Prelims · Medieval India · 12 questions

Vijayanagara, Bahmani & regional kingdoms

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Prelims 2019 · Q11

Easy

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

Answer & explanation

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)

Sources

NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part II, Chapter 3 “Other distinctive features include mandapas or pavilions and long, pillared corridors that often ran around the shrines within the temple complex.”
NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part II, Chapter 3 “Fig. 7.22 A kalyana mandapa, meant to celebrate divine weddings”
NCERT Class 11 · An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I, Chapter 6 “By about 750 CE, the early western Chalukya control of the Deccan was taken by the Rashtrakutas. Their greatest achievement in architecture is the Kailashnath temple at Ellora”

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 ·

Prelims 2019 · Q23

Easy

Consider the following pairs:

	Famous place	River
1.	Pandharpur	Chandrabhaga
2.	Tiruchirappalli	Cauvery
3.	Hampi	Malaprabha

Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only

Pandharpur stands on the Chandrabhaga, the local name of the Bhima, and Tiruchirappalli on the Cauvery (Kaveri). Hampi, the ruins of Vijayanagara, lies on the Tungabhadra, not the Malaprabha, so pair 3 is wrong.

✓ 1. The Solapur district administration notes that the Chandrabhaga (Bhima) flows through Pandharpur, home of the Vitthal (Vithoba) temple and the annual wari pilgrimage.
✓ 2. Tiruchirappalli, the old Chola stronghold with the Srirangam temple on a river island, lies on the banks of the Kaveri.
✗ 3. Vijayanagara (Hampi) was built in the natural basin of the Tungabhadra; the Malaprabha flows past Aihole, Pattadakal and Badami's region further north-west.

Remember · Pandharpur — Bhima (Chandrabhaga); Tiruchirappalli/Srirangam — Kaveri; Hampi — Tungabhadra; Aihole–Pattadakal — Malaprabha.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part II, Ch 3 (practise this chapter)

Sources

Solapur District Administration: Pandharpur ↗ “The Chandrabhaga (Bhima) river flows through the City. Large number of devotees from all over Maharashtra and surrounding States gather at Pandharpur”
Tiruchirappalli District Administration: History ↗ “Situated on the banks of river Kaveri, Tiruchirappalli, the fourth largest city in the state was a citadel of the Early Cholas”
NCERT Class 12 · Themes in Indian History, Part II, Chapter 3 “The most striking feature about the location of Vijayanagara is the natural basin formed by the river Tungabhadra which flows in a north-easterly direction.”

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 ·

The same topic in Mains

Indian art, literature & architectureGS 1 syllabus

Read it in NCERT

Class 12 Themes in Indian History, Part II, Chapter 3cited in 3 explanations
Class 11 An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I, Chapter 6cited in 1 explanation