UPSC Prelims 2016 · Question 5 of 98
UPSC Prelims 2016 question on Eripatti Ghatikas
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2016
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectAncient History
- TopicHarshavardhana & Southern Dynasties
- DifficultyHard
- TypeMatch
In the context of the history of India, consider the following pairs:
Term: Description
1. Eripatti : Land, revenue from which was set apart for the maintenance of the village tank
2. Taniyurs : Villages donated to a single Brahmin or a group of Brahmins
3. Ghatikas : Colleges generally attached to the temples
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
Show answer
Answer: D. 1 and 3
Verdict
The answer is 1 and 3. Eripatti and Ghatikas are correctly described, but Taniyurs were not villages donated to Brahmins.
Analysis
Pair 1 is CORRECT. Eripatti was a special category of land in South India, donated by individuals, whose revenue was set apart for the maintenance of the village tank, eri being the Tamil word for tank. Pair 3 is CORRECT. Ghatikas were colleges generally attached to temples, and they received land grants and donations alongside mathas. Pair 2 is INCORRECT. Taniyur was a large village functioning as an autonomous administrative unit under the Cholas. The description given, a village donated to a single Brahmin or a group of Brahmins, belongs to brahmadeya and agrahara.
Source
Romila Thapar, The Penguin History of Early India.
How to crack it
Use the root of the term where you can, since eri means tank in Tamil, which confirms pair 1 without any recall. Then keep the South Indian land grant vocabulary as a short table: brahmadeya and agrahara for Brahmin grants, devadana for temple grants, eripatti for tank maintenance, taniyur for an autonomous village unit. A term that names an institution can be checked against the term that names a grant, and the mismatch is usually where the question is decided.