{"id":1295,"date":"2025-10-12T14:41:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-12T09:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/?p=1295"},"modified":"2025-10-06T15:00:51","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T09:30:51","slug":"araghatta-the-irrigation-device-upsc-prelims-2025-pyq-solved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/araghatta-the-irrigation-device-upsc-prelims-2025-pyq-solved\/","title":{"rendered":"Araghatta, the Irrigation Device: UPSC Prelims 2025 PYQ Solved"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83c\udf3e <strong>Q. The Irrigation Device called \u2018Araghatta\u2019 was:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[A]<\/strong> A water bag made of leather pulled over a pulley<br><strong>[B]<\/strong> A large wheel with earthen pots tied to the outer ends of its spokes \u2705<br><strong>[C]<\/strong> A larger earthen pot driven by bullocks<br><strong>[D]<\/strong> A large water bucket pulled up by rope directly by hand<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2705 Correct Answer: (B)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>The irrigation device called <strong>Araghatta<\/strong> (also known as <em>Ghanti Yantra<\/em> or <em>Persian Wheel<\/em>) was a <strong>mechanical water-lifting device<\/strong>. It consisted of <strong>a large wheel with earthen pots tied to the outer rim<\/strong>, which revolved to lift water from wells or reservoirs for irrigation.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83e\udde0 <strong>Understanding the Concept of Araghatta<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Feature<\/th><th>Description<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Name(s)<\/strong><\/td><td>Araghatta \/ Arahatta \/ Ghanti-Yantra \/ Persian Wheel<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Basic Structure<\/strong><\/td><td>A large wheel with clay pots (pitchers) tied around its rim<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Function<\/strong><\/td><td>Lifting water from wells or tanks for irrigation<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Power Source<\/strong><\/td><td>Usually driven by <strong>bullocks<\/strong> or <strong>manual labor<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Mechanism<\/strong><\/td><td>As the wheel turned, pots dipped into water, filled up, and emptied into channels above<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Historical Use<\/strong><\/td><td>Widely used in <strong>Delhi Sultanate<\/strong> and <strong>Mughal Empire<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Regions<\/strong><\/td><td>Punjab, Sindh, Kashmir, parts of Central India<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Cultural Influence<\/strong><\/td><td>Combination of <strong>Indian innovation<\/strong> and <strong>Persian (Arab) mechanical diffusion<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2699\ufe0f <strong>How the Araghatta Worked \u2013 Simplified<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A <strong>wheel<\/strong> was mounted horizontally or vertically near a well or reservoir.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Pots<\/strong> or <strong>pitchers<\/strong> were tied along its rim.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>rotation<\/strong> (driven by bullocks or manual force) dipped these pots into water.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As the wheel turned, <strong>filled pots rose up<\/strong> and emptied into an <strong>irrigation channel<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>continuous rotation<\/strong> maintained a steady flow of water for agricultural fields.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udcdc <strong>Historical Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <em>Araghatta<\/em> has roots as early as the <strong>8th century CE<\/strong>, used in <strong>Kashmir under King Lalitaditya<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>By the <strong>Delhi Sultanate<\/strong> and <strong>Mughal period<\/strong>, it had evolved into the <strong>Persian wheel<\/strong> (saqia) design.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It enabled <strong>large-scale irrigation<\/strong> across North India and supported the agrarian economy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Mughals encouraged its adoption by funding irrigation infrastructure to enhance agricultural output.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Babur\u2019s memoir <em>Baburnama<\/em> even mentions such devices in <strong>Punjab<\/strong> and <strong>Sindh<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udd27 <strong>Other Medieval Indian Water-Lifting Devices<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Device<\/th><th>Mechanism<\/th><th>Description<\/th><th>Water Depth Suitability<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Shadoof (Dhenkli)<\/strong><\/td><td>Lever-based<\/td><td>A counterpoised beam lifts water manually<\/td><td>Shallow<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Charasa<\/strong><\/td><td>Rope and bullock<\/td><td>A bucket pulled by bullocks<\/td><td>Medium<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Araghatta (Ghanti Yantra)<\/strong><\/td><td>Wheel with pots<\/td><td>Continuous water-lifting device<\/td><td>Deep<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Saqia \/ Persian Wheel<\/strong><\/td><td>Geared wheel system<\/td><td>Mechanized Araghatta version<\/td><td>Deep &amp; Continuous<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83e\udeb6 <strong>Mnemonic to Remember Water-Lifting Devices<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong>\u201cSmall Children Always Sing\u201d<\/strong> \ud83c\udfb5<br><strong>S \u2013 Shadoof<\/strong> \u2192 Lever<br><strong>C \u2013 Charasa<\/strong> \u2192 Bullock + Rope<br><strong>A \u2013 Araghatta<\/strong> \u2192 Wheel with Pots<br><strong>S \u2013 Saqia<\/strong> \u2192 Persian Wheel (Advanced)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udca1 <strong>Significance of the Araghatta<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Agricultural Boost:<\/strong> Increased irrigated area and crop yields.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Technological Innovation:<\/strong> Represented a blend of <strong>indigenous engineering<\/strong> and <strong>Persian influence<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Economic Growth:<\/strong> Supported agrarian-based economies of the Delhi Sultanate and Mughals.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cultural Exchange:<\/strong> A reflection of <strong>Indo-Persian technological diffusion<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Continuity:<\/strong> The design principles continued into the <strong>British period<\/strong> with minor improvements.