RAS question
The Chandella dynasty is famous for building:
Correct answer: (C) Khajuraho temples (10th-12th century, UNESCO World Heritage Site).
The Chandella dynasty is famous for building the Khajuraho group of temples in Bundelkhand, central India.
Explanation
The Chandellas are linked with Khajuraho because the site was a principal seat of their authority and, as the Archaeological Survey of India notes, they adorned it with scores of temples marked by sculptural grace and architectural splendour. Local tradition counts eighty-five temples, of which twenty-five survive in varying states of preservation. The Chandellas of Bundelkhand built the Khajuraho temples, known for Hindu and Jain religious themes, erotic sculpture, and the Nagara style. The Archaeological Survey of India also identifies major Chandella-linked examples: Yasovarman's Vishnu temple, now known as the Lakshmana temple; temples from Dhanga's time; and Kandariya Mahadeva, Khajuraho's largest and grandest temple.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Red Fort is not linked to the Chandellas, whose fame here is tied to Khajuraho.
- (B) Qutub Minar does not match the Chandella-Bundelkhand-Khajuraho association.
- (D) Taj Mahal is outside the Khajuraho temple group, the monument cluster attributed to Chandella patronage.
Concept
Medieval Indian architecture often links regional dynasties with major temple-building centres. RAS preparation commonly treats dynasties, monument groups, styles and World Heritage sites as compact, repeatable factual clusters.