Hinduism—The eBook
The First Comprehensive E-Text Introduction by Hillary Rodrigues

Hinduism Online:
Self-Test Questions

  1. Chapter 1
    1. Who are the Aryans?
    2. When was the Indus Valley Civilization discovered?
    3. Which people in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent still speak a Dravidian language?
    4. When did the “Golden Age” of Hinduism occur, and why was it given this title?
    5. When did the term “Hindu” develop as a religious designation, and what was the reason for its development?
    6. Hindus consider this river, which flows through the northern part of India, to be a living goddess.
    7. Name two important Indus Valley Civilization cities.
    8. Explain the difference between Sanskrit and “Sanskritization.”
    9. What are the Vedas?
    10. In what year did India achieve Independence?
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  3. Chapter 2
    1. What is the oldest collection of Vedic hymns in praise of various deities?
    2. What is Soma?
    3. What were the priests called who performed the central elements of Vedic rituals?
    4. Who is Dyaus-pitr?
    5. What is rta?
    6. What is yajña?
    7. Describe the asvamedha.
    8. The site of which ritual is a reconstruction of the cosmos itself?
    9. List the primary and secondary appendages (anga) to the Vedas.
    10. What are the three most highly regarded classical texts of ayurveda?
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  5. Chapter 3
    1. What are the four main yugas?
    2. Define dharma.
    3. What is the pralaya?
    4. Who is the god that can bring forth a new creation through his contemplation?
    5. What is a lunar day known as?
    6. Which deity is worshiped during the Hindu festival of Navaratra?
    7. What is the Purusa-Sukta?
    8. What is the Tri-loka, when did it emerge, and how did it evolve over time?
    9. Explain the concepts of bhukti and mukti.
    10. What is the Sanskrit term for one who is liberated in life?
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  7. Chapter 4
    1. The concept of dharma developed in relationship to which Vedic concept?
    2. This genre of literature first articulated prescriptions concerning one’s behavior.
    3. Which category of literature do the Laws of Manu belong to, Sruti or smrti?
    4. Define jatis.
    5. What is the Sanskrit term for family lineage?
    6. What is another name for the “Untouchables”?
    7. Define mahabrahmana.
    8. List the three terms that Havik Brahmins use to designate categories of pure and polluted.
    9. Define Rahu and Ketu.
    10. Name two popular Hindu festivals that occur in autumn.
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  9. Chapter 5
    1. What is the Sanskrit term for life-cycle rites?
    2. Describe the yajñopavita.
    3. What are the four life-stages prescribed by orthodox Hinduism?
    4. Can men from the twice-born classes take on wives from lower classes?
    5. Define Sraddha.
    6. List the four goals deemed worthy of pursuit by orthodox Hindus.
    7. What are the eight categories of marriage provided by Manu?
    8. Nowadays, this term is used to designate any kind of teacher.
    9. This is viewed as the regulator of the two goals kama and artha.
    10. Define saubhagya.
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  11. Chapter 6
    1. What are learned men of India are called?
    2. This was one of the earliest Aramaic scripts.
    3. Which script developed into Devanagari?
    4. This term signifies vernacular non-Sanskrit languages.
    5. Why did Vedic Sanskrit yield to Classical Sanskrit?
    6. How many people are now said to be able to speak Sanskrit?
    7. Name the oldest extant Sanskrit grammar.
    8. How are the Sanskrit Dentals produced?
    9. What is the Mahabhasya and who wrote it?
    10. Define pranava, and name a text in which it is discussed.
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  13. Chapter 7
    1. Define astika.
    2. This term means “viewpoint,” or “perspective.”
    3. What are the six conventionally listed orthodox darsanas?
    4. In Jain philosophy, what can handicap or impair the jiva?
    5. What are the eight limbs of yoga?
    6. Define Purva-Mimamsa and Uttara-Mimamsa.
    7. Which heterodox religion promulgated the Anatman doctrine?
    8. What was the Sweet-Voiced philosophy, the Lokayata, or the Way of the Masses?
    9. Define Puru?a and Prak?ti. To which philosophical system do they belong?
    10. What are siddhis?
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  15. Chapter 8
    1. What are the two main Hindu epics?
    2. Which epic is said to have taken place in the Treta Yuga?
    3. How many kandas make up the Ramayana?
    4. Define svayamvara.
    5. Who is Surpanakha?
    6. What is the name of the monkey general in the Ramayana?
    7. In what manner was King Janaka’s daughter born?
    8. Who is the Mahabharata’s author?
    9. Who are the Pandavas and the Kauravas?
    10. For how many years were the Pandavas exiled into the forest?
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  17. Chapter 9
    1. Into how many chapters is the Bhagavad Gita divided?
    2. Ramana Maharsi is an exemplar of what type of yoga, and why?
    3. Define nis-kama karma.
    4. This term was coined by Gandhi and means “holding fast to truth.”
    5. Who was given the name Mahatma (Great Soul), and why?
    6. What is panentheism?
    7. Who is an exemplar of the Bhakti Yoga approach, and why?
    8. What is the name of K???a’s lover?
    9. This text contains a thousand hymns to Mayon.
    10. Who are the Alvars and the Nayanars?
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  19. Chapter 10
    1. What were some of the Pasupata practices?
    2. What are the three real and eternal entities that Saiva Siddhanta distinguishes?
    3. Is Saiva Siddhanta a dualistic or non-dualistic philosophy, and why?
