Match each site with its best-known feature. Sites: Gilund, Bagor, Balathal, Bairat. Features: P. Mesolithic evidence of animal domestication. Q. Ashokan edict and a Buddhist chapel. R. A Chalcolithic Ahar–Banas settlement in Udaipur district. S. A 2003 cache of more than one hundred seal impressions. Which pairing is correct?

Gilund–S, Bagor–P, Balathal–R, Bairat–Q

Gilund–Q, Bagor–P, Balathal–S, Bairat–R

Gilund–S, Bagor–R, Balathal–P, Bairat–Q

Gilund–P, Bagor–S, Balathal–Q, Bairat–R

Gilund–S, Bagor–P, Balathal–R, Bairat–Q

The First Battle of Tarain (1191) and the Second Battle of Tarain (1192) had opposite results. Which explanation best accounts for the Ghurid victory in 1192?

Muhammad of Ghor went back after his defeat, raised a fresh army and returned to avenge the first battle.

The Chahamana allies had gone over to the Ghurids, who were then admitted to Tarain without a fight.

Prithviraj III had withdrawn his whole army to Ajmer, leaving only a small force to meet the Ghurids at Tarain.

The Ghurids used gunpowder artillery, a weapon that the Rajput armies had never encountered before.

Muhammad of Ghor went back after his defeat, raised a fresh army and returned to avenge the first battle.

Match each monument with the description that fits it. Monuments: Kumbhalgarh, Vijay Stambha at Chittor, Ranthambore fort, Jaisalmer fort. Descriptions: P. A nine-storey tower raised to commemorate a victory over the Sultan of Malwa. Q. A fort founded in 1156 by Rawal Jaisal of the Bhatis. R. A fort whose ruler died fighting when Alauddin Khalji took it in 1301. S. A fort built by Rana Kumbha, designed by the architect Mandan, whose perimeter wall is among the longest in the world. Which pairing is correct?

Kumbhalgarh–S, Vijay Stambha–P, Ranthambore–R, Jaisalmer–Q

Kumbhalgarh–Q, Vijay Stambha–P, Ranthambore–S, Jaisalmer–R

Kumbhalgarh–S, Vijay Stambha–P, Ranthambore–R, Jaisalmer–Q

Kumbhalgarh–P, Vijay Stambha–S, Ranthambore–Q, Jaisalmer–R

Kumbhalgarh–S, Vijay Stambha–R, Ranthambore–P, Jaisalmer–Q

Early and Medieval Rajasthan: Prehistory to the 18th Century

This chapter answers the first Rajasthan history item of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission Rajasthan Administrative Services Examination syllabus (scheme dated 09-01-2026), under the heading “History, Art, Culture, Literature, Tradition & Heritage of Rajasthan”. It covers the items the commission lists as pre-historic sites from Palaeolithic to Chalcolithic and Bronze Age, the sources of Rajasthan history, the achievements of the prominent rulers of the major dynasties, cooperation and resistance with central power, and the administrative and revenue system of medieval Rajasthan. It teaches the sites and their dates, the four kinds of source, the dynasties from the Pratiharas to the Kachhwahas with their battles and monuments, and the feudal and revenue structure of the Rajput states.

1. Prehistoric and protohistoric Rajasthan

The commission's first sub-item asks for “pre-historical sites of Rajasthan, from Palaeolithic to Chalcolithic and Bronze Age”. The desert holds few sites, but the river valleys of the Banas, the Berach, the Kothari and the old Ghaggar–Hakra channel hold a dense sequence of cultures. Palaeolithic stone tools are scattered across the east of the state and are known mostly from surface finds rather than from layered excavations. The sites that teach the sequence are listed below.

