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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In stories associated with "Apala and Indra", what is the first skin that is sloughed off of Apala?
(a) A dog.
(b) A deer.
(c) A hedgehog.
(d) A jackal.

2. The overturned cask is a frequent metaphor for a _____.
(a) A torrent of rain.
(b) The loss of Soma.
(c) An earthquake.
(d) The loss of life.

3. In "Vena", Soma is the _____ who roars as he mingles with the waters.
(a) Lion.
(b) Elephant.
(c) Bull.
(d) Buffalo.

4. The divine prototype for marriage is the hierogamy of Surya and _____.
(a) Atri.
(b) Indra.
(c) Soma.
(d) Agastya.

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

6. What is the name of the god of intimate friendship among one's own kind?
(a) Soma.
(b) Mitra.
(c) Indra.
(d) Atri.

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

8. The word _____ means 'one who sheds rain or seed'?
(a) Flake.
(b) Emit.
(c) Cloudmaster.
(d) Virile.

9. Pusan presides over _____.
(a) Mountains and hills.
(b) Roads and journeys.
(c) Sky and earth.
(d) Fertility and death.

10. Pusan is the _____ of the sun.
(a) Charioteer.
(b) Husband.
(c) Maker.
(d) Herder.

11. What is Agastya's chosen path in life when his wife approaches him to beget a child?
(a) That of the ascetic.
(b) That of a charioteer.
(c) That of a herdsman.
(d) That of a farmer.

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

13. In the Atharva Vedic ritual, the Great Naked Woman is treated as a _____.
(a) Specator.
(b) Cup of Soma.
(c) God.
(d) Scapegoat.

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

15. In "Gambler's Lament", dice are born during a storm and cease to hang like _____ from the nut tree.
(a) Earrings.
(b) Pendulums.
(c) Stars.
(d) Bones.

Short Answer Questions

1. in "The Deeds of the Asvins", Pedu is the character who was given a white horse that killed _____.

2. Who are 'those who eat serpents' most likely to be in "Savitr at Sunset"?

3. What does the name Vena mean?

4. Who are the sky and earth parents of?

5. The family of sages who praise Dawn in "Dawn and the Asvins" are called _____.

(see the answer keys)

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