Who brought the Bhimbetka rock shelters to the notice of scholars in 1957?
- A.H. D. Sankalia
- B.V. S. Wakankar
- C.R. D. Banerji
- D.Daya Ram Sahni
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, V. S. Wakankar. Vishnu Shridhar Wakankar, an archaeologist from Ujjain, noticed the rocky outcrops from a train in 1957 and went on to explore and record the shelters and their paintings. His name is tied to Bhimbetka in the same way that other discoverers are tied to their sites, and examiners test the pairing.
Option A, H. D. Sankalia, was a leading prehistorian of India who worked chiefly in the Deccan and in Gujarat, which makes him a plausible wrong answer. Option C, R. D. Banerji, discovered Mohenjo-daro in 1922, and Option D, Daya Ram Sahni, excavated Harappa in 1921; both belong to the Harappan story and not to the Stone Age shelters. Remember with this that the oldest Bhimbetka paintings are of the Mesolithic period, that red and white were the commonest colours, and that the site became a World Heritage Site in 2003.
Read the full article: Ancient Madhya Pradesh: Bhimbetka, Sanchi and Ujjain
Practice Questions
View allThe rock shelters of Bhimbetka are located in which district of Madhya Pradesh?
- A.Sehore
- B.Raisen
- C.Dhar
- D.Rewa
Show answer
The Bhimbetka rock shelters lie in Raisen district, in the foothills of the Vindhyan range south of Bhopal, within the forest now protected as Ratapani.
Read the full explanation →The Great Stupa at Sanchi was originally built during the reign of which ruler?
- A.Chandragupta Maurya
- B.Ashoka
- C.Pushyamitra Shunga
- D.Kanishka
Show answer
The Great Stupa, Stupa 1 at Sanchi, was raised in brick in the third century before Christ in the reign of Ashoka, who also set up a pillar at the site bearing the schism edict and crowned by a lion capital.
Read the full explanation →The four carved gateways or toranas of the Great Stupa at Sanchi were added under which dynasty?
- A.Mauryas
- B.Shungas
- C.Satavahanas
- D.Guptas
Show answer
The four toranas that stand at the cardinal points of the Great Stupa were carved in the first century before Christ in the Satavahana period, and an inscription on one of them records the gift of ivory carvers of Vidisha.
Read the full explanation →Relics of Sariputta and Mahamoggallana, two chief disciples of the Buddha, were recovered from which structure at Sanchi?
- A.Stupa 1
- B.Stupa 2
- C.Stupa 3
- D.Temple 17
Show answer
The relic caskets of Sariputta and Mahamoggallana, the two chief disciples of the Buddha, were found in Stupa 3 at Sanchi, which stands a short distance north-east of the Great Stupa and has a single gateway.
Read the full explanation →Ujjain is situated on the bank of which river?
- A.Betwa
- B.Shipra
- C.Chambal
- D.Tapti
Show answer
Ujjain stands on the Shipra, also written Kshipra, a tributary of the Chambal, and it is on the ghats of this river that the Simhastha, the Kumbh of Ujjain, is held every twelve years.
Read the full explanation →