    4. With what sort of practices are the disciples of Gorak?anatha associated?
    5. What is the name of the earliest mentioned Vai??ava sect?
    6. Define vyuha and then list the first four vyuhas.
    7. Who are the Varkaris?
    8. What is one of the most influential texts of Sakta Hinduism?
    9. Name some Hindu goddesses who are independent and not associated with male deities?
    10. What are the Sakti pithas?
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  21. Chapter 11
    1. The Puranas claim to be compiled by this author who also authored the Mahabharata.
    2. Smarta Brahmins worship at the shrines of which five deities?
    3. Describe the common depictions of deities such as Siva, Vi??u, and Mahadevi Durga.
    4. Who is Ardhanarisvara?
    5. Recount a mythic account of how Ga?esa got his elephant head.
    6. What is the Santoshi Ma vrata?
    7. Which South Indian deity is associated with Skanda?
    8. What does Kali represent?
    9. What are Nagas? Yak?as?
    10. Which goddess is associated with smallpox and cholera?.
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  23. Chapter 12
    1. What are the three main components of puja?
    2. What is a murti?
    3. The simplest form of upacara consists of how many offerings, and what are they?
    4. Define pranama and give an example of such.
    5. This refers to the direct, unmediated perception of the divine, what is it?
    6. Hindu temples are classified into two main types, what are they?
    7. Explain what is meant by garbha-grha.
    8. Are temple priests often ranked lower on the purity hierarchy than other types of Brahmins, and if so, why?
    9. Why is the practice of yatra important to Hinduism?
    10. Which god is the focus of attention in the Sabaraimalai pilgrimage?
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  25. Chapter 13
    1. What is another name for Badarayana’s Vedanta Sutra?
    2. How many primary mathas were there, and who were their leaders?
    3. According to Advaita Vedanta philosophy, what is the one thing that is real?
    4. What are the essential qualities of Brahman according to Advaita Vedanta?
    5. What is neti-neti, and which philosophy promotes it?
    6. Ramanuja upholds this as the highest path, which path is it?
    7. How many branches did the Sri Vai??ava tradition split into, and what were they called?
    8. Which philosophy postulates the existence of three types of entities, and what are they?
    9. Define Uttara Mima?sa. Which philosophical system is it associated with?
    10. What does advaita mean?
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  27. Chapter 14
    1. How might the word Tantra be translated?
    2. What is Adi-Sakti?
    3. Define siddhi.
    4. Saiva Siddhanta is based on three fundamental realities, what are they?
    5. Is Saiva Siddhanta a dualistic or non-dualistic philosophy?
    6. What is the mark of the Left Hand Tantra?
    7. Who was Trika Saivism’s greatest exponent?
    8. In Kashmir Saivism is the creation of the universe made manifest through Siva or Sakti?
    9. Who is Bhairava, and what does his trident symbolize?
    10. Define nadi and list the three most important of these.
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  29. Chapter 15
    1. Define zamindar.
    2. Who was called both the “father of Indian unrest,” and the “Maker of Modern India?”
    3. Who is Kabir and why is he an important figure to Hinduism?
    4. These are groups on the margins of Bengali society, known for their mendicant lifestyle and music. Who are they?
    5. Who proclaimed, “There is no Hindu; there is no Muslim?”
    6. What are the “five Ks,” and who wears them?
    7. What was the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, and why was it important?
    8. Who was India’s first prime minister?
    9. What is the “Dravidian Movement?”
    10. Who wrote the book Hindutva: Who is a Hindu?, and why is it so significant?
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  31. Chapter 16
    1. What percentage of Nepal’s population is Hindu?
    2. What is the name of one of Nepal’s most widely celebrated religious festivals?
    3. Who is Taleju Bhavani?
    4. Nepal’s living goddesses are known as what?
    5. What is a devaraja cult?
    6. Harihara is a fusion of which two deities?
    7. What is the Thai version of the Ramayana called?
    8. What is the name of the largest Hindu temple complex in Indonesia?
    9. Did the Balinese adopt the four-fold varna system of Indian Hinduism?
    10. What are the Balinese names for Siva, Visnu, and Brahma?
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  33. Chapter 17
    1. What is the name of the Ramakrishna Order in the West?
    2. To what society did Krishnamurti belong?
    3. Who founded the Transcendental Meditation movement? ?
    4. Who founded ISKCON?
    5. Who is the founder of the Divine Life Society?
    6. Bhagwan Rajneesh is also known by what name?
    7. Who was Swami Vivekananda’s guru?
    8. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi attracted which popular music band in 1970?
    9. Which guru promoted the meditative technique called the Mystic Rose?
    10. What was B. K. S. Iyengar’s guru?
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  35. Chapter 18
    1. How big is India’s cow population?
    2. How is the notion of ahimsa related to vegetarianism?
    3. What is the Chipko Movement?
    4. Who promulgated the message “Everyone’s Lord is [the same] One?”
    5. Who is perhaps the most recognized Hindu holy man in all of India?
    6. What is vibhuti?
    7. List the four most important mathas founded by Sankara and his disciples.
    8. Who are the Dasanamis, and why are they referred to as such?
    9. What were some of the reforms that occurred which sought an equality between men and women?
    10. What factors have contributed to the practice of infanticide of baby girls?
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