Consider the following statements about Rao Chunda of Marwar and choose the correct option from below : A. Rao Chunda obtained Mandore in dowry. B. Rao Ranmal ascended the throne immediately after Rao Chunda’s death.
- (1)Only A is true.
- (2)Only B is true.
- (3)A and B both are true.
- (4)A and B both are false.
Answer
Why
Correct — option (1), Only A is true.
Statement A is true. Rao Chunda married into the Inda (Eenda) branch of the Pratihars around 1395, and Mandore came to him in dowry.
B.N. Reu's Glories of Marwar dates the dowry to 1395 and describes the Indas as not strong enough to hold Mandore against the Muslim armies. Mandore then became Chunda's capital.
A Dingal couplet keeps the tradition alive. It says the Rathores should always remember the obligation of the Indas, who gave Chunda a daughter in marriage and Mandore in dowry.
Statement B is false. Chunda named his younger son Kanha as heir, passing over his eldest son Ranmal. Kanha succeeded and died shortly afterwards; Rao Satta followed with a short reign. Only then did Ranmal take Mandore, with the help of Mewar's forces.
With A true and B false, the code is option (1).
The idea to remember: Chunda, then Kanha, then Satta, then Ranmal.
Why the others are wrong
- (2)Only B is true. — This keeps the false statement and drops the true one. After Chunda's death, Kanha took the throne, as Chunda had wished; Satta followed, and Ranmal came only after both.
Statement A, that Chunda received Mandore in dowry, is the one the tradition supports.
- (3)A and B both are true. — Statement A holds, but B does not. Ranmal did not follow Chunda immediately: Kanha and then Satta reigned first.
Ranmal, passed over by his father, had gone to the Mewar court, where his sister Hansa Bai was married to Rana Lakha. He returned to take Mandore with Mewar's help.
- (4)A and B both are false. — This rejects statement A, which is true. Chunda received Mandore in dowry on marrying into the Inda Pratihars around 1395, and made it his capital.
Only statement B is false, because Kanha, not Ranmal, succeeded Chunda.
Concept
The Rathores of Marwar ruled from Mandore before Jodhpur existed. Rao Chunda made Mandore his capital around 1395. Rao Jodha founded Jodhpur in 1459, about six miles south of Mandore, and it later replaced Mandore as the capital.
Succession in this line did not always pass to the eldest son. Chunda named his younger son Kanha as heir, and his eldest son Ranmal left for Mewar.
A statement using "immediately after" is a test of the full succession, not just of who ruled at some later point.
RPSC's 2024 syllabus lists "Political and Cultural achievements of prominent rulers of major dynasties - Guhila, Pratihar, Chauhan, Parmar, Rathore, Sisodiya and Kachchawa."
Chunda expanded Marwar. He defended Mandore against Zafar Khan of Gujarat in 1396 and occupied places such as Sambhar, Didwana, Khatu and Ajmer.
He was killed at Nagaur by the combined forces of the Bhatis and the Sankhlas, aided by the governor of Multan, whom Reu names as Salim.
The Marwar–Mewar tie ran through Chunda's daughter Hansa Bai, wife of Rana Lakha. Ranmal later became powerful at Chittor and was assassinated there around 1438.
Key facts
- Rao Chunda married into the Inda branch of the Pratihars around 1395, and Mandore became his capital.
- A Dingal couplet recalls that the Indas gave Chunda a daughter in marriage and Mandore in dowry.
- Chunda was killed at Nagaur by the Bhatis and Sankhlas, aided from Multan; Reu's Glories of Marwar dates it to 1424, A Comprehensive History of India (Vol. V) to 1423.
- After Chunda came Kanha and then Satta, both with short reigns, before Ranmal took Mandore with Mewar's help.
- Ranmal's son Rao Jodha regained Mandore in 1453 and laid the foundation of Jodhpur on 12 May 1459.
Ranmal came third after Chunda, not immediately after him.
Study next
Common traps
- Assuming the eldest son succeeded: Ranmal was Chunda's eldest son, but Chunda named Kanha as heir.
- Reading "immediately after" loosely: Ranmal did become Rao of Marwar, but only after Kanha and Satta.
- Fixing a single death year for Chunda: Reu's Glories of Marwar gives 1424, while A Comprehensive History of India (Vol. V) gives 1423.
A question can pair a statement on how a ruler gained his capital with a statement on who succeeded him, and ask which is true.
A question can also ask for the order of rulers, or match rulers to events such as Mandore becoming the capital or the founding of Jodhpur.
Related PYQs
UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2021 here once that paper is published on this site.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
Who succeeded Rao Chunda on the throne of Marwar?
- (a)Rao Ranmal
- (b)Rao Kanha
- (c)Rao Jodha
- (d)Rao Satta
Answer(2) — Chunda named his younger son Kanha as heir, and Kanha succeeded him. Option (1) came to the throne only after Kanha and Satta; option (3) was Ranmal's son; option (4) reigned after Kanha. - practice — not a real PYQ
Arrange the following in chronological order: A. Rao Jodha founds Jodhpur B. Rao Chunda makes Mandore his capital C. Rao Ranmal is assassinated at Chittor D. Rao Jodha regains Mandore Codes:
- (a)B, C, D, A
- (b)B, D, C, A
- (c)C, B, D, A
- (d)B, C, A, D
Answer(1) — B (around 1395), C (around 1438), D (1453), A (1459). Option (2) puts Jodha's recapture of Mandore before his father's death; option (3) puts Ranmal's death before Chunda's capital; option (4) puts the founding of Jodhpur before the recapture of Mandore.