The Sun Temple at Konark, designed in the form of a chariot, was built by:
- A.Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga dynasty
- B.Anantavarman Chodaganga
- C.Mihira Bhoja
- D.Bhima I of the Solanki dynasty
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A, Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga dynasty. The Konark Sun Temple in Odisha was raised in the thirteenth century by Narasimhadeva I. The plan is the chariot of Surya: a high platform carrying twelve pairs of carved stone wheels drawn by seven horses. The great deul has fallen, but the jagamohana survives, and European sailors called the dark mass the Black Pagoda. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Option B, Anantavarman Chodaganga, was an earlier Eastern Ganga ruler who began the Jagannath temple at Puri. Option C, Mihira Bhoja, was a Gurjara-Pratihara king of Kannauj with no connection to Konark. Option D, Bhima I of the Solanki dynasty, built the Sun Temple at Modhera in Gujarat, which is the other famous sun temple and therefore the standard distractor in this question.
Read the full article: Temple Architecture: Nagara, Dravida and Vesara Styles
Practice Questions
View allIn the context of temple architecture, the most important part of the temple is:
- A.Gopuram
- B.Mandapam
- C.Pradakshina Patha
- D.Garbhagriha
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The garbhagriha, the womb house, is the small square windowless cell that holds the image of the presiding deity. Every other part of a temple is added around it: the tower rises over it, the hall stands in front of it and the circumambulatory passage runs around it.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following heritage sites shows the Dravidian style of architecture?
- A.Konark
- B.Bodh Gaya
- C.Akshardham
- D.Hampi
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Hampi on the Tungabhadra in Karnataka was the capital of the Vijayanagara empire, and its Virupaksha, Vittala and Hazara Rama temples are Dravidian work of the most elaborate kind: walled enclosures, towering gopurams, pillared kalyana mandapas, the famous stone chariot and the musical pillars.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following features distinguishes the Elephanta Caves from other rock-cut sites of early India?
- A.They are primarily Buddhist caves with large stupas.
- B.The caves focus on Shaivite themes and feature sculptural depth through light and shadow.
- C.They contain a mix of Jain and Vaishnavite depictions in pillar halls.
- D.The caves are entirely monolithic structures from the Mauryan period.
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Elephanta, on Gharapuri island near Mumbai, is a Shaivite rock-cut group whose panels tell Shiva stories: the Trimurti Sadashiva, Ardhanarishvara, Gangadhara, the marriage of Shiva and Parvati and Shiva as Nataraja.
Read the full explanation →The famous caves of Udayagiri and Khandagiri are located in ______.
- A.Uttarakhand
- B.Chhattisgarh
- C.Tripura
- D.Odisha
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The twin hills of Udayagiri and Khandagiri stand near Bhubaneswar and hold Jain rock-cut cells cut for monks in the first century BCE.
Read the full explanation →The Kanheri Caves, built by Buddhists, are located in which of the following states?
- A.Maharashtra
- B.Odisha
- C.Rajasthan
- D.Delhi
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The Kanheri caves are cut into a basalt hill inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai.
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