RAS question
In Rajasthani historical prose, what does a vanshavali mainly record?
Correct answer: (A) Lineage across generations, often with notes on individuals.
In Rajasthani historical prose, a vanshavali mainly records lineage across generations, often with notes on the individuals in that line.
Explanation
A vanshavali is best understood as a lineage record: vanshavali, also called pidhiyavali, is concerned with succession across generations and may add brief or fuller notes on the people in that line. VanshApp describes vanshavali as a family-tree and ancestry record maintained across generations, organised around relationships, lineage and family records. That is why option A fits the form. The question is not asking for landholding details, a single incident narrative, or a compact history of a person or event; those are separate prose categories.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) A jagirdar's land grant and jagir details belong to pattavali, not to vanshavali.
- (C) A detailed account of one event or episode is linked with haqiqat and haal, whereas vanshavali follows generational succession.
- (D) A short history of a person, caste, event, or episode is identified as baat, not as vanshavali.
Concept
This tests the classification of Rajasthani historical prose forms and the kind of evidence each form preserves. It recurs in RAS because culture questions often ask candidates to distinguish close literary-historical genres by function, not by memorised names alone.