Which one of the following is now most widely regarded as the original home-land of the Indo-European or Aryans?
Correct Answer:
(B)
South Russia or Central Asia
Original Home of the Aryans, it is generally believed that they were not the original inhabitants of India. Many theories have been put forward in favor and against the argument. Some historians say that the original home of Aryans was Central Asia. Others are of the opinion that their original home was in southern Russia (near the Caspian sea) or in the south-east Europe (in Austria and Hungary).
Ques:
12
Which of the following are the Upa Vedas?
(I) Gandharva
(II) Jyotisha
(III) Shilpa
(IV) Ayur
(V) Dhanur
(VI) Shiksha
Codes:
Correct Answer:
(D)
II, III, V, VI
The Vedas - Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvanaveda -- are the first four of the pramanas (authoritative texts) of our religion and also the most important. Of the remaining ten, six are Angas of the Vedas and four are Upangas.
Man possesses a number of angas or limbs. In the same way the Vedas personified -- the Vedapurusa -- has six limbs. (It must be noted that the Vedas are also spoken of as Vedamatha, Mother Veda.) The four Upangas, though not integral to the Vedas, are supporting limbs of the Vedapurusa. The Angas, as already stated, are six in number -- Shiksha, Vyakarana, Chandas, Nirukta, Jyotisha and Kalpa. The four Upangas are Mimamsa, Nyaya, Purana and Dharmasastra.
Ques:
13
The “Great Flood” is said to have occurred during the time of which Manu from whose son the two great Solar and Lunar dynasties took birth.
Correct Answer:
(A)
7th Manu
In the cosmological speculations of later Hinduism, a day in the life of Brahma is divided into 14 periods called manvantara, each of which lasts for 306,720,000 years. In every secondary cycle the world is re-created, and a new Manu appears to become the father of the next human race. The present age is considered the seventh Manu cycle.
Ques:
14
Which of the following mention the royal sacrifices of Rajasuya, Asvamedah and Vajapeya for the first time?
Correct Answer:
(D)
Brahmanas
Of the four divisions of the Vedas, the knowledge of the rituals is found mainly in the Samhitas and Brahmanas, and to some extent in the Aranyakas. A few ancient Upanishads, especially the ones derived from the Brahmanas, also contain information about them to denote their spiritual significance. Apart from the Vedas, our knowledge of rituals also comes to us from other sources such as the Tantras, Agama Shastras, and several Vaishnava texts.
Ques:
15
In the Age of 16 Mahajanapadas, there were four great kingdoms. One was Magadha. The other three were?
Correct Answer:
(A)
Avanti, Kosala, Vatsa
The Budhist traditions these kingdoms came to be known as 'Mahajanapadas'.There were sixteen of such Mahajanapadas: Kasi, Kosala, Anga, Magadha, Vajji, Malla, Chedi, Vatsa, Kuru, Panchala, Machcha, Surasena, Assaka, Avanti, Gandhara and Kamboja.
The country of the Avanti was an important kingdom of western India and was one of the four great monarchies in India in the post era of Mahavira and Buddha, the other three being Kosala, Vatsa and Magadha. Avanti was divided into north and south by the river Narmada.
Ques:
16
Which God occupied the supreme position in the later Vedic pantheon?
Correct Answer:
(C)
Prajapati
The two outstanding Rig Vedic gods, Indra and Agni, lost their former importance. On the other hand Prajapati, the creator, came to occupy the supreme position in later Vedic pantheon. Rudra, the god of animals, became important in later Vedic times and Vishnu came to be conceived as the preserver and protector of the people. In addition, some symbolic objects began to be worshipped, and we notice signs of idolatry.
Ques:
17
Which, type of pottery was most popular with the Later Vedic people?
Correct Answer:
(D)
Painted Grey Ware
The later Vedic people were acquainted with four types of pottery—black-and-red ware, black- slipped ware, Painted Grey Ware, and red-ware. The last type of pottery was the most popular, and is found almost all over western UP. However, the most distinctive pottery of the period is known as Painted Grey Ware.
Ques:
18
Match the following:
Correct Answer:
(B)
[A-I], [B-II], [C-III]
Max Muellar, He acknowledged that religion had developed differently in different linguistic spheres and that his training limited him to a consideration of Aryan peoples—that is, speakers of Indo-European languages. Nevertheless, he was convinced that the Rigveda provided unparalleled access to the process by which religion arose.
Penka - He popularised the theory that the Aryan race had emerged in Scandinavia and could be identified by the Nordic characteristics of blue eyes and blond hair. In his Origines Ariacae ('Origins of the Aryans') of 1883, he proposed that the Indo-European homeland was in the far north, the Hyperborea of antiquity.
There is a consensus opinion among many historians that the Aryans were a heterogeneous group of people who lived in Brandenstein, Kirghiz steppe.
Ques:
19
It is the river par excellence and mother of rivers and is noted as flowing into ocean. In the nadistuti this river is mentioned between the Yamuna and the Sutudri. Identify it.
Correct Answer:
(B)
Saraswati
The Nadistuti hymn in the Rigveda mentions the Saraswati river as flowing between the Yamuna in the east and the Sutlej in the west (two rivers still flowing in north-western India). The Brahamanas and the Mahabharata also mention the Saraswati river.
Ques:
20
On what ground does B.G. Tilak propounded the theory that the original home of the Aryans was the Arctic region?
Correct Answer:
(D)
The Vedic Aryans had the knowledge of the nights of six months’ duration which is a characteristic feature of the Arctic region.
The Arctic Home in the Vedas is a book on the origin of Aryanic People by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a mathematician turned astronomer, historian, journalist, philosopher and political leader of India.
It propounded the idea that the North Pole was the original home of Aryans during the pre-glacial period which they had to leave due to the ice deluge around 8000 B.C. and had to migrate to the Northern parts of Europe and Asia in search of lands for new settlements.
At the North Pole, one sees the heavenly dome above seems to revolve around one like a potter's wheel. The stars will not rise and set but move round and round in horizontal planes during the long night of six months.
The Sun, when it is above the horizon for six months; would also appear to revolve in the same way but with some difference. The Northern celestial hemisphere will alone be visible spinning round and round and the Southern half remain invisible. The Sun going into the Northern hemisphere in his annual course will appear as coming up from the South. Living in the temperate and tropical zones, however, one sees all heavenly objects rise in the East and set in the West, some passing over the head, others traveling obliquely.