The Pandya kingdom of the early medieval period had its capital at which city?
- A.Kanchipuram
- B.Madurai
- C.Vatapi
- D.Thanjavur
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Madurai. The Pandyas ruled the extreme south of the peninsula from Madurai on the Vaigai, with the pearl-fishing port of Korkai on the coast. Their line was revived in the sixth century by Kadungon, who helped end the Kalabhra interregnum, and Madurai remained their seat through the Pallava and Chola centuries.
Option A, Kanchipuram, was the Pallava capital in the northern Tamil country, famous for the Kailasanatha temple. Option C, Vatapi, modern Badami in Karnataka, was the capital of the Chalukyas, who fought both the Pallavas and Harsha. Option D, Thanjavur, became important only later, as the capital of the imperial Cholas from the time of Vijayalaya in the ninth century, and is remembered for the Brihadeshwara temple of Rajaraja I. Only Madurai is the Pandya answer.
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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