Kalibangan (Hanumangarh district, on the Ghaggar) is the Harappan site of the state. Excavated by the Archaeological Survey of India between 1960 and 1969, it shows two layers: an upper Harappan town with a grid of streets, and an older Early Harappan level beneath it. It has the earliest attested ploughed field (about 2800 BCE) and fire altars.
Ganeshwar (Sikar district, in the Khetri copper belt at the foot of the Aravalli) gives the Ganeshwar–Jodhpura culture, with more than eighty known sites. Its copper arrowheads, spearheads, fish-hooks, bangles and chisels show that metal-working had begun. The culture is usually dated to about 3000–2000 BCE, but these dates are estimates.
The Ahar–Banas culture (c. 3000–1500 BCE) lay in the valleys of the Banas, Berach and Ahar rivers in south-east Rajasthan. Its black-and-red ware is painted in white, and its people worked the copper ores of the Aravalli. Its major sites are Gilund, the largest, where a 2003 excavation found a cache of more than one hundred seal impressions, and Balathal in Udaipur district.
Bagor on the Kothari river in Bhilwara district is a Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) site, horizontally excavated, and among the largest of its kind in India. It has early evidence of animal domestication.

The principal prehistoric cultures of Rajasthan
Culture or site	Approximate date	Where	Key evidence
Bagor (Mesolithic)	Mesolithic; phase dates are radiocarbon estimates	Kothari valley, Bhilwara	Early animal domestication, burials
Ganeshwar–Jodhpura	c. 3000–2000 BCE (estimate)	Sikar–Jhunjhunu copper belt	Copper tools, pottery
Ahar–Banas	c. 3000–1500 BCE	Banas basin: Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand	Black-and-red ware, Gilund seals
Harappan (Kalibangan)	Mature Harappan c. 2600–1900 BCE	Hanumangarh, on the Ghaggar	Grid town, fire altars, ploughed field

⚠️ Only Kalibangan is Harappan

Ganeshwar and Ahar–Banas are not Harappan. Ganeshwar is pre-Harappan and copper-using; Ahar–Banas was a contemporary Chalcolithic culture beside the Indus cities, not part of them. A question that asks which site in the state was Harappan has Kalibangan as its only answer.

2. Sources of Rajasthan history

The commission names the sources themselves: archaeological, archival, literary and numismatic. A candidate who can say what each source type gives, and what it cannot give, is ready for a Mains question on the state's history, because each type has a characteristic limit.

Archaeological. Excavated remains, pottery, seals and structures, as at Kalibangan and Balathal. They date settlements and show how people lived, but they do not name rulers.
Inscriptions (epigraphic records). Stone and copper-plate records of grants, temples and wars. Bairat preserves an Ashokan Minor Rock Edict, and the Kumbhalgarh inscription (AD 1460) records Rana Kumbha's fort and the architect Mandan. Dating can be disputed: the Barli inscription near Ajmer was read as 443 BCE by G. H. Ojha, but many scholars place it in the 2nd or 1st century BCE.
Archival. The registers and chronicles kept by the courts and offices of the Rajput states, such as the vahi and bahi account books and the vigat histories, and the land records of the revenue department. They are richest for the 17th to 19th centuries and must be read with care, because court writers praised their patrons.
Literary. Bardic and courtly texts such as the Hammira Mahakavya, which narrates the Ranthambore wars, and the Sanskrit and Jain works that describe the Chahamanas. Legend enters here. The origin of the Guhilas, for instance, is debated: one tradition links them to a prince of Valabhi, and scholars disagree about it.
Numismatic. Coins. Chahamana-period coins carry rulers' names, and they help fix the reigns of rulers whom the chronicles name without dates.

🎯 Why no single source is enough

Kalibangan gives a town but no king. The Bairat edict gives an emperor's own voice. The Rajput chronicles give dynastic names and dates that the coins sometimes contradict. The examiner rewards the candidate who sets each source against the others.

3. Ancient and early historic Rajasthan

Before the Rajput states the region was a land of republics, ancient kingdoms and imperial provinces. The Matsya kingdom, named in the Mahabharata, had its capital at Viratanagara, the present Bairat in Kotputli-Behror district, and Buddhist texts count it among the sixteen mahajanapadas. Mauryan rule left Ashoka's edict at Bairat and the Buddhist chapel of Bijak ki Pahari, which is attributed to the Mauryan period.

Between the Mauryas and the Guptas, the ancient peoples of the Thar and the Aravalli, among them the Yaudheyas, the Malavas, the Shibis and the Arjunayanas, issued their own coins and held their councils, and were gradually absorbed or overshadowed. Foreign rulers, the Western Satraps, the Kushanas and the Hunas, held parts of western and north-eastern Rajasthan; later powers, among them the Guptas, pushed them back. Rajasthan's early history is therefore one of many small polities and frequent outside pressure, and the medieval Rajput states inherited that pattern.

