Which of the following options is not rightly matched ?
- (1)Prithvi Raj Raso – Chandarbardai
- (2)Bisaldev Raso – Narpati
- (3)Khuman Raso – Karnidan
- (4)Shatrusal Raso – Dungarsingh
Answer
Why
Correct — option (3), Khuman Raso – Karnidan.
The stem asks for the pair that is not rightly matched. Khuman Raso – Karnidan is that pair: Khuman Raso is by Dalpat Vijay.
Ganga Ram Garg's Encyclopaedia of World Hindi Literature (1985) names Dalpat as its author. His name became Daulat Vijay after a Jain monk, Shanti Vijay, initiated him. Garg dates the poem to about 1712.
Karnidan is Kaviya Karnidan (1693–1783), court poet of Maharaja Abhay Singh of Jodhpur. His Suraj Prakash describes the battle of Ahmedabad that Abhay Singh fought in 1730 against Sarbuland Khan, Governor of Gujarat.
The other three pairs are correct. Prithviraj Raso is attributed to Chand Bardai, Bisaldev Raso to Narpati Nalha, and Shatrusal Raso to Dungarsi (Dungar Singh), a protégé of Rao Raja Shatrusal of Bundi.
The idea to remember: Khuman Raso belongs to Dalpat Vijay; Karnidan wrote Suraj Prakash.
Why the others are wrong
- (1)Prithvi Raj Raso – Chandarbardai — This pair is correct, so it is not the answer to a 'not rightly matched' question. Garg describes Chand Bardai as a minister and court poet of Prithviraj Chauhan and the author of Prithviraj Raso.
The text itself grew over time: a chapter in Historical Biography in Indian Literature (ed. S. P. Sen, 1979) notes recensions from about 1,400 verses to about 40,000. Chand Bardai is the name to match with it.
- (2)Bisaldev Raso – Narpati — This pair is correct. Bisaldev Raso is by Narpati Nalha, and its hero Bisaldev (Visaldev) is a Chauhan ruler named Vigraharaja.
G. H. Ojha identified him with Vigraharaja III, while Garg notes scholars who link Narpati to Vigraharaja IV. The poem's date is disputed too, so hold on to the author, Narpati Nalha, rather than a year.
- (4)Shatrusal Raso – Dungarsingh — This pair is correct. Garg records Dungarsi as a poet under the patronage of Rao Raja Shatrusal of Bundi and the author of Shatrusal Raso, a poem on his patron's valour. Sen's volume gives the author's name as Dungar Singh.
Shatrusal Raso is therefore Dungarsi's, with Shatrusal of Bundi as its hero.
Concept
A raso is a narrative poem in Rajasthani (Dingal) and early Hindi that celebrates a ruler's battles, marriages and valour. Many take the name of their hero rather than their poet.
That matters when matching titles to authors. Khuman Raso takes its title from Khumman of Mewar, Shatrusal Raso from Shatrusal of Bundi, Bisaldev Raso from Visaldev; the title names the hero, not the author.
Some rasos, Prithviraj Raso among them, grew over centuries, so their dates and even their core text are debated by scholars.
RPSC's 2024 syllabus lists "Literature of Rajasthani language and Folk literature" under Language & Literature. The raso tradition also bears on the "Political and Cultural achievements of prominent rulers of major dynasties".
Historians use rasos with care. Sen's volume judges these rasos more of literary than historical value.
Garg notes that Khuman Raso, which some literary historians placed in the early period of Hindi literature, belongs in fact to the 18th century.
Key facts
- Khuman Raso is by Dalpat Vijay (Daulat Vijay); Garg dates it to about 1712 and records 3,576 verses in its incomplete manuscript.
- Khuman Raso narrates Mewar's rulers from Bappa Rawal to Maharana Raj Singh and includes the Padmini–Alauddin episode.
- Kaviya Karnidan (1693–1783), court poet of Maharaja Abhay Singh of Jodhpur, wrote Suraj Prakash on the 1730 battle of Ahmedabad.
- Bisaldev Raso is by Narpati Nalha; G. H. Ojha identified its hero with the Chauhan ruler Vigraharaja III.
- Shatrusal Raso is by Dungarsi (Dungar Singh), a protégé of Rao Raja Shatrusal of Bundi.
Sources: G. R. Garg, Encyclopaedia of World Hindi Literature (1985); S. P. Sen (ed.), Historical Biography in Indian Literature (1979).
Study next
Common traps
- Reading the title as the author: Khuman, Bisaldev and Shatrusal are the heroes of their rasos, not their poets.
- Linking Karnidan to Khuman Raso: Karnidan was court poet of Maharaja Abhay Singh of Jodhpur, and his Suraj Prakash describes his patron's battle of Ahmedabad.
- Dating Khuman Raso by its hero: some scholars made Dalpat a contemporary of Khumman II (r. 813–43, per Garg), but Garg places the poem around 1712.
A question can list raso–author pairs and ask which is wrong, give a raso and ask its author, or give a poet and ask who his patron was.
A question can also ask for a work's hero, such as the ruler Shatrusal Raso celebrates.
Related PYQs
UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2021 and 2013 here once those papers are published on this site.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
Suraj Prakash, a Rajasthani poem describing the battle of Ahmedabad fought in 1730, was written by —
- (a)Kaviya Karnidan
- (b)Dalpat Vijay
- (c)Narpati Nalha
- (d)Dursa Adha
Answer(1) — Kaviya Karnidan, court poet of Maharaja Abhay Singh of Jodhpur, wrote Suraj Prakash. Option (2) wrote Khuman Raso, option (3) wrote Bisaldev Raso, and option (4) is paired with Kirtar Bavani in RPSC's 2013 key. - practice — not a real PYQ
Which of the following pairs is correctly matched? (Raso – Author)
- (a)Khuman Raso – Chand Bardai
- (b)Sagat Raso – Girdhar Asia
- (c)Bisaldev Raso – Dungarsi
- (d)Prithviraj Raso – Narpati Nalha
Answer(2) — Sen's volume names Girdhar Asia as the poet of Sagat Raso. Option (1) should be Dalpat Vijay, option (3) Narpati Nalha, and option (4) Chand Bardai.