MPPSC 2020 Prelims Q22: Where was the Capital of Raja Veersingh

Q: What is the answer to MPPSC 2020 Prelims Q22?

B. Correct — B, Gahora. The commission's key marks Gahora as the seat of Raja Vir Singh Dev (Bir Singh Deo Bundela, reigned 1605-1627), the most celebrated ruler of the Bundela line of Orchha. A favourite of Prince Salim (later Jahangir), he killed Akbar's minister-historian Abul Fazl in 1602 on the prince's instigation; under Jahangir his reign was a golden age of Bundela building, including the Jahangir Mahal at Orchha.

MPPSC 2020 Prelims Paper-I · Question 22 of 100

Verified against the official question paper. Answer as per the official MPPSC answer key.

Where was the Capital of Raja Veersingh Dev?

(a)Bandhavgarh
(b)Gahora
(c)Narrow Ki Gardhi
(d)Garha Mandala

Answer

Why

Correct — B, Gahora. The commission's key marks Gahora as the seat of Raja Vir Singh Dev (Bir Singh Deo Bundela, reigned 1605-1627), the most celebrated ruler of the Bundela line of Orchha. A favourite of Prince Salim (later Jahangir), he killed Akbar's minister-historian Abul Fazl in 1602 on the prince's instigation; under Jahangir his reign was a golden age of Bundela building, including the Jahangir Mahal at Orchha.

Why the others are wrong

(a)Bandhavgarh — The old hill-fort capital of the Baghela (Baghel) rulers of the Rewa region (before they shifted to Rewa) — today a famous tiger reserve; not the Bundela ruler's seat.
(c)Narrow Ki Gardhi — A garbled option (appears to distort 'Narwar ki Garhi', the Narwar fort in Shivpuri area); not connected to Raja Vir Singh Dev of the Bundela dynasty.
(d)Garha Mandala — Garha-Mandla (Garha-Katanga) was the seat of the GOND kingdom famously defended by Rani Durgavati (d. 1564) — a Gond capital, not a Bundela one.

Concept

Vir Singh Dev belonged to the Bundela Rajput dynasty of Bundelkhand (the Orchha line). The Bundelas rose in central India in the 16th-17th centuries and are remembered for their alliance and friction with the Mughals and for a rich phase of fort-and-palace architecture (Orchha, Datia, Jhansi region).

Each wrong option is a different central-Indian power centre: Bandhavgarh = Baghela, Garha-Mandla = Gond (Durgavati). Fix the ruler-to-dynasty tag first — Vir Singh Dev = Bundela — then the Gond and Baghela seats fall away.

Key facts

Raja Vir Singh Dev (Bir Singh Deo Bundela) ruled 1605-1627, the Bundela golden age.
He killed Abul Fazl (1602) at the instigation of Prince Salim (Jahangir).
He built the Jahangir Mahal at Orchha; the commission's key gives Gahora as his capital.
Garha-Mandla was the Gond kingdom of Rani Durgavati; Bandhavgarh the Baghela fort.

Study next

Bundela dynasty of Orchha (Rudra Pratap, Bir Singh Deo, Champat Rai, Chhatrasal)Gond kingdoms of central India (Garha-Mandla, Rani Durgavati)Baghela rulers and Bandhavgarh / RewaMughal-Bundela relations and the killing of Abul FazlBundela architecture: Orchha, Datia and Jahangir Mahal

Common traps

Confusing the Bundela (Orchha) seat with the Gond seat of Garha-Mandla.
Assuming Bandhavgarh (Baghela / tiger reserve) is a Bundela capital.

MPPSC asks 'capital/ruler of the Bundelas', 'who killed Abul Fazl', or match-the-dynasty-to-capital; lock Vir Singh Dev to the Bundela line of Orchha.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
The Bundela ruler Bir Singh Deo is remembered for killing which historian-minister of Akbar?
- (a)Abul Fazl
- (b)Badauni
- (c)Faizi
- (d)Nizamuddin Ahmad
Answer(a) Abul Fazl — killed in 1602 at Prince Salim's instigation.
practice — not a real PYQ
The Gond kingdom of Garha-Mandla was famously defended against the Mughals by:
- (a)Rani Durgavati
- (b)Rani Avantibai
- (c)Ahilyabai Holkar
- (d)Rani Kamlapati
Answer(a) Rani Durgavati (d. 1564).