The monolithic rathas at Mahabalipuram were built during the reign of which Pallava ruler?
- A.Simhavishnu
- B.Mahendravarman I
- C.Narasimhavarman I
- D.Aparajita
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, Narasimhavarman I. He is also called Mamalla, the great wrestler, and the port city of Mamallapuram or Mahabalipuram takes its name from that title. The five monolithic rathas there, each cut out of a single rock and named after the Pandavas and Draupadi, belong to his reign in the middle of the seventh century.
Option A, Simhavishnu, was the early Pallava who ended the Kalabhra hold over the Tamil country but left no monument of this kind. Option B, Mahendravarman I, began the rock-cut cave phase of Pallava architecture, such as the mandapas at Mandagapattu, but not the free-standing rathas. Option D, Aparajita, was the last Pallava king, defeated by the Chola Aditya I in the ninth century, by which time Pallava building had long passed its great period. The later structural Shore Temple was built by Narasimhavarman II Rajasimha.
Read the full article: Harsha and the South Indian Kingdoms: Rulers and PYQs
Practice Questions
View allWhich of the following is NOT correct regarding king Harshavardhana?
- A.Harshavardhana ruled nearly about 1400 years ago
- B.Xuan Zang spent a lot of time at Harsha's court
- C.Harshavardhana's court poet was Harishena
- D.Harshacharita is a biography written on Harshavardhana
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Harishena belonged to an earlier century altogether: he was the court poet of Samudragupta and composed the Prayag Prashasti, the Allahabad Pillar Inscription.
Read the full explanation →King Shashanka, against whom Harshvardhana declared war, was a ruler of the ________ kingdom.
- A.Kanyakubja
- B.Junagarh
- C.Magadha
- D.Gauda
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Shashanka was the king of Gauda, the region of Bengal with its centre at Karnasuvarna. He killed Harsha's elder brother Rajyavardhana, and it was to avenge that killing, and to recover his sister Rajyashri, that Harsha declared war and allied with Bhaskaravarman of Kamarupa.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following books was authored by Harshavardhana?
- A.Harshacharita
- B.Kadambari
- C.Ratnavali
- D.Gitagovinda
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Harshavardhana was a dramatist as well as a king, and three Sanskrit plays are credited to him: Ratnavali, Priyadarshika and Nagananda.
Read the full explanation →'Banabhatta', well known for his literary works, flourished during the reign of _______.
- A.Ashoka
- B.Bindusara
- C.Chandragupta II
- D.Harshavardhana
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Banabhatta was the court poet of Harsha in the seventh century CE. He wrote the Harshacharita, the biography of his patron and the first historical biography in Sanskrit, and the prose romance Kadambari, which was completed by his son Bhushanabhatta.
Read the full explanation →The Aihole inscription, which records the defeat of Harshavardhana, was composed by the court poet of which ruler?
- A.Narasimhavarman I
- B.Pulakeshin II
- C.Dantidurga
- D.Mahendravarman I
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The Aihole inscription was composed in Sanskrit by Ravikirti, the Jain court poet of the Chalukya king Pulakeshin II of Badami.
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