RAS question
The ancient city of Madhyamika (present-day Nagari) near Chittorgarh was the capital of which ancient people?
Correct answer: (A) Shibi (Shivi).
Ancient Madhyamika, present-day Nagari near Chittorgarh, was the capital of the Sibi or Shibi Janapada.
Explanation
The answer is Shibi because the Rajasthan Foundation profile identifies Nagari as ancient Madhyamika and states that it was the capital of Sibi Janapada. The key evidence is numismatic: coins found at the site carry the legend linking Majhimika with Sibi Janapada, which ties the place-name to the people. Madhyamika was also an important excavated site, associated with coins, a Gupta-period Vishnu temple, and Patanjali's Mahabhashya reference to a Yavana, or Greek, attack on Madhyamika. So the question is not merely asking for a nearby Chittorgarh location; it tests the ancient political identity attached to Nagari's early historical record.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Rajanya is wrong because it is not the Janapada identified with Madhyamika.
- (C) Malavas is wrong because the Rajasthan Foundation profile places them at Nagari only later, in the 3rd century, while it identifies ancient Madhyamika as the capital of Sibi Janapada.
- (D) Matsya is wrong because Matsya is linked with Viratnagar or Bairat, not Madhyamika-Nagari near Chittorgarh.
Concept
This tests ancient Rajasthan’s Janapadas and archaeological sites, a recurring RAS theme because place-name, coin, inscription and text evidence are often combined in one question.