The Kallanai or Grand Anicut, one of the oldest water diversion structures still in use, was built across the Kaveri by
- A.Karikala Chola
- B.Rajaraja I
- C.Mahendravarman I
- D.Krishnadevaraya
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A, Karikala Chola. The Kallanai, known in English as the Grand Anicut, is a dam of unhewn stone laid across the Kaveri in the Thanjavur region and is credited to the early Chola king Karikala; it still spreads the river water over the delta. Option B is wrong because Rajaraja I, of the later imperial Cholas, is remembered for the Brihadeeswarar temple at Thanjavur and for naval expeditions. Option C is wrong because Mahendravarman I was a Pallava ruler, associated with rock-cut temples and with tanks in the Tondaimandalam region, not with the Kallanai. Option D is wrong because Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara belongs to a much later period and to the Deccan. The tank chains or eris of Tamil Nadu grew around such works, which is why the state has the oldest managed irrigation tradition.
Read the full article: Stepwells of India: Vavs, Baolis, Kunds and Tanks
Practice Questions
View allRani ki Vav, the stepwell inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located at
- A.Patan, Gujarat
- B.Adalaj, Gujarat
- C.Abhaneri, Rajasthan
- D.Bundi, Rajasthan
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Rani ki Vav stands on the bank of the Saraswati at Patan, the old Solanki capital called Anhilwad Patan, and was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2014 for its seven storeys of sculpture in the Maru-Gurjara style.
Read the full explanation →Rani ki Vav at Patan was built by which queen?
- A.Rudabai
- B.Udayamati
- C.Nathavati
- D.Ahilyabai Holkar
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Queen Udayamati had the stepwell built in the eleventh century in memory of her husband Bhimdev I of the Solanki or Chaulukya dynasty of Gujarat, which is why it is described as a memorial in the form of an inverted temple.
Read the full explanation →Which stepwell is depicted on the Indian one hundred rupee currency note?
- A.Chand Baori
- B.Rani ki Vav
- C.Adalaj ni Vav
- D.Agrasen ki Baoli
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The reverse of the one hundred rupee note of the Mahatma Gandhi new series carries the motif of Rani ki Vav at Patan, chosen because it is a World Heritage Site that stands for Indian water architecture.
Read the full explanation →Chand Baori, famous for about three thousand five hundred narrow steps and thirteen storeys, is situated in which state?
- A.Gujarat
- B.Rajasthan
- C.Madhya Pradesh
- D.Karnataka
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Chand Baori is at Abhaneri in Dausa district of Rajasthan, opposite the Harshat Mata temple, and is attributed to King Chanda of the Nikumbha house in about the ninth century; its criss-cross flights descending thirteen storeys make it one of the deepest stepwells in India.
Read the full explanation →The temple tank of Karnataka and the Deccan, a stepped water body attached to a shrine, is known as
- A.Jhalara
- B.Khadin
- C.Kalyani or Pushkarni
- D.Ahar
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In Karnataka and the Deccan the stepped tank built beside a temple for ritual bathing is called a kalyani or a pushkarni, and the stepped tank at Hampi, built of fitted stone blocks, is the best known example.
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