4. Early medieval dynasties: Pratiharas, Guhilas and Chahamanas

Three dynasties shaped the eighth to twelfth centuries and set the pattern the Rajput states followed. The Gurjara-Pratiharas checked the Arab advance from Sindh. The Guhilas of Mewar held Nagda and then Chittor. The Chahamanas (Chauhans) of Shakambhari became the strongest power in north-west India before the Ghurids.

Pratiharas. The earliest Pratihara line ruled from Mandavyapura (Mandore); the branch that rose under Nagabhata I was based further south and east, in Malwa and Rajasthan. Under him their power reached from Malwa to the Sindh frontier, and the Gwalior inscription records his defeat of a large Arab army; the battle of 738 CE is the usual date. Mihira Bhoja ruled from Kannauj, and under him and Mahendrapala the empire reached its height. After the Rashtrakuta sack of Kannauj in about 916 the empire broke up. The Mandore branch survived into the 14th century and gave Mandore to the Rathore Rao Chunda as a dowry. Osian's Mahavira temple, commonly dated to 783 CE, is among the oldest surviving Jain temples of western India.

Guhilas and Sisodias. The Guhila line of Mewar moved its centre from Nagda to Chittor, taken from the Mori rulers in the time of Bappa Rawal, traditionally dated to 728 CE. The senior line held Chittor until Ratnasimha lost the fort to Alauddin Khalji in 1303. The junior Sisodia branch, from the village of Sisoda, was led by Hammira, who recovered Mewar by 1326. The Sisodias kept the title of Rana and later Maharana.

Chahamanas. The Chahamanas of Shakambhari (Sambhar) were Pratihara vassals until the 10th century. Their Ajayaraja II moved the capital to Ajayameru (Ajmer) in the early 12th century. Vigraharaja IV in the mid-12th century captured Delhi from the Tomaras and extended the kingdom over much of Rajasthan. Prithviraj III won the First Battle of Tarain (1191) against Muhammad of Ghor, lost the Second (1192), and was killed after it. His brother Hariraja fought the Ghurids and was defeated in 1194, after which the main line ended. A Ghurid-appointed branch continued at Ranthambore.

Major dynasties of medieval Rajasthan
Dynasty	Seat or seats	Notable rulers	Known for
Gurjara-Pratihara	Mandavyapura, Kannauj	Nagabhata I, Mihira Bhoja	Check on Arab advance; Osian temples
Guhila–Sisodia (Mewar)	Nagda, Chittor, Udaipur (1559)	Bappa Rawal, Rana Kumbha, Rana Sanga, Maharana Pratap	Chittor; Kumbhalgarh; resistance to the Mughals
Chahamana (Chauhan) of Shakambhari	Sambhar, Ajmer, Ranthambore	Vigraharaja IV, Prithviraj III, Hammira	The two battles of Tarain; Ajmer
Bhati	Lodhruva, then Jaisalmer (1156)	Rawal Jaisal	Trade routes and desert forts
Rathore (Marwar)	Mandore, then Jodhpur (1459)	Rao Jodha, Rao Maldeo, Ajit Singh	Mehrangarh; the battle of Sammel
Kachhwaha (Dhundhar, Amber)	Amber, then Jaipur (1727)	Raja Bharmal, Man Singh I, Jai Singh II	Mughal alliance; Jantar Mantar
Hada Chauhan (Hadoti)	Bundi (1241), Kota (1631)	Rao Deva, Surjan Singh	Ranthambore's surrender; Kota painting

5. Cooperation and resistance with central power

The commission names “cooperation and resistance with central power” as one theme, and the rulers of the medieval states show both at once. The Kachhwahas of Amber chose cooperation. In 1562 Raja Bharmal gave his daughter Mariam-uz-Zamani in marriage to Akbar at Sambhar, and his grandson Man Singh I became a Mughal commander with a mansab of 7,000. Bundi's Surjan Singh received the title Rao Raja from Akbar in 1569 after surrendering Ranthambore. Mewar chose resistance. Udai Singh II founded Udaipur in 1559, nine years before Chittor fell to Akbar's siege of 1567–68, and his son Maharana Pratap refused the Mughal embassies and fought at Haldighati on 18 June 1576, according to most accounts.