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Also See:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/category\/upsc-prelims\/economics\/\">Economics Prelims PYQs<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83e\udde9 <strong>Comparison: Araghatta vs Persian Wheel (Saqia)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Feature<\/th><th>Araghatta<\/th><th>Persian Wheel (Saqia)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Origin<\/strong><\/td><td>Indigenous Indian device<\/td><td>Introduced from Persia<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Mechanism<\/strong><\/td><td>Simple wheel with pots<\/td><td>Gear-driven wheel system<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Motion Conversion<\/strong><\/td><td>No gearing mechanism<\/td><td>Converts horizontal to vertical motion<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Period<\/strong><\/td><td>Early Medieval India<\/td><td>Post-14th century India<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Efficiency<\/strong><\/td><td>Moderate<\/td><td>High (continuous flow)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Use<\/strong><\/td><td>Wells and reservoirs<\/td><td>Deep wells and canals<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83e\udde0 Two Practice Questions for UPSC Prelims on Medieval Irrigation Devices<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q1.<\/strong> Which of the following statements about the Araghatta is\/are correct?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It was also known as Ghanti Yantra.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It used a series of pots attached to a wheel for lifting water.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It was primarily used for textile spinning.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Select the correct answer:<\/strong><br>(a) 1 and 2 only \u2705<br>(b) 1 and 3 only<br>(c) 2 and 3 only<br>(d) 3 only<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Also See:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/non-cooperation-programme-upsc-prelims-2025-pyq-solved\">Non Cooperation Programme: UPSC Prelims 2025 PYQ Solved<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q2.<\/strong> The Araghatta or Persian wheel was an important innovation because it\u2014<br>(a) Facilitated textile weaving<br>(b) Enhanced irrigation efficiency in agriculture \u2705<br>(c) Helped in military defense<br>(d) Was used for measuring land<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Also See<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/raja-ram-mohan-roy-upsc-cse-prelims-pyq-2025-solved\">Raja Ram Mohan Roy: UPSC CSE Prelims PYQ 2025 Solved<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2753 <strong>FAQs on Araghatta<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n<div id=\"rank-math-faq\" class=\"rank-math-block\">\n<div class=\"rank-math-list \">\n<div id=\"faq-question-1759742334878\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \"><strong>Q1. What is the meaning of the word \u2018Araghatta\u2019?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>It comes from Sanskrit \u2014 <em>Ara<\/em> (spoke) and <em>Ghatta<\/em> (pot) \u2014 literally meaning \u201ca wheel with pots\u201d.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-1759742348431\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \"><strong>Q2. Was the Araghatta an Indian or Persian invention?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>It originated in India but later incorporated Persian mechanical refinements (gears), forming the <em>Persian Wheel (Saqia)<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-1759742361022\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \"><strong>Q3. What was the advantage of the Araghatta over manual water lifting?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>It enabled <strong>continuous water flow<\/strong> and <strong>reduced labor intensity<\/strong>, allowing larger areas to be irrigated.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-1759742374409\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \"><strong>Q4. Was the Araghatta used only for agriculture?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Mainly yes, but it was also used for <strong>gardens<\/strong>, <strong>palace water systems<\/strong>, and <strong>public wells<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-1759742386677\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \"><strong>Q5. What does the adoption of Araghatta tell us about medieval India?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>It highlights <strong>technological progress<\/strong>, <strong>agricultural development<\/strong>, and <strong>cultural interactions<\/strong> between India and Persia.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ud83c\udf3e Q. The Irrigation Device called \u2018Araghatta\u2019 was: [A] A water bag made of leather pulled over a pulley[B] A large wheel with earthen pots tied to the outer ends of its spokes \u2705[C] A larger earthen pot driven by bullocks[D] A large water bucket pulled up by rope directly by hand \u2705 Correct Answer: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,9,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","category-prelims-2025","category-upsc-prelims"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/araghtta-irrigation-device-of-medieval-india.jpg",2048,2048,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/araghtta-irrigation-device-of-medieval-india-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/araghtta-irrigation-device-of-medieval-india-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/araghtta-irrigation-device-of-medieval-india-768x768.jpg",768,768,true],"large":["https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/araghtta-irrigation-device-of-medieval-india-1024x1024.jpg",1024,1024,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/araghtta-irrigation-device-of-medieval-india-1536x1536.jpg",1536,1536,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/araghtta-irrigation-device-of-medieval-india.jpg",2048,2048,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Varun Jain","author_link":"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/author\/pushkaragarwal\/"},"uagb_comment_info":2,"uagb_excerpt":"\ud83c\udf3e Q. The Irrigation Device called \u2018Araghatta\u2019 was: [A] A water bag made of leather pulled over a pulley[B] A large wheel with earthen pots tied to the outer ends of its spokes \u2705[C] A larger earthen pot driven by bullocks[D] A large water bucket pulled up by rope directly by hand \u2705 Correct Answer:&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1295"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1295\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1297,"href":"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1295\/revisions\/1297"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/currentnewstimes.com\/upscpsir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}