NDA (I) 2023 GAT Q119: Yashovarman was ruler of which one of the following

Q: What is the answer to NDA (I) 2023 GAT Q119?

A. Correct — A, Kannauj. Yashovarman was an 8th-century ruler of Kannauj, a great patron of learning who supported the poets Bhavabhuti and Vakpati (author of the Gaudavaho). He was eventually defeated by Lalitaditya Muktapida of Kashmir.

NDA (I) 2023 General Ability Test · Question 119 of 149

Question text verified against the official NDA question paper.

Yashovarman was ruler of which one of the following kingdoms?

(a)Kannauj
(b)Mewar
(c)Marwar
(d)Kalinga

Answer

Why

Correct — A, Kannauj. Yashovarman was an 8th-century ruler of Kannauj, a great patron of learning who supported the poets Bhavabhuti and Vakpati (author of the Gaudavaho). He was eventually defeated by Lalitaditya Muktapida of Kashmir.

Why the others are wrong

(b)Mewar — Mewar (Rajasthan) was ruled by the Guhila/Sisodia dynasty (e.g. Rana Kumbha, Rana Sanga, Maharana Pratap), not by Yashovarman.
(c)Marwar — Marwar (Jodhpur, Rajasthan) was the Rathore kingdom; Yashovarman had no connection with it.
(d)Kalinga — Kalinga (Odisha) is associated with rulers like Kharavela and, earlier, the Mauryan conquest under Ashoka — not with Yashovarman of Kannauj.

Concept

After Harsha's death (647 CE), Kannauj remained the coveted political and cultural centre of northern India. Yashovarman ruled there in the early 8th century; his court patronised Sanskrit and Prakrit literature. His defeat by Lalitaditya Muktapida of Kashmir set the stage for the later 'tripartite struggle' for Kannauj among the Palas, Pratiharas and Rashtrakutas.

This is a ruler-to-kingdom matching item. Yashovarman belongs to Kannauj; the Rajasthan options (Mewar, Marwar) and Kalinga are governed by entirely different dynasties, so knowing his Kannauj association gives the answer.

Key facts

Yashovarman was an 8th-century ruler of Kannauj.
He patronised the poets Bhavabhuti and Vakpati.
He was defeated by Lalitaditya Muktapida of Kashmir.
Kannauj later became the prize in the tripartite struggle (Palas, Pratiharas, Rashtrakutas).

Study next

Kannauj as a political centre after HarshaThe tripartite struggle for KannaujLalitaditya Muktapida of KashmirPost-Gupta regional kingdomsSanskrit court literature (Bhavabhuti, Vakpati)

Common traps

Assigning Yashovarman to a Rajasthan kingdom (Mewar/Marwar).
Confusing him with Harsha, an earlier Kannauj ruler.

Asked as the kingdom Yashovarman ruled, or the patrons/rivals of Kannauj.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
Yashovarman of Kannauj was defeated by which Kashmiri ruler?
- (a)Lalitaditya Muktapida
- (b)Avantivarman
- (c)Didda
- (d)Harsha of Kashmir
Answer(a) Lalitaditya Muktapida.
practice — not a real PYQ
Kannauj was the centre of the 'tripartite struggle' among the Palas, Rashtrakutas and which third power?
- (a)Cholas
- (b)Pratiharas
- (c)Chalukyas
- (d)Pallavas
Answer(b) the Pratiharas.