Resistance did not end at Haldighati. Pratap regained much of Mewar by guerrilla war from the Aravalli hills. His son Amar Singh I made a treaty with Prince Khurram (later Shah Jahan) at Gogunda in February 1615, after which the Mewar ruler was excused from personal attendance at the Mughal court. Marwar's story ran the other way. Jaswant Singh lost to Aurangzeb at Dharmat on 15 April 1658 and died in 1678. Aurangzeb then took Marwar under direct administration, and Durgadas Rathore protected the infant Ajit Singh and led the Rathore rebellion (1679–1707) until Jodhpur was recovered for Ajit Singh.

🎯 Why the same empire met different answers

The Mughal empire rewarded cooperation with mansabs and jagirs, which bound a ruler's family to imperial service. It could not reduce the hill country of Mewar, whose terrain and clan loyalty gave guerrilla resistance a base. Marwar's rebellion ended only when the succession was settled. For Mains answers, treat alliance and resistance as strategies chosen for a state's survival, not as loyalty or disloyalty.

6. Administrative and revenue system of medieval Rajasthan

The Rajput states followed a common outline. At the centre the ruler (Maharana, Maharaja or Rawal) was assisted by a Pradhan, the chief minister in Mewar, Marwar and Jaisalmer; the Diwan, who headed revenue and finance; the Bakshi, who ran the army's pay and recruitment; and the Kotwal, who kept order and watched prices in the capital and large towns. The state was divided into parganas, each under a hakim, the highest pargana officer, who handled both revenue and justice. An amil collected land revenue, a faujdar commanded the police and militia, a kanungo kept the records, and the village patwari and patel kept the local ledgers.

Khalsa: land held directly by the state and managed by its revenue officers.
Jagir: land assigned to nobles for military or administrative service. Its transfer needed the state's approval.
Bhom: land exempt from tax in return for guarding borders, tracking criminals and protecting caravans.
Sasan and dharmada: rent-free grants for religious purposes, made to Brahmins, temples, scholars, Charans and Bhats.

Revenue terms of medieval Rajasthan
Term	Basis of assessment	Point to remember
Batai	Share of the harvested grain, divided between state and farmer	Khet batai divides at the harvest; raas batai after threshing
Kunta	Estimate of the standing crop before harvest	Open to dispute, since the estimate can be wrong
Ghughri	A levy linked to the seed the state supplied	Appears where the state advanced seed
Rekh	Assessed revenue of a jagir; in Marwar, patta rekh is the income stated in the grant and bhartu rekh the sum paid to the treasury on that basis	The Marwar usage; read the grant as the starting point

The nobility was ranked and bound by service. In Mewar a classification attributed to Amar Singh II (reigned c. 1698–1710) grouped the nobles into first-class umraos (16) and second-class sardars (32), with a third tier below them. Marwar divided its nobles into rajvis (royal kin), sardars and mutsaddis (officials who held jagirs). When a new holder succeeded, a succession fee was owed. In Mewar it was called talwar bandhai; in Marwar, hukamnama or peshkashi. Sources differ on the exact amounts and the terms, so a candidate should learn the name of the fee and its purpose, not a sum.

Key takeaways

Rajasthan's prehistory is river-based: Kalibangan is the Harappan site on the Ghaggar, Ganeshwar is the copper-age culture of Sikar, the Ahar–Banas culture lay in the Banas basin (c. 3000–1500 BCE), and Bagor is the Mesolithic site on the Kothari.
Each source type has a limit: archaeology dates settlements, inscriptions name rulers but can be disputed in date, chronicles narrate but flatter their patrons, and coins help fix reigns.
Three early medieval powers defined the region: the Pratiharas checked the Arab advance and held Kannauj; the Guhila–Sisodia line lost Chittor in 1303 and regained Mewar by 1326; the Chahamanas fought at Tarain in 1191 and 1192 and ended as a main line in 1194.
Rajput responses to the Mughals were split: the Kachhwahas allied in 1562, Bundi received the title Rao Raja in 1569, Mewar resisted from 1567 to the 1615 treaty, and Marwar fought the Rathore rebellion from 1679 to 1707.
The revenue system rested on khalsa, jagir, bhom and sasan land, on batai and kunta assessment, and on a pargana administration headed by the hakim, who combined revenue with justice.
Keep the dates of the two resistances apart: Mewar's stand against Akbar and the Pratap campaign belong to 1567–1615, while Marwar's Rathore rebellion against Aurangzeb belongs to 1679–1707.

