RAS question
The Gurjara-Pratihara ruler Nagabhata I is credited with repelling which foreign invasion?
Correct answer: (B) Arab invasion.
Nagabhata I, the founder of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty, is credited with repelling Arab invasions from Sindh and checking their advance into Rajasthan and central India.
Explanation
Nagabhata I ruled around 730-760 CE and is remembered as the founder of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty. The key point tested here is not merely his dynasty, but his role in resisting the Arab advance from Sindh. The cited World History Encyclopedia account supports this identification by noting that Nagabhata I defeated Arab invaders and that the Pratiharas rose in the context of resistance to Arab invasions. That is why option B is the answer: his military success helped prevent the Arabs from pushing further into Rajasthan and central India, making the episode a major defensive moment in early medieval Indian history.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The Turkish invasions belong to a later phase of Indian history, not to Nagabhata I's eighth-century struggle.
- (C) The Hunas had been repelled earlier, so they do not match the invasion associated with Nagabhata I.
- (D) The Greek invasions occurred much earlier and are outside the Gurjara-Pratihara period.
Concept
This tests early medieval Rajasthan history, especially the rise of the Gurjara-Pratiharas and their frontier defence role. It recurs in RAS because dynasty founders, invasion resistance, and Rajasthan's link with wider Indian political history are standard factual anchors.