SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 22 September 2025, Shift 1 · General Awareness · Question 3 of 98

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.

Which Indian martial art involves the use of a flexible sword called "Urumi"?

(a)Silambam
(b)Kalaripayattu
(c)Gatka
(d)Thang-Ta

Answer

Why

Correct — B. The urumi is a sword with a flexible, whip-like blade, worn around the waist. The name is Malayalam, and in Kerala it is also called chuttuval, from the words for 'coiling' and 'sword'.

It belongs to Kalaripayattu, Kerala's martial art, where it is almost always taught last because it needs both whip and sword skills → option (b).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
Silambam — Silambam is the martial art of Tamil Nadu, named after its main weapon, the bamboo staff. It is a staff discipline, not a flexible-sword one.
(c)
Gatka — Gatka, the Sikh martial art of Punjab, is a style of stick-fighting with wooden sticks that stand in for swords. Nothing in it is whip-like.
(d)
Thang-Ta — Thang-Ta is Manipur's Meitei martial art, and its name lists its weapons: thang is the sword and ta the spear. Neither is a flexible blade.

Concept

India's traditional martial arts are easiest to hold as state + signature weapon:

Kalaripayattu, Kerala: trained in a kalari (training ground), ends with the urumi.
Silambam, Tamil Nadu: the bamboo staff.
Gatka, Punjab: wooden sticks standing in for swords.
Thang-Ta, Manipur: sword (thang) and spear (ta).

When a question names a weapon, place the weapon first, then the state.

Key facts

The urumi is a flexible, whip-like sword, called chuttuval in Kerala.
In Kalaripayattu the urumi is almost always taught last, because it needs whip and sword skills.
Thang-Ta is the armed martial art of the Meitei of Manipur: thang means sword and ta means spear.
Silambam, from Tamil Nadu, is named after its bamboo staff.

Study next

Martial arts of Manipur: Thang-Ta and the unarmed Sarit SarakKalaripayattu's weapons and the kalari training groundSikh martial traditions: Gatka and the Hola Mohalla displays

Common traps

Linking any sword to Gatka because it is a Sikh martial tradition — Gatka practice uses wooden sticks.
Choosing Thang-Ta because thang means sword — the question wants the flexible sword, and that is Kerala's urumi.

Here the martial art is identified by one weapon. Thang-Ta, option (d) here, is itself asked at 13 Sep 2025, 12:30, GA Q.20, which wants its state, Manipur.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

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