Practice questions (17)

Attempt each one before opening the answer. Every explanation names the tempting wrong option as well as the right one, because that is where marks are lost.

Which site in Hanumangarh district, on the Ghaggar, shows a twofold sequence of cultures and the earliest attested ploughed field?
1. Ganeshwar
2. Bagor
3. Kalibangan
4. Balathal
Show answer
Answer: C — Kalibangan
Kalibangan, on the Ghaggar in Hanumangarh district, has a Harappan upper town and an earlier Early Harappan level beneath it, along with the earliest attested ploughed field. Ganeshwar is a copper-age culture of Sikar, the tempting distractor because it is also early, and Bagor is a Mesolithic site on the Kothari; Balathal lies in Udaipur district and is Chalcolithic. None of the three shows this sequence.
Gilund, the largest site of the Ahar–Banas culture, lies in which district?
1. Rajsamand
2. Udaipur
3. Chittorgarh
4. Bhilwara
Show answer
Answer: A — Rajsamand
Gilund is a village and archaeological site in Rajsamand district. Udaipur is the tempting answer because Balathal and Ahar both lie in Udaipur district, yet they are not Gilund. Chittorgarh and Bhilwara also have Ahar–Banas sites, but Gilund is in Rajsamand.
Consider the following statements about the Ahar–Banas culture.
P. It flourished in the Banas and Berach valleys of south-eastern Rajasthan.
Q. Its potters used black-and-red ware painted in white.
R. It was the Harappan settlement at Kalibangan.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
1. P and Q only
2. P and R only
3. Q and R only
4. P, Q and R
Show answer
Answer: A — P and Q only
Statement P is correct: the culture lay in the Banas and Berach valleys. Statement Q is correct: its black-and-red ware is painted in white. Statement R is wrong, and it is the tempting error, because Kalibangan is the Harappan site; Ahar–Banas was a contemporary Chalcolithic culture beside the Indus cities and was not part of them.
Match each site with its best-known feature.
Sites: Gilund, Bagor, Balathal, Bairat.
Features:
P. Mesolithic evidence of animal domestication.
Q. Ashokan edict and a Buddhist chapel.
R. A Chalcolithic Ahar–Banas settlement in Udaipur district.
S. A 2003 cache of more than one hundred seal impressions.
Which pairing is correct?
1. Gilund–Q, Bagor–P, Balathal–S, Bairat–R
2. Gilund–S, Bagor–R, Balathal–P, Bairat–Q
3. Gilund–P, Bagor–S, Balathal–Q, Bairat–R
4. Gilund–S, Bagor–P, Balathal–R, Bairat–Q
Show answer
Answer: D — Gilund–S, Bagor–P, Balathal–R, Bairat–Q
Gilund is linked to the 2003 seal cache (S), Bagor to Mesolithic evidence of domestication (P), Balathal to its Chalcolithic Ahar–Banas settlement in Udaipur district (R), and Bairat to the Ashokan edict with a Buddhist chapel (Q). The tempting pairing swaps Bagor and Balathal, which are both old sites, but Bagor is Mesolithic and Balathal is a Chalcolithic Ahar–Banas settlement.
Which of the following is NOT one of the four source types that the commission lists for the history of Rajasthan?
1. Archaeological
2. Archival
3. Literary
4. Geological
Show answer
Answer: D — Geological
The commission lists archaeological, archival, literary and numismatic sources. Geological evidence can help date landforms, but the syllabus does not name it as a source type for the state's history. The other three are on the list, and the candidate should know all four.
Arrange these events in the order they occurred.
P. Alauddin Khalji's capture of Ranthambore.
Q. The fall of Chittor to Alauddin Khalji.
R. Hammira's reoccupation of Mewar by the Sisodias.
S. The battle of Haldighati.
Which sequence is correct?
1. P, Q, R, S
2. Q, P, R, S
3. P, Q, S, R
4. P, R, Q, S
Show answer
Answer: A — P, Q, R, S
Ranthambore fell in 1301, Chittor in 1303, Hammira recovered Mewar by 1326, and Haldighati was fought in 1576. The tempting error is placing Chittor first, because Chittor is the more famous event, but Ranthambore came two years earlier. Reading the order from the dates avoids it.
The Pratiharas of Mandavyapura had their capital at which place before the rise of the Rathores?
1. Jodhpur
2. Mandore
3. Chittor
4. Sambhar
Show answer
Answer: B — Mandore
Mandavyapura is the modern Mandore, near Jodhpur, which the Pratiharas held from the 6th to the 9th centuries and which later passed to the Rathores. Jodhpur is the tempting answer, but Rao Jodha founded it only in 1459, long after the Pratihara period. Chittor was a Guhila seat and Sambhar a Chahamana capital.
