UPSC Prelims 2015 · Question 35 of 98
UPSC Prelims 2015 question on Champaka Durgara Kuluta States
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2015
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectMedieval History
- TopicMiscellaneous Medieval History
- DifficultyHard
- TypeMatch
Consider the following pairs:
Medieval Indian State - Present Region
1. Champaka - Central India
2. Durgara - Jammu
3. Kuluta - Malabar
Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?
Show answer
Answer: B. 2 only
Verdict
The answer is 2 only. Durgara is Jammu, but Champaka is not central India and Kuluta is not Malabar.
Analysis
Pair 2 is CORRECT. Durgara corresponds to the Jammu region, and the name survives in the Dogra identity of that area. Pair 1 is INCORRECT. Champaka is modern Chamba in Himachal Pradesh, in the western Himalaya, not central India. Pair 3 is INCORRECT. Kuluta is modern Kullu, also in Himachal Pradesh, not the Malabar coast of Kerala. All three medieval names in fact belong to the western Himalayan belt, which is what makes the misplacements possible.
Source
Scholarly work on early Indian historical geography accessed through the online book reference given in the analysis.
How to crack it
Old place names usually survive with a recognisable sound shift, so read each name aloud and look for the modern town inside it. Champaka gives Chamba and Kuluta gives Kullu almost directly. That phonetic test is the whole question and it costs no recall at all. It also generalises: Pataliputra gives Patna, Kanyakubja gives Kannauj, Ujjayini gives Ujjain. When a historical geography question offers unfamiliar names, sound them out before concluding you do not know them.