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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The word for exertion of religious activity in "Agastya and Lopamudra" is _____.
(a) Conversion.
(b) Pray.
(c) Prostrate.
(d) Toil.

2. Who are the sky and earth parents of?
(a) The bull.
(b) The maruts.
(c) The stars.
(d) The sun.

3. What is Rudra the embodiment of?
(a) Love and wisdom.
(b) Cleverness and thievery.
(c) Peace and death.
(d) Wildness and unpredictable danger.

4. What is Nirrti called in the texts of the Rig Veda?
(a) Seduction.
(b) Night.
(c) Destruction.
(d) Dawn.

5. In "The Three Strides of Visnu", the commentator suggests that the ferocious beast is a _____.
(a) Bear.
(b) Lion.
(c) Bull.
(d) Buffalo.

6. Rudra is known as the punisher of _____.
(a) Incest.
(b) Women.
(c) Murder.
(d) Warriors.

7. What is the name of Indra's wife?
(a) Yamani.
(b) Yamora.
(c) Indora.
(d) Indrani.

8. Who invokes the Asvins to help her find her husband?
(a) Yami.
(b) Indrani.
(c) Agastya.
(d) Ghosa.

9. Svarbhanu is the demon of _____ in "Atri and the Lost Sun".
(a) Sunlight.
(b) Night.
(c) Eclipses.
(d) Hunger.

10. Who are 'those who eat serpents' most likely to be in "Savitr at Sunset"?
(a) Sages.
(b) Maruts.
(c) Birds of prey.
(d) Dogs of war.

11. Who called "Indra and the Monkey' the strangest hymn in the Rig Veda?
(a) Renou.
(b) Doniger.
(c) Stackhouse.
(d) Muller.

12. The _____ in "Indra and the Monkey" is the conquering Aryan.
(a) Ally.
(b) Poet.
(c) Enemy.
(d) Scapegoat.

13. What is another name for the 'axis mundi' mentioned in "Guard Us from the Monstrous Abyss"?
(a) The navel of the world.
(b) The lightning of Agni.
(c) The daylight in the rock.
(d) The Soma.

14. Sindhu is a _____ goddess.
(a) Mountain.
(b) Tree.
(c) Dog.
(d) River.

15. The red streaks in "The Gale Wind" may be the redness in the sky during rain, or the _____ of the wind.
(a) Breath of the gods.
(b) Blood of the sacrifice.
(c) Flames of Agni.
(d) Chestnut horses.

Short Answer Questions

1. In the Atharva Vedic ritual, the Great Naked Woman is treated as a _____.

2. The _____ in "Indra and the Monkey" is regarded as the indigenous inhabitant, regarded as demonic.

3. What word means dark, formless, terrifying abyss?

4. Asura is a _____ in early Vedic tradition, before he becomes a demon.

5. What is the name of Yama's twin?

(see the answer keys)

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