Previous Year Questions Flashcards
The word Hindu as a reference to the people of Hind (India) was first used by?
Arabs
The Greek reference to the ancient India
Indus
Root words for India
Sindhu Hindu Indus India
Meaning of Brahmavadini?
an expounder of the Veda
- What are those women who composed any hymns of the Vedas called?
- And who are the prominent ones?
- Brahmavadinis
- Lopamudra
Viswavara
Maitreyi
Ghosha
Sikta
Saptarishi: What and who?
- seven sages
- patriarchs of the Vedic religion
- Agastya
- Atri
- Bharadwaj
- Gautam
- Jamadagni
- Vashistha
- Vishvamitra
- Father of the Tamil language
- Agastya
- Agastyar/Agattiyar (Tamil)
Wife of Agastya?
Lopamudra, a princess of Vidharbha
Maitreyi’s husband?
Yajnavalkya
Which era marks the day when King Vikramāditya beat the Sakas, who had invaded Ujjain?
Vikram era, or Vikram samvat
57 BC
The beginning of which era is now widely equated to the ascension of king Chashtana and when?
Saka/Shaka Era
78 C.E.
Which era is believed to have been started by the Gupta kings and when?
Gupta Era
320 CE
According to the ancient Indian cosmogonic ideas what is the sequential order of the cycle of yugas mentioned in Sanskrit scriptures?
Period of the Last Era?
- Satya/Krita Yuga
- Treta Yuga
- Dvapara Yuga
- Kali yuga (3102 BC)
What are the languages spoken by the following people during the Gupta period?
- Women
- Sudras
- Elite Class
- Prakrit
- Prakrit
- Sanskrit
Whose mother gave him his name because his birth removed her sorrows?
What are his other titles?
Ashoka
Priyadasi/Priyadarshi - he who regards amiably
Devanampiya/Devanampriya - Beloved of the Gods
Names of Ashoka before and after his conversion to Buddhism.
Before
- Kamashoka
- Chandashoka - Ashoka the fierce
After
- Dhammashoka - Ashoka the righteous
What is the ancient Sanskrit word for pepper and why?
Yavanapriya
Yavana: foreign people (Indo-Greeks)
Priya: Fond of
Traded pepper with Romans/Greeks during the Sangam period.
5 main principles of Jainism
- Ahiṃsā (non-violence)
- Satya (truth)
- Asteya (not stealing)
- Brahmacharya (celibacy or chastity)
- Aparigraha (non-attachment)
What are the two dharmas or rules of conduct Jain ethical code prescribes?
- Anuvratas (small vows) observed by śrāvakas (householders)
- Mahavrata (major vows) observed by the Jain ascetics (Jain monastics)
Where did the depiction of Nataraja in stone reliefs appear first?
- Ellora Caves
- Badami Caves
When, where, and what did the mature and best-known expression of Nataraja emerge?
Around 10 CE
Tamil Nadu
Chola Bronzes
Poses of Nataraja
- The upper right-hand holds a ḍamaru - ḍamaru-hasta
- The upper left hand contains Agni
- The lower right forearm shows the Abhaya mudra
- The lower left hand is bent downwards at the wrist and points towards the raised left foot - gajahasta (elephant hand) or dandahasta (stick hand)
- The dwarf on which Nataraja dances is the demon Apasmara Purusha
