Deck 18: India: the Ramayana

Question 1

In the Ramayana, the Vanara are ________________.

A) a tribe in northern India
B) monkey people
C) Rama's ancestors
D) evil people ruled by Ravana

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The Hindu ideal regarding correct behavior in all facets of life is __________.

A) artha
B) dharma
C) kharma
D) moksa

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The Hindu ideal regarding material prosperity is ________________.

A) artha
B) dharma
C) kharma
D) moksa

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The Hindu ideal regarding legitimate sex and other pleasures is ___________.

A) artha
B) dharma
C) kama
D) moksa

Question 5

The Hindu ideal regarding liberation of the soul is ________________.

A) artha
B) dharma
C) kharma
D) moksa

Question 6

______________ is an example of Bharata's dharma as a younger brother.

A) Killing Marichi
B) Marrying Sita
C) Acting as king when Rama chooses to continue his exile
D) Refusing to act as king when Rama chooses to continue his exile

Question 7

The god who saves Sita from the trial by fire and rescues Rama from the evil Rakshasas is ________________.

A) Indra
B) Vishnu
C) Shiva
D) Agni

Question 8

The Rakshasas can be compared to the Greek Titans because _____________.

A) both are very large
B) both are negative forces
C) both are shape-changers
D) both originated in the underworld

Question 9

In Rama's family, he is especially blessed because _________________.

A) he is handsome and strong
B) he is the son of Queen Kausalya
C) he is a prince
D) he is the firstborn son

Question 10

The palace of ____________ was located in the city of Lanka.

A) Ravana
B) Rama
C) Indra
D) Vishnu

Question 11

Rama is able to overpower Ravana by using ___________________.

A) the power of the sun
B) his own tremendous strength
C) the Brahma arrow
D) his father's sword

Question 12

The new orthodox strain of Hinduism draws from more ancient ______________writings

A) Vedic
B) Islamic
C) Vishnu
D) Lanka
E) Buddhist

Question 13

According to Wendy Doniger, the British Raj tried to recast Hinduism as a __________.

A) radical sect
B) false religion
C) monotheism
D) form of pluralism
E) racist group of beliefs

Question 14

Bettina Knapp sees Sita's experience in the fire as a kind of_________.

A) shamanistic experience
B) rebirth
C) misogyny
D) initiation
E) trial

Question 15

Bettina Knapp provides additional important insights into Sita by reviewing _____________perspectives of the Ramayana.

A) historical
B) literary
C) historical and literary
D) historical, literary, and cultural
E) theological
F) scientific

Question 16

Rama's best friend is the Vanara leader __________________________.

Question 17

______________ is the Hindu god of fire from Vedic times.

Question 18

In the Ramayana, all four of Dasaratha's sons are incarnations of _______________, the most supreme Hindu god.

Question 19

____________ is Rama's wife and an incarnation of Lakshmi, Vishnu's wife.

Question 20

Like many mythological heroes and heroines, Sita had a miraculous birth: she was _________________ by her father, King Janaka.

Question 21

Rama and his family lived at ______________________, which is revered as a shrine in India today.

Question 22

________________ is the monster with ten heads and twenty arms who abducts Sita to avenge the defeat of his army by Rama.

Question 23

___________________ is the monkey king who helps Rama find Sita.

Question 24

Sita knows that Hanuman has been sent by Rama because he shows her the ____________________ that Rama had given him for identification.

Question 25

Sita gives Hanuman a ________________ to prove that he has spoken to her.

Question 26

Doniger believes that India's new orthodox beliefs represent a ________ strain of Hinduism.

Question 27

After India's Independence from ____________________in 1947, a new form of Hindu Nationalism arose.

Question 28

Because she describes perspectives on traditional Hindu values that sometimes promote equality for _______. Doniger's writings have caused considerable controversy in India.

Question 29

Bettina Knapp points to archeological evidence that in the second and third millennia B.C.E., there was a cult of _____________.

Question 30

Bettina Knapp suggests that the figures of Rama and Sita cannot be evaluated only in terms of ____________. .