The Malaw Samvat was also known as

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — B, Krit Samvat. The era now popularly called the 'Vikram Samvat' (reckoned from 57-58 BCE) was NOT called 'Vikrama' in its own early inscriptions — it was first recorded as the Krita (Krit) era, and later as the Malava era, named after the Malava tribe/region of what is now western Madhya Pradesh. The association with a legendary King Vikramaditya of Ujjain, and the name 'Vikrama Samvat', appears only from around the 9th century CE onward. So 'Malava Samvat' and 'Krit Samvat' are two historical names for the very same era.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) The Kalachuri (Chedi) era is a separate reckoning, begun c. 248-249 CE and used mainly in Central India by the Kalachuri dynasty — a different starting point and different sponsoring dynasty from the Malava/Krita era.  (c) The Saka era began in 78 CE (today the basis of India's National Calendar) — over a century after the Malava/Krita era began, and named for the Saka rulers, not the Malava region.  (d) The Gupta era began in 319-320 CE, marking the rise of the Gupta dynasty — centuries later than the Malava/Krita era and unrelated to it in origin.

Concept: Ancient and early-medieval India used several regnal/dynastic eras rather than one shared calendar. The era that eventually became the 'Vikram Samvat' (still used in the Hindu calendar today) was recorded in its earliest inscriptions simply as the Krita era, then as the Malava era — after the Malava tribe of the region around present-day western Madhya Pradesh/Rajasthan. Only centuries later did tradition attach it to a legendary King Vikramaditya of Ujjain and rename it 'Vikrama Samvat'.

State PCS 2021 Q66 — Madhya Pradesh GK PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2021 Q66 — Madhya Pradesh GK PYQ with Answer