Civil Services Prep

Prelims 2014 · Medieval History · Question 1

In Medieval India, the designations 'Mahattara' and 'Pattakila' were used for

  1. military officers
  2. village officers
  3. specialists in Vedic rituals
  4. chiefs of craft guilds

Answer

village officers

  • (a) Military officers — Incorrect. Mahattara and Pattakila are not known as military designations in medieval Indian administrative records.
  • (b) Village officers — Correct. Mahattara referred to village elders/headmen, and Pattakila was also a village-level functionary in medieval western/northern India.
  • (c) Specialists in Vedic rituals — Incorrect. Vedic ritual specialists were designated by terms like ritvij or purohita, not Mahattara or Pattakila.
  • (d) Chiefs of craft guilds — Incorrect. Guild heads had other titles; these two terms are associated with rural/village administration.

Answer: (b) village officers.

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