Practice

India's Cultural Roots — Practice

15 questions 15 min Recall + understand

Q1. How many Vedas are there, and which one is the most ancient?
- A. Three Vedas; the Sama Veda is oldest
- B. Four Vedas; the Rig Veda is oldest
- C. Two Vedas; the Yajur Veda is oldest
- D. Five Vedas; the Atharva Veda is oldest
Q2. The word 'Veda' comes from the Sanskrit 'vid', which means
- A. Fire
- B. Knowledge
- C. Prayer
- D. Truth
Q3. In 2008, which organisation recognised Vedic chanting as a 'masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity'?
- A. WHO
- B. UNICEF
- C. UNESCO
- D. ASI
Q4. Who composed the Vedic hymns in an early form of Sanskrit?
- A. Only male priests called purohits
- B. Rishis (male seers) and rishikas (female seers)
- C. Court poets of later kings
- D. Foreign travellers visiting India
Q5. Early Vedic society was organised into different groups called
- A. Janas (clans)
- B. Mahājanapadas
- C. Gurukulas
- D. Sanghas
Q6. According to the Vedanta school, the one divine essence from which everything emerges is called
- A. Ātman
- B. Brahman
- C. Ritam
- D. Avidyā
Q7. Prince Siddhārtha Gautama, who later became the Buddha, was born at
- A. Bodh Gaya, in present-day Bihar
- B. Vaishali, in present-day Bihar
- C. Lumbini, in present-day Nepal
- D. Sarnath, near Varanasi
Q8. The title 'Buddha' means
- A. Great hero
- B. Enlightened or awakened one
- C. Conqueror
- D. Wandering ascetic
Q9. The community of bhikshus (monks) and bhikshunīs (nuns) founded by the Buddha was called the
- A. Gurukula
- B. Sangha
- C. Samiti
- D. Jana
Q10. Prince Vardhamāna came to be known as 'Mahāvīra', which means
- A. Great hero
- B. Awakened one
- C. Supreme ruler
- D. Wise sage
Q11. In the story from the Katha Upanishad, to which deity does Nachiketa travel to learn what happens after death?
- A. Indra
- B. Agni
- C. Yama, the god of death
- D. Varuna
Q12. The Jātaka tales tell stories of
- A. The Buddha's former births
- B. The Vedic deities
- C. Mahāvīra's twelve disciples
- D. The kings of Magadha
Q13. According to official figures, how many tribes did India have in 2011?
- A. 150
- B. 705
- C. 1,200
- D. 30
Q14. According to tradition, the deity Jagannath worshipped at Puri (Odisha) was originally a
- A. Vedic deity
- B. Tribal deity
- C. Jain tirthankara
- D. Buddhist bodhisattva
Q15. The chapter compares Indian culture to an ancient tree in which the many branches are united by a
- A. Common trunk
- B. Single root
- C. Falling leaf
- D. Hollow stem

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