Which Pratihara ruler is credited with checking the Arab advance beyond Sindh in the eighth century?
1. Vatsaraja
2. Nagabhata I
3. Mihira Bhoja
4. Mahendrapala
Show answer
Answer: B — Nagabhata I
Nagabhata I is credited with the defence against the Arabs of Sindh, and the Gwalior inscription records his defeat of a large Mleccha army. Vatsaraja, the tempting distractor, was his predecessor and expanded the empire towards Bengal but is not the name linked with the Arab check. Mihira Bhoja and Mahendrapala came later, at the height of the empire.
Consider the following statements about the Chahamanas of Shakambhari.
P. Ajayaraja II moved the capital from Shakambhari to Ajayameru.
Q. Vigraharaja IV captured Delhi from the Tomaras.
R. Prithviraj III won the Second Battle of Tarain in 1192.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
1. P and R only
2. Q and R only
3. P and Q only
4. P, Q and R
Show answer
Answer: C — P and Q only
Statements P and Q are correct: Ajayaraja II made Ajayameru (Ajmer) the capital, and Vigraharaja IV took Delhi from the Tomaras. Statement R is wrong: the Second Battle of Tarain in 1192 was a Ghurid victory, and Prithviraj III lost it, the tempting confusion with the First Battle, which he won in 1191.
The First Battle of Tarain (1191) and the Second Battle of Tarain (1192) had opposite results. Which explanation best accounts for the Ghurid victory in 1192?
1. The Chahamana allies had gone over to the Ghurids, who were then admitted to Tarain without a fight.
2. Prithviraj III had withdrawn his whole army to Ajmer, leaving only a small force to meet the Ghurids at Tarain.
3. The Ghurids used gunpowder artillery, a weapon that the Rajput armies had never encountered before.
4. Muhammad of Ghor went back after his defeat, raised a fresh army and returned to avenge the first battle.
Show answer
Answer: D — Muhammad of Ghor went back after his defeat, raised a fresh army and returned to avenge the first battle.
After the 1191 defeat Muhammad of Ghor went back to Ghazni, prepared to avenge it and returned for the second battle in 1192, which he won. The gunpowder explanation is the tempting error, because gunpowder artillery is associated with Babur and the battle of Khanwa in 1527, not with the Ghurids of the 1190s. The other options are not supported by the sources.
Which Hada ruler of Bundi received the title Rao Raja from Akbar in 1569, after the surrender of Ranthambore?
1. Rao Deva
2. Surjan Singh
3. Bhim Singh
4. Madho Singh
Show answer
Answer: B — Surjan Singh
Surjan Singh received the title Rao Raja from Akbar in 1569 after surrendering Ranthambore. Rao Deva is the tempting answer because he took Bundi in 1241 and founded the line, but he is not the 1569 ruler. Madho Singh is linked with the 1631 separation of Kota, which is a later event.
Consider the following statements about cooperation and resistance with the Mughals.
P. Raja Bharmal of Amber gave a daughter in marriage to Akbar in 1562.
Q. Maharana Pratap accepted Akbar's suzerainty after the battle of Haldighati.
R. Amar Singh I concluded a treaty with Prince Khurram at Gogunda in 1615.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
1. P and R only
2. P and Q only
3. Q and R only
4. P, Q and R
Show answer
Answer: A — P and R only
Statements P and R are correct: Bharmal's daughter married Akbar at Sambhar in 1562, and Amar Singh I made the Gogunda treaty with Khurram in 1615. Statement Q is wrong, because Pratap refused submission after Haldighati and went on resisting; the tempting error is to read Mewar's later treaty as an earlier surrender.
Which of the following was NOT a seat of the Pratiharas?
1. Kannauj
2. Mandavyapura
3. Avanti in Malwa
4. Chittorgarh
Show answer
Answer: D — Chittorgarh
Kannauj, Mandavyapura and Avanti in Malwa were all Pratihara seats; Nagabhata I set up his capital at Avanti. Chittorgarh was the seat of the Guhilas, the tempting answer only for those who remember Bappa Rawal's conquest of Chittor from the Mori rulers. The Pratiharas did not hold it as their capital.
The table gives four revenue terms and their basis. Which pair identifies correctly (i) the method that estimates the standing crop before harvest and (ii) the land category exempt from tax for guard service?

