MPPSC 2024 Prelims Paper-I · Question 93 of 100

Correct — B, Kayatha (also spelt Kaytha). Kayatha, on the Choti Kali Sindh river in Ujjain district, is the type-site of the Chalcolithic 'Kayatha Culture' — excavated by V. S. Wakankar in 1965–67; thermoluminescence dating has been used on its finds to fix the site's chronology. Kayatha is also traditionally identified with 'Kapitthaka', the place where the 6th-century CE astronomer-mathematician Varahamihira says, in his own writings, that he was educated, close to his home city of Ujjain. This identification is the one MPPSC's question (and local tradition) relies on, though scholars note the exact location of Kapitthaka isn't settled beyond doubt.

• (a)Dangwada — A real Malwa-region place name in Madhya Pradesh, but not the site carrying the traditional Varahamihira identification.
• (c)Navdatoli — A genuine and important Chalcolithic site (on the Narmada, near Maheshwar), but it carries no traditional link to Varahamihira's birthplace/education — that identification specifically attaches to Kayatha.
• (d)Indragarh — A real archaeological site in Mandsaur district, Madhya Pradesh, but its excavated remains belong mainly to the medieval Rajput period (10th–12th century) — not the Chalcolithic-era site linked to Varahamihira.

Kayatha is one of the key Chalcolithic (copper-stone age) sites of the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh, alongside Navdatoli, Nagda, and Eran. Excavated by V. S. Wakankar in the mid-1960s, it gave its name to the 'Kayatha Culture' (roughly 2100–1300 BCE). Independently of its prehistoric layers, local and scholarly tradition also identifies the site with 'Kapitthaka', the place of Varahamihira's education, linking it to the 6th-century CE astronomer's life.

The trap is picking a plausible-sounding but unrelated Madhya Pradesh site name. Indragarh in particular is a genuine MP archaeological site, but from a much later (medieval) period, and Navdatoli is a genuine Chalcolithic site but without the Varahamihira link — a reminder that the site must match BOTH the Chalcolithic/thermoluminescence angle AND the Varahamihira tradition.

• Kayatha (Kaytha), on the Choti Kali Sindh river in Ujjain district, is the type-site of the Chalcolithic 'Kayatha Culture', excavated by V. S. Wakankar (1965–67)
• Varahamihira (c. 505–587 CE), the astronomer-mathematician of Ujjain, wrote that he was educated at a place called 'Kapitthaka' — many scholars identify this with modern Kayatha, though the identification remains debated
• Varahamihira authored the Panchasiddhantika and the Brihat Samhita, and worked in and around Ujjain, then a major centre of Indian astronomy
• Navdatoli (on the Narmada) and Indragarh are both real Madhya Pradesh sites offered as distractors, but neither carries the Varahamihira link — Navdatoli is Chalcolithic without the tradition, Indragarh is chiefly medieval

• Confusing Kayatha with other similarly-profiled Malwa Chalcolithic sites, especially Navdatoli
• Assuming any Madhya Pradesh archaeological site is automatically 'ancient'/Chalcolithic — Indragarh, for instance, is chiefly a medieval-period site

MPPSC frequently pairs a Malwa Chalcolithic site with ONE signature fact (Kayatha ↔ Varahamihira's traditional birthplace/education, Navdatoli ↔ a major excavated Chalcolithic settlement on the Narmada) — anchor each site to its one fact.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Chalcolithic 'Kayatha Culture' of Madhya Pradesh, discovered by V. S. Wakankar, is located on the banks of which river?

  • (a)Choti Kali Sindh
  • (b)Betwa
  • (c)Tapti
  • (d)Son

  Answer(a) Choti Kali Sindh.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Varahamihira, the ancient Indian astronomer, was primarily associated with which city?

  • (a)Ujjain
  • (b)Pataliputra
  • (c)Taxila
  • (d)Kanchipuram

  Answer(a) Ujjain.