Which one of the following pair is not correctly matched? Books – Authors (A) Neh Tarang - Sawai Pratap Singh (B) Nagdaman - Sayanji Jhula (C) Ranmal Chhand - Shridhar Vyas (D) Bhasha Bhushan - Maharaja Jaswant Singh
- (1)A
- (2)C
- (3)B
- (4)D
Answer
Why
Correct — option (1), A.
The stem asks for the pair that is not correctly matched. Pair A, Neh Tarang – Sawai Pratap Singh, is wrong: Neh Tarang is the work of Rao Raja Budh Singh of Bundi, not of Sawai Pratap Singh of Jaipur.
Ganga Ram Garg's An Encyclopaedia of World Hindi Literature (1985) says of Buddha Singh (1685–1739), ruler of Bundi: "His Neh-Tarang (1727) in 446 metres is a Riti work of its kind."
The Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute, Jodhpur, published the text as no. 63 of its Rajasthan Puratan Granthmala under the title "Ravraja Budhsingh Hada krit Nehtarang" (Neh Tarang by Rao Raja Budh Singh Hada).
Sawai Pratap Singh of Jaipur wrote under the name Brajnidhi. Motilal Menariya's Rajasthani Sahitya ki Rooprekha (1939) lists his works, published as the Brajnidhi Granthavali. That list has titles such as Sneh Sangram and Sneh Bahar, but not Neh Tarang.
The other three pairs are correct.
Neh Tarang is Budh Singh's (Bundi), not Pratap Singh's (Jaipur).
Why the others are wrong
- (2)C — Option (2) names pair C, Ranmal Chhand – Shridhar Vyas, which is correct. Hiralal Maheshwari's History of Rajasthani Literature lists Ranmall Chhand (70 verses) among Sridhar Vyas's poems.
He describes it as a historical poem on the battle Rav Ranmall Rathore of Idar fought against Zafar Khan, Governor of Gujarat, who invaded Idar in 1398; the poem was composed in 1400.
- (3)B — Option (3) names pair B, Nagdaman – Sayanji Jhula, which is correct. Maheshwari writes that Sanya Jhula (about 1523–1623) of village Lilcha, who was close to Rav Kalyanmal Rathore of Idar, wrote Nag Daman.
The poem describes Krishna's crushing of the serpent Kaliya in the Yamuna. Sanya Jhula also wrote Rukmani Haran.
- (4)D — Option (4) names pair D, Bhasha Bhushan – Maharaja Jaswant Singh, which is correct. Garg (1985) describes Bhasha Bhushan as a "Work on Alankars, written by Jasvant Singh", a Riti poet of the 17th century.
Menariya lists Bhasha Bhushan first among the works of Maharaja Jaswant Singh of Jodhpur and says it follows the pattern of Jayadeva's Chandraloka.
Concept
Several rulers of Rajasthan's states were poets themselves. Maharaja Jaswant Singh of Jodhpur wrote Bhasha Bhushan on figures of speech, Rao Raja Budh Singh of Bundi wrote Neh Tarang, and Sawai Pratap Singh of Jaipur wrote many works as "Brajnidhi".
Others were court poets. Sridhar Vyas and Sanya Jhula both wrote about the Rathore rulers of Idar: Ranmall Chhand describes a battle of 1398, and Sanya Jhula was close to Rav Kalyanmal.
Garg calls Neh Tarang "a Riti work" and Jaswant Singh "a Riti poet". His Riti entries cover works on poetics, such as Bhasha Bhushan on figures of speech (alankar) and a Dakshan-Vilas on nayak-nayika bhed.
RPSC's 2021 Prelims syllabus lists "Language & Literature: Dialects of Rajasthani Language. Literature of Rajasthani language and Folk literature." under the history, art and culture of Rajasthan.
The works here span centuries: Ranmall Chhand was composed in 1400, Sanya Jhula lived about 1523–1623, Jaswant Singh was a 17th-century poet, and Neh Tarang dates from 1727. The court each poet served helps place a work in time.
Key facts
- Neh Tarang (1727) is by Rao Raja Budh Singh of Bundi (Garg, 1985; Rajasthan Puratan Granthmala no. 63).
- Sawai Pratap Singh of Jaipur wrote under the pen-name Brajnidhi; his works were published as the Brajnidhi Granthavali (Menariya).
- Ranmall Chhand by Sridhar Vyas describes Rav Ranmall Rathore of Idar's battle against Zafar Khan of Gujarat (Maheshwari).
- Nag Daman, on Krishna subduing Kaliya, is by Sanya Jhula of Lilcha, who was close to Rav Kalyanmal of Idar (Maheshwari).
- Bhasha Bhushan, a work on alankars, is by Maharaja Jaswant Singh of Jodhpur (Garg; Menariya).
Pair A is the wrong match, printed as option (1). Sources: Garg (1985); Rajasthan Puratan Granthmala no. 63; Maheshwari; Menariya.
Study next
Common traps
- The options are printed out of order: option (2) is pair C and option (3) is pair B, so read the letter inside each option.
- Pratap Singh's titles such as Sneh Sangram sound like Neh Tarang; the similar word does not make it his work.
- Similar titles exist in other languages: the Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature mentions a Bhashabhushana by the Kannada author Nagavarma and a Malayalam Bhashabhushanam of 1902. The Rajasthan-court Bhasha Bhushan is Jaswant Singh's.
A question can list books with authors and ask which pair is not correctly matched, as this one does.
A question can also ask the author of a single work, match works to authors, or ask which ruler wrote under a pen-name.
Related PYQs
UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2018 and 2013 here once those papers are published on this site.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
'Nag Daman', a Rajasthani poem on Krishna subduing the serpent Kaliya, was written by
- (a)Sanya Jhula
- (b)Sridhar Vyas
- (c)Maharaja Jaswant Singh
- (d)Rao Raja Budh Singh
Answer(1) — Maheshwari names Sanya Jhula of Lilcha as the author of Nag Daman. Option (2), Sridhar Vyas, wrote Ranmall Chhand; option (3), Jaswant Singh, wrote Bhasha Bhushan; option (4), Budh Singh, wrote Neh Tarang. - practice — not a real PYQ
Sawai Pratap Singh of Jaipur composed poetry under which pen-name ?
- (a)Nagaridas
- (b)Brajnidhi
- (c)Sneh Sangram
- (d)Neh Tarang
Answer(2) — Menariya writes that Sawai Pratap Singh used the name Brajnidhi in his poetry, and his works appeared as the Brajnidhi Granthavali. Option (3), Sneh Sangram, is one of his works, not a pen-name; option (4), Neh Tarang, is Budh Singh's work; option (1), Nagaridas, is not the name these sources give for him.