MPPSC 2019 Prelims Paper-I · Question 15 of 99

Correct — C, Parmar Raja Bhoj. The Tribhuvan Narayan temple at Chittor — the shrine known today as the Samidheshwar (Samadhisvara) temple inside Chittorgarh Fort — was originally built in the 11th century by the Paramara king Bhoja of Malwa; it is also called the Bhoja-swami / Tribhuvana Narayana temple. It was later repaired by Maharana Mokal of Mewar in the 15th century.

• (a)Rana Pratap — Wrong — Rana Pratap was a 16th-century Sisodia ruler of Mewar, centuries after this temple was built; he is not associated with its construction.
• (b)Raja Dhang — Wrong — Dhanga (Dhang) was a Chandela king famed for temples at Khajuraho (such as the Vishvanatha temple), not for this Chittor shrine. A tempting trap because he too was a temple-building king.
• (d)Prithviraj Chouhan — Wrong — Prithviraj Chauhan was a Chahamana ruler of Ajmer and Delhi; he has no link to the Tribhuvan Narayan temple.

Raja Bhoja (r. c. 1010–1055) of the Paramara dynasty of Malwa was a great builder and scholar-patron whose works span central and western India — the Bhojpur Shiva temple, the Bhojshala at Dhar, large tanks, and shrines as far as Chittor. The Tribhuvan Narayan / Samidheshwar temple at Chittorgarh is one such foundation.

Because the temple stands in Chittorgarh, students instinctively credit a Mewar ruler (Rana Pratap or Mokal). The trick is to remember that Raja Bhoja's patronage reached beyond Malwa, and this Chittor temple was his 11th-century foundation.

• Tribhuvan Narayan temple = the Samidheshwar (Samadhisvara) temple in Chittorgarh Fort
• Built by the Paramara king Bhoja in the 11th century; dedicated to Shiva
• Later restored by Maharana Mokal of Mewar in the 15th century
• Raja Bhoja's other works include the Bhojpur (Bhojeshwar) temple and the Bhojshala at Dhar

• Attributing the temple to a Mewar ruler (Rana Pratap / Mokal) just because it stands in Chittor
• Confusing Raja Dhang (Chandela, Khajuraho) with the Paramara Raja Bhoja

MPPSC asks 'who built monument X'; the reliable anchor is to link Raja Bhoja with his specific buildings (Bhojpur, Bhojshala, the Chittor temple).

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Bhojeshwar (Bhojpur) Shiva temple in Madhya Pradesh was commissioned by:

  • (a)Raja Bhoja (Paramara)
  • (b)Dhanga (Chandela)
  • (c)Rana Kumbha
  • (d)Krishna I (Rashtrakuta)

  Answer(a) Raja Bhoja of the Paramara dynasty, after whom Bhojpur is named.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Raja Dhanga, associated with the Vishvanatha temple, belonged to which dynasty?

  • (a)Paramara
  • (b)Chandela
  • (c)Chahamana
  • (d)Sisodia

  Answer(b) Chandela — the dynasty of the Khajuraho temple-builders.