MPPSC 2022 Prelims Paper-I · Question 100 of 100

Correct — A, Dashpur. The Dharmarajeshwar rock-cut cave temple (Garoth tehsil, Mandsaur district) is associated with Dashapura (Dashpur), the ancient name of present-day Mandsaur — a city also known for the Aulikara-era Sondani pillar inscriptions and the 5th-century silk-weavers' guild inscription.

• (b)Besnagar — An ancient town near Vidisha, famous for the Heliodorus pillar — a different ancient city, unrelated to the Dharmarajeshwar temple.
• (c)Mahishmati — An ancient city on the Narmada often identified with present-day Maheshwar — a different ancient centre, not linked to this monument.
• (d)Avanti — The Mahajanapada whose capital was Ujjaini (Ujjain) — a distinct ancient kingdom, not Dashapura/Mandsaur.

Dharmarajeshwar is a rock-cut cave temple in Garoth tehsil, Mandsaur district, Madhya Pradesh, carved from a single rock face and architecturally comparable to the Kailasanath temple at Ellora. It is associated with the ancient city of Dashapura (Dashpur), the older name for Mandsaur.

The exam repeatedly tests the ancient-name-to-modern-city link (Dashapura = Mandsaur), which also anchors two other MPPSC-favourite facts about the same city — the Sondani pillar inscriptions of the Aulikara king Yashodharman and the 5th-century Mandsaur silk-weavers' guild inscription.

• Dashapura is the ancient name of present-day Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh.
• The Dharmarajeshwar cave temple, dedicated to Shiva, is rock-cut and architecturally resembles the Kailasanath temple at Ellora.
• Mandsaur/Dashapura is also known for the Sondani pillar inscriptions of Aulikara king Yashodharman (6th century), composed by the court poet Vasula.
• A 5th-century inscription at Mandsaur records a Surya (Sun) temple built by a guild of migrant silk-weavers, under Gupta emperor Kumaragupta and local ruler Bandhuvarman.

• Confusing Dashapura (Mandsaur) with Avanti (Ujjain) — both ancient Malwa-region cities but distinct
• Mixing up Yashodharman's 6th-century Sondani inscription with the earlier 5th-century Kumaragupta–Bandhuvarman silk-weavers' inscription — different centuries, different poets

MPPSC repeatedly tests Mandsaur's ancient identity (Dashapura) and its associated inscriptions/monuments — lock the ancient-name-to-modern-city and inscription-to-dynasty pairs firmly.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Dashapura, the ancient name of Mandsaur, is prominently linked to the pillar inscriptions of which Aulikara king who claimed victory over the Huna ruler Mihirakula?

  • (a)Yashodharman
  • (b)Kumaragupta
  • (c)Bandhuvarman
  • (d)Prakashadharma

  Answer(a) Yashodharman — whose Sondani pillar inscriptions at Mandsaur record the claimed defeat of Mihirakula.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Dharmarajeshwar cave temple in Mandsaur district is architecturally compared to which rock-cut temple at Ellora?

  • (a)Kailasanath Temple
  • (b)Indra Sabha
  • (c)Dashavatara Cave
  • (d)Vishvakarma Cave

  Answer(a) Kailasanath Temple — the monolithic Ellora temple Dharmarajeshwar is most often compared to.