Maharashtra GK: Districts, Rivers, Forts and Exam Facts

The correct answer is B, 1 May 1960. On that day the bilingual Bombay State was divided into Maharashtra and Gujarat under the Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960, after the Samyukta Maharashtra movement had pressed for a separate state for Marathi speakers. The day is observed every year as Maharashtra Day, and Gujarat Day falls on the same date.

Option A, 1 November 1956, is the day the States Reorganisation Act came into force, which created many states on a linguistic basis but left Bombay State bilingual, and it is the commonest wrong answer here. Option C, 1 April 1936, is the day Odisha was carved out as a separate province. Option D, 1 November 2000, is the day Chhattisgarh was created. Only 1960 belongs to Maharashtra.

The correct answer is C, Nagpur. Mumbai is the capital of Maharashtra, but Nagpur was given the status of the second capital under the Nagpur Pact when Vidarbha joined the new state, and one session of the state legislature is held there every year, usually in winter, which is why it is called the winter capital. Nagpur also has the Zero Mile marker and the Deekshabhoomi.

Option A, Pune, was the seat of the Peshwas and is the cultural and education centre of the state, but it holds no capital status. Option B, Nashik, is known for the Kumbh at Trimbakeshwar, its grapes and the currency press. Option D, Kolhapur, is the city of the Mahalaxmi temple and of the Kolhapuri chappal. Each is a major city, but the second capital is Nagpur.

The correct answer is B, Ahmednagar. Kalsubai stands in the Sahyadri range in the Ahmednagar district, at about one thousand six hundred and forty six metres, which makes it the highest point in Maharashtra, and a small temple at the summit draws a steady stream of trekkers along the route from Bari village. The range here is the Sahyadri, the local name of the Western Ghats, which UNESCO inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2012.

Option A, Satara, holds Mahabaleshwar, where the Krishna rises, and the hill station of Panchgani. Option C, Raigad, is the district of Shivaji's capital fort and of the Konkan coast. Option D, Nashik, is where the Godavari rises at Trimbakeshwar and where several other Sahyadri peaks stand, which is why it is a strong distractor. The peak itself, however, is in Ahmednagar district.

The correct answer is A, Buldhana. Lonar Lake lies at Lonar in the Buldhana district of the Vidarbha region. It was formed when a meteorite struck the basalt of the Deccan trap, which makes it one of very few crater lakes anywhere formed in basaltic rock, and both its water and its ecology are of interest to scientists. It has been designated a Ramsar site as a wetland of international importance.

Option B, Chandrapur, is the district of the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve. Option C, Solapur, has the Nannaj sanctuary known for the great Indian bustard and the temple town of Pandharpur nearby. Option D, Jalgaon, lies in Khandesh on the Tapi and is known for bananas. All four are Maharashtra districts, so the pairing of the lake with Buldhana is the fact being tested.

The correct answer is A, Waghora. The Ajanta Caves were cut into a steep scarp above a horseshoe bend of the Waghora river, a small stream in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district. They are Buddhist caves, both chaityas and viharas, and their wall paintings on themes from the Jataka stories are the finest surviving examples of ancient Indian painting. UNESCO inscribed them on the World Heritage List in 1983.

Option B, the Godavari, is the longest river of the state but flows well away from the site. Option C, the Tapi, runs westward through Khandesh to the Arabian Sea. Option D, the Bhima, is a tributary of the Krishna that flows past Pandharpur. The distractors are all real Maharashtra rivers, which is why the small Waghora must be remembered by name.

The correct answer is B, Rashtrakuta. The Kailasa temple, cave sixteen at Ellora, was carved out of a single mass of rock from the top downwards under the Rashtrakuta ruler Krishna I, and it is dedicated to Shiva. Ellora is unusual because Buddhist, Hindu and Jain caves stand side by side there, and the whole group was inscribed by UNESCO in 1983.

Option A, the Chalukyas, built at Badami, Aihole and Pattadakal in present-day Karnataka. Option C, the Satavahanas, ruled the Deccan earlier and are associated with the early rock-cut Buddhist sites such as Karla and Bhaja. Option D, the Yadavas of Devagiri, ruled Maharashtra much later, in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. All four are Deccan dynasties, and the Kailasa temple belongs to the Rashtrakutas.

