Four famous Indian monuments, four different centuries. Ranking them by age is a classic exam trap, and the earliest one surprises most people.
The rock-cut elephant above the Ashokan edicts at Dhauli, Odisha. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
MCQ QuestionsAncHist0127 · Dhauli Elephant
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The Dhauli elephant is the earliest of four famous Indian monuments
Carved during Ashoka’s reign, around the 3rd century BCE.
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Dhauli elephant, above Ashoka’s rock edicts, the oldest of the four
Archaeological Record
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Varaha image at Udayagiri, carved in the Gupta period
Archaeological Record
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Rock-cut monuments at Mahabalipuram, under Pallava patronage
Archaeological Record
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Lingaraja Temple at Bhubaneswar, the newest of the four
Archaeological Record
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Span separating the oldest and newest of these four monuments
Archaeological Record
✊ Must Know
Ranking Four Monuments by Age
- The Dhauli elephant is oldest The rock-cut elephant at Dhauli, from Ashoka's reign, is the earliest of the four monuments.
- Ashokan era Dhauli's elephant dates to around the 3rd century BCE, carved above Ashoka's rock edicts.
- The full ranking Oldest to newest: Dhauli elephant (3rd c. BCE), Varaha at Udayagiri (5th c. CE), Mahabalipuram (7th c. CE), Lingaraja Temple (11th c. CE).
📘 Good to Know
Each Monument's Own Period
- Odisha's earliest Buddhist sculpture The Dhauli elephant is considered the earliest Buddhist sculpture from Odisha.
- Udayagiri's Varaha The Varaha (boar) image at Udayagiri, near Vidisha, was carved during the Gupta period, around the 5th century CE.
- Mahabalipuram's rock-cut art The rock-cut monuments at Mahabalipuram date to the 7th century CE, under Pallava patronage.
Test Yourself
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🌟 Great to Know
A Span of Thirteen Centuries
- Lingaraja, the youngest The Lingaraja Temple at Bhubaneswar, built around the 11th century CE, is actually the newest of the four.
- A 1,300-year span The four monuments together span roughly 1,300 years of Indian art and architectural history.
- Why exams ask this This kind of chronology question tests whether a reader actually knows each monument's period, not just its name.
📝 Previous Year Questions
Which of These Four Was Made Earliest?
- Answer: (b) The Rock-cut Elephant at Dhauli, from Ashoka's reign, is the earliest of the four listed monuments.
- The others, in order Next is the Varaha at Udayagiri, then Mahabalipuram, and the Lingaraja Temple is the newest.
- View this question on the full 2015 paper →
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