Railway
'Mrignayani ka Mahal' (Gujari Mahal) is situated in:
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)View answer ▾Hide ▴
Answer: Option A — Gwalior
Detailed Solution
The Gujari Mahal, popularly called the palace of Queen Mrignayani, is located at the foot of the Gwalior Fort in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh.
About the Gujari Mahal:
It was built in the late 15th century by Raja Man Singh Tomar (ruled 1486-1516), the great Tomar king of Gwalior.
He built it for his beloved queen Mrignayani ("the doe-eyed one"), a Gujar village girl who was famous for her beauty and bravery. According to legend, she agreed to marry the king on the condition that she would always have water from her village river; so he built a pipeline to bring water to the palace from the Rai river.
The palace has a large courtyard and is built in a style that blends Hindu and early Islamic architecture.
Today, it houses the State Archaeological Museum of Gwalior, with rare sculptures, inscriptions and paintings.
Its most famous exhibit is a statue of a "Shalabhanjika" (a woman with a tree), called the "Gwalior Venus" or the "Indian Mona Lisa", which is kept in a special locked room.
The story of Mrignayani was told in the Hindi novel "Mrignayani" (1950) by Vrindavan Lal Verma.
About Raja Man Singh Tomar:
- He was a great patron of music; the "dhrupad" style of Hindustani music developed under his patronage, and he wrote a book on music, "Man Kautuhal".
- He built the Man Mandir Palace in the Gwalior Fort, famous for its blue tiles decorated with ducks, elephants and peacocks.
About the Gwalior Fort:
- It stands on a sandstone hill and is called the "Gibraltar of India".
- Other monuments inside include the Teli ka Mandir, the Saas-Bahu temples and the Gurudwara Data Bandi Chhor Sahib (where Guru Hargobind was imprisoned by Jahangir).
- A small Vishnu temple (the Chaturbhuj Temple) in the fort has an inscription of 876 CE with the oldest known written "0" (zero) in India.
- In 2023, Gwalior was named a UNESCO Creative City of Music.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Orchha has the Jahangir Mahal and Raj Mahal.
- ✗Mandu has the Jahaz Mahal and Roopmati's Pavilion.
- ✗Chittorgarh has Padmini's Palace and the Vijay Stambh.
Quick tip
Remember: Gujari Mahal (Mrignayani's palace) = Gwalior (built by Raja Man Singh Tomar, 15th century; now a museum with the "Gwalior Venus"); Man Mandir Palace; Gwalior = UNESCO City of Music 2023.
💬 Discussions on this question
Ask a doubt ›Still stuck on this question? Ask our faculty and fellow students — answers appear here.
Ask a doubtMore Monuments & Religious Places Questions
View all ›- Q1.The Somnath Jyotirlinga temple is located in which state?
- Q2.The Kamakhya Temple is located in:
- Q3.The brick temple of Bhitargaon, one of the oldest surviving brick temples of India, is situated in:
- Q4.The Mahabodhi Temple is situated at:
- Q5.The famous Brihadeeswara Temple, built by Rajaraja Chola I, is situated in:
More General Knowledge Questions
- Q1.The techniques of Rasa and Bhava used in Indian classical dance trace their origin to which ancient text?Indian Dance Forms
- Q2.Lavani, Powada, Koli, Waghya Murali and Dhangari Gaja are folk dances of which state?Indian Dance Forms
- Q3.The one-act play associated with the Sattriya tradition of Assam is called:Indian Dance Forms
- Q4.Which dance form of Goa is known as the 'Warrior Dance'?Indian Dance Forms
- Q5.Manipuri dance is based on the Rasleela themes of:Indian Dance Forms
Monuments & Religious Places — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Monuments & Religious Places, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers India's important monuments, temples, mosques, churches, gurudwaras and pilgrimage sites, who built them and when, their architectural styles, and India's UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Questions ask who built a monument, where it is located, or which dynasty or style it belongs to. For example, the Qutub Minar was begun by Qutbuddin Aibak, and the Sun Temple at Konark was built by the Eastern Ganga king Narasimhadeva I. Revise the UNESCO World Heritage Sites as a list, noting the most recent additions. Practise the monuments and religious places questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.