Term | Basis
Batai | share of harvested grain
Kunta | estimate of the standing crop
Ghughri | levy linked to seed supplied by the state
Bhom | tax exemption for border and guard service
1. Batai and Bhom
2. Kunta and Jagir
3. Kunta and Bhom
4. Ghughri and Khalsa
Show answer
Answer: C — Kunta and Bhom
Kunta is the method that estimates the standing crop, and Bhom is the tax-exempt category for border and guard service. Batai, the tempting distractor, is a share of the harvested grain, not an estimate of the crop standing in the field. Jagir is held for service, but it is not the category given tax exemption for guard duty as such, and Khalsa is state-managed land.
Which category of land was exempt from tax in return for guarding borders, tracking criminals and protecting caravans?
1. Jagir
2. Khalsa
3. Bhom
4. Sasan
Show answer
Answer: C — Bhom
Bhom land was tax-exempt in return for border guard duty, tracking criminals and protecting trade. Jagir is the tempting answer because it also carried service obligations, but a jagir was an assignment for military or administrative service and its transfer needed approval. Sasan was a rent-free grant for religious purposes, and khalsa was land held directly by the state.
In a medieval Rajasthan pargana, which official was the highest-ranking and handled both justice and revenue?
1. Hakim
2. Amil
3. Faujdar
4. Kanungo
Show answer
Answer: A — Hakim
The hakim was the highest pargana officer, responsible for administration, justice and revenue. The amil is the tempting answer because he collected land revenue, but he was a subordinate in revenue collection and not the highest officer. The faujdar led police and militia, and the kanungo kept the records.
Match each monument with the description that fits it.
Monuments: Kumbhalgarh, Vijay Stambha at Chittor, Ranthambore fort, Jaisalmer fort.
Descriptions:
P. A nine-storey tower raised to commemorate a victory over the Sultan of Malwa.
Q. A fort founded in 1156 by Rawal Jaisal of the Bhatis.
R. A fort whose ruler died fighting when Alauddin Khalji took it in 1301.
S. A fort built by Rana Kumbha, designed by the architect Mandan, whose perimeter wall is among the longest in the world.
Which pairing is correct?
1. Kumbhalgarh–Q, Vijay Stambha–P, Ranthambore–S, Jaisalmer–R
2. Kumbhalgarh–S, Vijay Stambha–P, Ranthambore–R, Jaisalmer–Q
3. Kumbhalgarh–P, Vijay Stambha–S, Ranthambore–Q, Jaisalmer–R
4. Kumbhalgarh–S, Vijay Stambha–R, Ranthambore–P, Jaisalmer–Q
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Answer: B — Kumbhalgarh–S, Vijay Stambha–P, Ranthambore–R, Jaisalmer–Q
Kumbhalgarh matches S, the Vijay Stambha matches P, Ranthambore matches R, and Jaisalmer matches Q. The tempting error swaps Kumbhalgarh with the Vijay Stambha, since both are Rana Kumbha's works. The Vijay Stambha is a tower, not a fort, and it commemorates a victory over the Sultan of Malwa, not a siege.