Ancient History MCQs – 3 (Vedic Literature)

Ans - C ( Bal Gangadhar Tilak ).

• Bal Gangadhar Tilak in 1903, wrote the book ‘The Arctic Home in the Vedas’ in which he argued that the Vedas could only have been composed in the Arctics, and the Aryans brought them to the south after the onset of the last ice age.
• With this book, He proposed a new way to determine the origin of Aryans and exact time of the Vedas.

Ans - A ( 1 Only).

• Shruti literally means “that which has been heard” . It is the collection of  most sacred texts comprising the central canon of Hinduism eg. Vedas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, & Upanishads. It contains unquestionable truth and is considered eternal.
• Smiriti literally means “that which is remembered”.  It is an entire body of the post Vedic classical Sanskrit literature which comprises Vedanga, Shad darsana, Puranas, Itihasa, Upvedas and Epics.

Ans - D ( Samhita).

• Samhita literally means "union/collection/combination of text or verses".
  
• Samhita refers to the most ancient layer of Vedic text comprising mantras, hymns, prayers.

Ans - B ( Soma).

• Soma was the intoxicating drink used in Vedic times.
• Aryans were so much addicted to this drink, that Soma was worshipped as a deity.
• Entire 9th Mandal of Rigveda ( which contains 114 hymns) is dedicated to this deity.

Ans - A ( 1 Only).

• Aitareya Brahmana was part of Rigveda.
• Satapatha Brahmana was part of Yajurveda. Yajurveda is the book of sacrificial prayers. It contains the rituals to be performed during Yajnas.
  

Ans - A ( Rig Veda ).

• Third Mandala of Rig Veda contains the famous Gayatri Mantra which was compiled in the praise of sun god Savitri.

Ans - C ( Both 1 & 2 ).

• Atharvaveda describes the early traditions of magic and cure of diseases. It is also called the Veda of magical formulas.
• There is no Aranyaka attached to the Atharva veda.

Ans - C ( Both 1 & 2 ).

• Samkhya – It represents a dualistic system in which the two distinct principles of purusha (self, spirit) and prakriti (matter) dominate. Founded by sage Kapila, Samkhya is the most ancient of six schools of Indian Philosophy. This school denies the “existence of God” and advocates that there are two realities Purusha and Prakriti.

• Vaisheshika – Founder of this school of Philosophy was Maharishi Kanad. It propounded that all objects of the whole universe are reducible to a finite number of atoms. This school deals in detail with Matter and metaphysics.
  

Ans - C ( Sama Veda ).

• Sama Veda is called the book of music and chants.
• It sets the hymns of Rigveda into rhythm. The origin of Indian classical music can be traced to Sama Veda .
• It contains a total of 1549 hymns.
  

Ans - A ( Upanishads ).

• Upanishads are considered the last layer of Vedic literature therefore they are also called Vedanta. Their subject matter is Philosophical and they mainly deal with matters like Atman( soul/Self), Brahman ( Ultimate reality ), rebirth etc.
• There are a total 108 Upanishads. Some of the important Upanishads are – Chandogya Upanishads, Brihadaranyaka Upanishads, Katha Upanishads, Mundaka Upanishads etc.
• The latest Upnishad is Muktika Upnishad which was recorded by Dara Shikoh whereas the oldest Upnishad is Vrihadaranyaka Upnishad.