Official Answer Key & Detailed Solution
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Correct Answer: Option (B) — Rock-cut Elephant at Dhauli
Concept & Option Breakdown
Standard Reference VerifiedChronological order of the monuments:
- Rock-cut Elephant at Dhauli (Odisha): 3rd century BCE (Mauryan period under Emperor Ashoka) — EARLIEST.
- Varaha Image at Udayagiri (Madhya Pradesh): 5th century CE (Gupta period).
- Rock-cut Monuments at Mahabalipuram (Tamil Nadu): 7th–8th century CE (Pallava dynasty).
- Lingaraja Temple at Bhubaneswar (Odisha): 11th century CE (Somavamshi dynasty).
Ashoka's Mauryan monuments (3rd century BCE) invariably predate Gupta (5th c. CE), Pallava (7th c. CE), and Somavamshi/Ganga (11th c. CE) structures.
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