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UPSC & State PSC

MP History & Culture for MPPSC

Bhimbetka, Sanchi and Ujjain, the Paramaras, Chandelas and Gonds, the Holkars, Scindias and Begums of Bhopal, 1857 and tribal resistance, the formation of MP, and its monuments, arts, tribes and crafts. Tested in Prelims and Mains GS I.

12 guides·Conducted by Madhya Pradesh Public Service CommissionOfficial website

Study in this order

  1. 1Prehistoric MP: Bhimbetka and the Narmada valleyThe painted rock shelters of Bhimbetka, the only fossil of an early human ever found in India at Hathnora on the Narmada, and the chalcolithic villages of Navdatoli and Kayatha — Madhya Pradesh holds some of the subcontinent's most important evidence of early human life. What was found, where, by whom, and why it matters for MPPSC. 3 min read
  2. 2Ancient MP: Avanti, Ujjain and the MauryasUjjain, capital of the ancient kingdom of Avanti, was where the young Ashoka served as viceroy and where later astronomers fixed their prime meridian. Ashoka's edicts survive at Rupnath and Gujarra; a Greek ambassador raised a pillar to Vishnu at Vidisha. Ancient Madhya Pradesh from the mahajanapadas to the Guptas' predecessors, for MPPSC. 3 min read
  3. 3Sanchi and Buddhism in MPThe Great Stupa at Sanchi was begun by Ashoka and enlarged over centuries; its four carved gateways are among the finest early Indian sculpture. Nearby Satdhara, Sonari and Andher, the Bharhut railings and the Bagh cave paintings complete a remarkable Buddhist landscape in Madhya Pradesh. History, architecture, rediscovery and significance, for MPPSC. 3 min read
  4. 4The Guptas in MP: Eran and UdayagiriSome of the most important Gupta monuments and inscriptions in India are in Madhya Pradesh — the Varaha panel at Udayagiri near Vidisha, the Eran inscriptions of Samudragupta and a record of sati from 510 CE, the flat-roofed temples of Tigawa and Sanchi, and the paintings of the Bagh caves. The Gupta age as seen from MP, for MPPSC. 3 min read
  5. 5The Paramaras and Raja BhojFor three centuries, the Paramaras ruled Malwa from Dhar and Ujjain, and their greatest king, Raja Bhoj, became a legend — warrior, scholar, builder and patron. The dynasty's rise and fall, Bhoj's works on architecture and science, the unfinished giant temple at Bhojpur, and the literary culture of Malwa, for MPPSC. 3 min read
  6. 6The Chandelas and KhajurahoIn a small village in Bundelkhand stand some of the most celebrated temples in the world — the Khajuraho group, built by the Chandela rulers, mostly between about 950 and 1050 CE. The Chandelas' rise, their wars with Mahmud of Ghazni and Prithviraj Chauhan, the architecture and sculpture of Khajuraho, and what the temples tell us about medieval India, for MPPSC. 3 min read
  7. 7The Kalachuris and the Gond kingdomsNear Jabalpur, the Kalachuris of Tripuri built a powerful kingdom and the circular Chausath Yogini temple above the marble rocks of Bhedaghat. Centuries later, the Gond kingdoms of Garha-Mandla, Deogarh and Kherla ruled the forested heart of central India. Two chapters of MP's history that are often overlooked — and regularly asked in MPPSC. 3 min read
  8. 8Rani Durgavati and Garha-MandlaIn 1564, when Akbar's general Asaf Khan invaded the Gond kingdom of Garha-Mandla, its queen, Rani Durgavati, led her army herself. Wounded in battle near Jabalpur, she took her own life rather than be captured. Her life, her rule, the battle, and her place in MP's memory — including the tiger reserve and university named after her. 5 min read
  9. 9The Malwa Sultanate and ManduOn a plateau ringed by ravines, the sultans of Malwa built Mandu — the "City of Joy" — with India's first marble tomb, a palace shaped like a ship floating between two lakes, and the pavilion from which Rani Rupmati is said to have gazed at the Narmada. The rise and fall of the Malwa Sultanate, its rulers, its architecture and its romance, for MPPSC. 4 min read
  10. 10Gwalior under the TomarsGwalior fort — "the pearl among the fortresses of Hind", as Babur is said to have called it — holds an inscription with one of the earliest known uses of zero, temples from the eighth and eleventh centuries, and the painted Man Mandir palace of Raja Man Singh Tomar, patron of dhrupad. The fort, the Tomars, and Gwalior's musical legacy from Man Singh to Tansen, for MPPSC. 4 min read
  11. 11The Bundelas and OrchhaOn an island in the Betwa, the Bundela Rajputs built Orchha — palaces, temples and cenotaphs where Rama is still worshipped as a king. Vir Singh Deo allied with Jahangir; Chhatrasal defied Aurangzeb and called in Bajirao Peshwa; the poet Keshavdas wrote at the Orchha court. The Bundelas, their monuments and their legacy in Bundelkhand, for MPPSC. 3 min read
  12. 12The Holkars and Ahilyabai HolkarA shepherd's son became a great Maratha general; his daughter-in-law became one of the most admired rulers in Indian history. The Holkars of Indore from Malhar Rao to the British, with a timeline, a Mains answer outline and Prelims practice for MPPSC. 7 min read

New MP History & Culture guides are added regularly. Back to all MPPSC guides