RAS question
In Rajasthan art-history context, what is Mukandara identified as?
Correct answer: (A) A Gupta-age temple site in the Hadoti region.
Mukandara is identified as a Gupta-period temple site in the Hadoti region, represented in the official Dara/Mukandara entry as a site of temple, fort wall and statues.
Explanation
Mukandara is not a baori or an isolated sculpture example; it belongs to Rajasthan's Gupta-period temple tradition. The official ASI-linked entry is headed "Temple, Fort Wall and Statues (Dara/Mukandara)" and places the locality at Dara/Mukandara in Kota district. Its brief history says the narrow hill-girt valley has two principal monuments, one being a small late-medieval fortress and the other a Gupta-period stone temple called Bhim-ki-Chauri. That supports the MCQ's identification of Mukandara as a temple site in the Hadoti region. The other options name separate examples from Rajasthan art history, so they should not be read as Mukandara's identity.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Naulakha Baori near Dungarpur, built by Premal Devi, is a separate baori example, while the verified Mukandara entry is for temple, fort wall and statues at Dara/Mukandara.
- (C) Raniji's Baori at Bundi is a separate Bundi monument, whereas Mukandara is identified through the Dara/Mukandara temple-site entry.
- (D) The Jakhbaba image of Noh is a different sculpture example; the Mukandara source identifies a site with a Gupta-period stone temple, fort wall and statues.
Concept
This tests identification of Rajasthan's early temple and art-history sites, especially Gupta-period remains in Hadoti. Such location-to-monument mapping recurs in RAS because prelims often separates similar-sounding temples, baoris and sculpture examples.