The correct answer is B, Trimbakeshwar. The Godavari rises at Trimbakeshwar in the Nashik district of Maharashtra, in the Sahyadri, and flows east across the Deccan to the Bay of Bengal, which makes it the longest river of peninsular India and the second longest river in the country after the Ganga. Trimbakeshwar is also one of the twelve Jyotirlingas and one of the four Kumbh sites.

Option A, Mahabaleshwar in Satara district, is the source of the Krishna, and that is the classic swap in this question. Option C, Bhimashankar, is the source of the Bhima and another Jyotirlinga. Option D, Amarkantak, in Madhya Pradesh, is the source of the Narmada and the Son. All four are river sources, so the pairing must be exact.

The correct answer is C, Raigad. Shivaji was crowned Chhatrapati at Raigad in 1674, and the fort served as the capital of the Maratha kingdom, with its market street, the Jagadishwar temple and his samadhi still standing on the hill. Raigad district today takes its name from the fort, and the coronation of 1674 is remembered as the formal beginning of Maratha sovereignty.

Option A, Shivneri, near Junnar, is the fort where Shivaji was born, and it is the commonest wrong choice because both facts concern the same person. Option B, Pratapgad, is remembered for the encounter with Afzal Khan in 1659. Option D, Sinhagad, near Pune, is remembered for Tanaji Malusare, who died taking it. Every option is a genuine Shivaji fort, so the question turns on which one saw the coronation.

The correct answer is B, Jyotirao Phule. Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj, the society of seekers of truth, at Pune in 1873, to work against caste discrimination and priestly authority and for the education of the lower castes and of women. With Savitribai Phule he opened some of the first schools for girls in the region, and his book Gulamgiri argued the case against caste bondage.

Option A, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, founded the Servants of India Society in 1905 and was the political guru of Gandhi. Option C, Dhondo Keshav Karve, worked for widow remarriage and founded a women's university. Option D, Vitthal Ramji Shinde, founded the Depressed Classes Mission. All four are reformers from the same state, so the exact organisation decides the answer.

The correct answer is A, Amravati. Melghat lies in the Satpura hills of the Amravati district in Vidarbha, and it was among the first group of tiger reserves notified when Project Tiger began in 1973. The Gugamal National Park forms its core, the Tapi drains part of it, and the Korku people live in and around the forest. Melghat means the meeting of the ghats, a name that describes the folded hills of the reserve.

Option B, Chandrapur, is the district of the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, the oldest national park of the state, and it is the strongest distractor here. Option C, Gadchiroli, is heavily forested but is not the seat of Melghat. Option D, Nagpur, is close to the Pench reserve, which is shared with Madhya Pradesh. Hold the pairing as Melghat with Amravati and Tadoba with Chandrapur.

The correct answer is A, Gharapuri. The island in Mumbai harbour that holds the Elephanta Caves is called Gharapuri locally, and the Portuguese named it Elephanta after a stone elephant found there. The caves are dedicated mainly to Shiva, and the great Trimurti bust in the main cave is their best known sculpture. UNESCO inscribed them on the World Heritage List in 1987.

Option B, Salsette, is the large island on which much of Mumbai and Thane stand. Option C, Butcher Island, is an oil terminal island in the same harbour. Option D, Madh, is a coastal locality in the north of Mumbai. All are places in or around the harbour, which is why they make good distractors, but Gharapuri is the island of the caves.

The correct answer is C, five. Maharashtra has five of the twelve Jyotirlingas, which is more than any other state: Bhimashankar in Pune district, Trimbakeshwar near Nashik, Grishneshwar near the Ellora caves, Aundha Nagnath in Hingoli and Parli Vaijnath in Beed. Trimbakeshwar is also one of the four sites of the Kumbh Mela and the source of the Godavari, while Grishneshwar stands beside the Ellora caves, so the two great sites of the state sit together.

Option A, two, and option B, three, understate the number and are the usual guesses. Option D, seven, overstates it. For comparison, Madhya Pradesh has two, Mahakaleshwar at Ujjain and Omkareshwar, while Gujarat has Somnath and Nageshwar, Uttarakhand has Kedarnath, Uttar Pradesh has Kashi Vishwanath and Jharkhand has Baidyanath, which together with Maharashtra's five make up the twelve.