Study Notes

Everything published under Study Notes on Anantam IAS, newest first.

3454 articles

Two Yakshagana performers on stage in Udupi, Karnataka, one wearing a tall ornate crown and red-and-gold costume

14 Sep 2026Art and Culture, General Studies, GS I, Indian History, Medieval Indian History

Yakshagana: Karnataka’s Dance-Drama, Tenkutittu vs Badagutittu, Talamaddale

Yakshagana explained: the Bhagavata-led dance-drama of coastal Karnataka and Kasaragod, its two styles, its drums, Talamaddale and where it stands today.

Excavated brick temple and monastery ruins of the ancient Nalanda Mahavihara in Bihar

14 Sep 2026Ancient Indian History, Art and Culture, Education, General Studies, GS I, Indian History

Nalanda University: The Gupta Mahavihara, What Xuanzang Saw and How It Fell

Nalanda University explained: the Gupta founding of Nalanda Mahavihara, what Xuanzang and Yijing recorded, the evidence on its sack and the 2024 revival.

Passengers carrying luggage along a platform beside a train at Mumbai Central railway station

14 Sep 2026Constitutional and Statutory Bodies, General Studies, GS III, Infrastructure, Internal Security

Railway Protection Force (RPF): RPF Act 1957, Powers and RPF vs GRP

Railway Protection Force explained: the RPF Act 1957, armed force status since 1985, Railways Ministry control, key operations and how it differs from the…

The 8th-century Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram, its two carved granite towers against a clear blue sky

14 Sep 2026Ancient Indian History, Art and Culture, General Studies, GS I, Indian History

Mahabalipuram Monuments: Shore Temple, Pancha Rathas and Arjuna’s Penance

Mahabalipuram explained: how Pallava kings moved from cave shrines to the Shore Temple, what UNESCO listed in 1984 and why Arjuna's Penance is still…

Warkari pilgrims in white caps raise cymbals during the Pandharpur wari procession in Maharashtra

14 Sep 2026Art and Culture, General Studies, GS I, Indian History, Medieval Indian History

Sant Tukaram: Dehu, the Abhangs and the Varkari Road to Pandharpur

Sant Tukaram explained: the Dehu trader who became the Varkari poet of Vithoba, his abhangs and Gatha, and which stories about him are record…

The five-storey Panch Mahal at Fatehpur Sikri, framed by a carved red sandstone pavilion in the foreground

14 Sep 2026Art and Culture, General Studies, GS I, Indian History, Medieval Indian History

Fatehpur Sikri: Akbar’s City of Victory, Buland Darwaza and Why It Was Left

Fatehpur Sikri explained: Akbar's red sandstone capital of 1571 to 1585, its named buildings, the UNESCO listing and the debate over why it was…

Voters queue outside a polling station in Shillong, Meghalaya, where Home Guards are routinely posted on election duty

14 Sep 2026Disaster Management, General Studies, Governance, GS III, Internal Security

Home Guards: Volunteer Police Auxiliary, State Acts and the Civil Defence Link

Home Guards explained: the 1946 Bombay origin, state Home Guards Acts, the duty allowance rulings, Border Wing battalions and the Civil Defence link.

Turquoise Pangong Tso lake ringed by barren brown mountains in eastern Ladakh

14 Sep 2026Border Management, General Studies, GS III, India and Neighbourhood, Internal Security

ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police): LAC Duty, Himalayan Rescue and Kailash Yatra

ITBP explained: the 1962 origin, the 3,488 km LAC it guards, the ITBPF Act 1992, its Himalayan rescue duty and how it differs from…

A white gopuram of the Sri Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangam, Tamil Nadu, under a cloudy sky

14 Sep 2026Art and Culture, General Studies, GS I, Indian History, Medieval Indian History

Ramanujacharya: Vishishtadvaita, the Sri Bhashya and the Statue of Equality

Ramanujacharya explained: the philosopher of Vishishtadvaita, his Sri Bhashya, the caste reforms tradition credits him with and the Statue of Equality.

Tiers of carved, pillared galleries descending into the Rani ki Vav stepwell at Patan, Gujarat

14 Sep 2026Art and Culture, General Studies, GS I, Indian History, Medieval Indian History

Rani ki Vav: Patan’s Stepwell, Queen Udayamati and Seven Centuries Under Silt

Rani ki Vav explained: the 11th-century Chaulukya stepwell at Patan, the queen the chronicle credits, how it reached water and why silt kept it…

A Chalukya-era stone temple with a Dravidian-style tower on the lawns of Pattadakal, Karnataka

14 Sep 2026Ancient Indian History, Art and Culture, General Studies, GS I, Indian History

Pattadakal: Chalukya Coronation Town, Virupaksha Temple and Two Temple Styles

Pattadakal explained: the Chalukya coronation town where Nagara and Dravida temples stand in one cluster, and where the Virupaksha marks a victory over Kanchi.

Upasana Griha, the glass-walled prayer hall at Santiniketan, behind ornamental green railings

14 Sep 2026Art and Culture, Education, General Studies, GS I, Indian History, Modern Indian History

Santiniketan: Tagore’s Open-Air School, Visva-Bharati and the UNESCO Tag

Santiniketan explained: Debendranath's 1863 ashram, Tagore's 1901 school, Visva-Bharati and the 2023 UNESCO inscription in plain words.