Practice

How the Land Becomes Sacred — Practice

15 questions 15 min Recall + understand

Q1. According to the chapter, the literal meaning of the word tirtha is
- A. A temple built on a hilltop
- B. A place where one can cross a river or other body of water
- C. A relic of a saint kept inside a shrine
- D. A road that connects two pilgrimage sites
Q2. In the chapter's vocabulary box, a relic is defined as
- A. A natural landmark on a pilgrimage route
- B. A part of a saint's or other spiritual figure's body, or one of their belongings, kept as an object of reverence
- C. A type of temple built on a hilltop
- D. A holy book recited at a shrine
Q3. In the Jain tradition, a Tirthankara is
- A. A merchant who travels along pilgrimage routes
- B. Someone who makes a tirtha — who guides the crossing from ordinary to higher life and is the supreme preacher of dharma
- C. A king who builds temples on hilltops
- D. A priest who looks after a shrine
Q4. According to Buddhist tradition, the place where the Buddha attained enlightenment is
- A. The Great Stupa at Sanchi (Madhya Pradesh)
- B. The Mahabodhi Stupa at Bodh Gaya (Bihar)
- C. Takht Sri Patna Sahib (Patna)
- D. Mount Abu (Rajasthan)
Q5. The Akal Takht, one of the Sikh centres of spiritual authority, is part of which complex?
- A. Takht Sri Patna Sahib in Patna
- B. The Golden Temple at Amritsar
- C. Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib at Anandpur
- D. The Velankanni Church in Tamil Nadu
Q6. Which of the following set of places are mentioned in the chapter as Jain tirthas?
- A. Haridwar, Prayagraj and Nashik
- B. Sanchi, Bodh Gaya and Kushinagar
- C. Mount Abu, Girnar and the Shatrunjaya hill in Saurashtra (Gujarat)
- D. Badrinath, Kedarnath and Amarnath
Q7. The Sabarimala temple, dedicated to the deity Ayyappa, is located in
- A. Tamil Nadu
- B. Karnataka
- C. Andhra Pradesh
- D. Kerala
Q8. The 12 jyotirlingas described in the chapter are sacred shrines dedicated to
- A. Vishnu
- B. Shiva
- C. Devi Shakti
- D. Brahma
Q9. According to the chapter, the 51 Shakti pithas cover the map of
- A. Only present-day India
- B. Only the four southern states of India
- C. The entire map of India, even parts of present-day Bangladesh and Pakistan
- D. Only the Himalayan region
Q10. The Kumbh Mela has traditionally been held at which four places?
- A. Haridwar, Prayagraj, Nashik and Ujjain
- B. Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri
- C. Varanasi, Mathura, Ayodhya and Puri
- D. Amritsar, Patna, Anandpur and Nanded
Q11. Prayagraj is located at the confluence of which three rivers?
- A. Ganga, Yamuna and Godavari
- B. Ganga, Yamuna and the invisible Sarasvati
- C. Narmada, Sindhu and Kaveri
- D. Ganga, Godavari and Sarasvati
Q12. The nadistuti sukta of the Rigveda is a hymn that invokes
- A. 12 major mountains of the Himalayas
- B. 19 major rivers of ancient northwest India
- C. 51 Shakti pithas across the Subcontinent
- D. Four char dham sites in the four corners of India
Q13. The species of fig tree called peepul, pipal, bo tree or bodhi tree carries which botanical name?
- A. Ficus religiosa
- B. Ficus benghalensis
- C. Azadirachta indica
- D. Mangifera indica
Q14. The Niyam Dongar hill in the Niyamgiri Range of Odisha is sacred to which tribe, who believe it to be the abode of the supreme deity Niyam Raja?
- A. The Todas of the Nilgiris
- B. The Bhils
- C. The Dongria Khond
- D. The Maoris
Q15. The Dakshinapatha trade route mentioned in the chapter went from Kaushambi through which city to Pratishthana (Paithan)?
- A. Pataliputra
- B. Taxila
- C. Ujjayini (Ujjain)
- D. Mathura

Your score and per-question explanations appear here instantly.