal in attacking the Maukhari Grahavarman.
  • ✗ 2. The Paramaras emerged as an independent power in Malwa only in the second half of the 10th century.
  • ✓ 3. Harshavardhana's own family, the Pushyabhutis (Vardhanas), ruled from Sthaneshvara (Thanesar, Haryana) before he moved to Kannauj in 606.
  • ✓ 4. The Maukharis, once subordinate rulers of the Guptas, ruled independently from Kanauj in the 6th century (c. 510–606 CE).
  • ✗ 5. The Yadavas ruled Maharashtra from Devagiri (Daulatabad) in the 13th century, far later and outside northern India.
  • ✓ 6. The Maitrakas were tributary chiefs of the Guptas who set up an independent kingdom in western India (Saurashtra), with Valabhi as their capital, from about 475 to 776 CE.

Remember · Post-Gupta, pre-Harsha powers: later Guptas (Magadha), Maukharis (Kannauj), Pushyabhutis (Thanesar), Maitrakas (Valabhi). Paramaras (10th c.) and Yadavas (13th c.) are later.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 9 Understanding Society: India and Beyond, Ch 5 (practise this chapter) · Class 7 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 3 (practise this chapter) · Class 7 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 4 (practise this chapter) · Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), Ch 3 (practise this chapter)

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

The same topic in Mains

Read it in NCERT

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