SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 16 September 2025, Shift 3 · General Awareness · Question 1 of 75

We transcribed this text from the pictures on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; the answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 13 September 2026.

Where this paper and its answers come from

SSC does not publish CGL question papers or a public answer key. From 2025 the candidate response sheet prints every question and option as a picture, so the text here is transcribed from those pictures for this shift and checked against them independently; where the layout carries meaning, the picture is shown as well. Each answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. SSC released a tentative key for challenge and later its final one, both only to candidates behind a login, and the sheet does not say which of the two it carries. The solutions are written by UnlockIAS.

Consider the following statements: 1. Perini Shivatandavam is a warrior dance revived in modern times. 2. It originated from the court of Chola kings of Tamil Nadu. Which of the above statements is/are correct?

(a)Only 1 is correct
(b)Only 2 is correct
(c)Both statements 1 and 2 are correct
(d)Neither statement 1 nor 2 is correct

Answer

Why

Correct — A. Statement 1 is true. Perini Shivatandavam is the dance of warriors: before leaving for battle, warriors performed it before the idol of Shiva.

Its modern life is a revival. Dr Nataraja Ramakrishna revived it by studying old manuscripts and the sculptures of the Ramappa Temple.

Statement 2 is false. The dance prospered under the Kakatiya dynasty of Warangal, in present-day Telangana, not at a Chola court in Tamil Nadu.

Only statement 1 holds → option (a).

Why the others are wrong

(b)
Only 2 is correct — Statement 2 is the false one. Perini prospered under the Kakatiyas of Warangal in Telangana, so tying it to the Chola court of Tamil Nadu gets both the dynasty and the region wrong.
(c)
Both statements 1 and 2 are correct — Both cannot stand because the Chola attribution fails. Perini's patrons were the Kakatiyas of Warangal, so only the warrior-dance statement survives.
(d)
Neither statement 1 nor 2 is correct — Statement 1 is true, so 'neither' fails. Warriors performed Perini before battle, and Nataraja Ramakrishna revived it from old manuscripts and Ramappa Temple sculpture.

Concept

Perini Shivatandavam, usually spelled Perini Sivatandavam, is a dance from Telangana dedicated to Shiva. Warriors performed it before his idol before setting out for battle, which is why it is called the dance of warriors.

It prospered under the Kakatiya dynasty of Warangal. The Sanskrit text Nritta Ratnavali of Jayapa Senani describes it, and sculptures near the sanctum of the Ramappa Temple preserve its postures.

The paper spells the name Shivatandavam. Sources also write Sivatandavam, and the Sanskrit text appears as Nritta Ratnavali or Nrttya Ratnavali. They are the same dance and the same book.

Key facts

Perini Sivatandavam prospered under the Kakatiya dynasty of Warangal, in present-day Telangana.
Warriors performed it before an idol of Shiva before leaving for battle.
Dr Nataraja Ramakrishna revived it by studying old manuscripts and the sculptures of the Ramappa Temple.
Jayapa Senani's Sanskrit text Nritta Ratnavali describes the dance.

Study next

The Kakatiya dynasty: Warangal and the Ramappa TempleDance forms of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, from Kuchipudi to PeriniMartial art forms of India, such as Thang-Ta of Manipur and Kalaripayattu of Kerala

Common traps

Linking every Shiva-themed dance to Tamil Nadu. Perini's patrons were the Kakatiyas of Warangal, not the Cholas.
Treating 'revived in modern times' as a red flag. Perini's present form is a revival, by Nataraja Ramakrishna.

Here a regional dance is paired with the wrong dynasty, so you need its origin, not just its name. Regional dances are also asked at 19 Sep 2025, 16:00, GA Q.24 (Dumhal of Kashmir) and 19 Sep 2025, 09:00, GA Q.24 (Rouf of Kashmir).

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Culture — all 246 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.