MAHABHARAT QUIZ

  

Mahabharata Quiz

QUESTION 1. Only ten people survived the great war which lasted eighteen days.  The amount of blood that was shed was so much that the soil in this region is dark as compared to its surroundings.  Can you name the ten survivors?			No suspense. The answer is on the right.				ANSWER Kripacharya Kritivarma Ashwatthama Saatyaki Yudhisthir Bhima Arjuna Nakula Sahdeva Krishna
QUESTION 2. We all know that the Sun's chariot has seven horses. This was made popular by the hindi film titled 'Suraj ka Saatvan Ghoda'.  What are the names of the seven horses?							ANSWER Gayatri Bhruhati Ushnik Jagati Tristubh Anustubh Pankti
QUESTION 3. Draupadi bore a son to each of the five Pandava brothers.The five sons were killed by Ashwatthama while they were asleep. This occurred just after the victory over Duryodhana and the culmination of the war.  Can you name the five sons?			The answer is on the right.				ANSWER Yudhisthir's son Prativindhya Bhima's son Sutsoma Arjuna's son Shrutakirti Nakula's son Shataaneek Sahdeva's son Shrutsen
QUESTION 4. It is believed that Krishna had 16 108 wives. In reality, the 16 100 'wives' were captives of Narkasura. When Krishna killed the asura the captive women desired to be with Krishna. Hence they were brought to Dwarka. Krishna married eight women.  Can you name the eight women Krishna actually married?			The answer is on the right.				ANSWER Rukmini Satyabhama Jambwati Sukeshi Suprabha Mitravinda Sudatta Lakshmana
QUESTION 5. The Mahabharata was like the world war of the twentieth century for the Kshatriyas of the ancient times. Prior to the war, while Lord Krishna was negotiating for peace the Pandavas and Kauravas were busy engaging other smaller armies for warfare.  Two famous kshatriyas did not fight the war although they were very close to the actual participants of the Mahabharata. Can you name them?			The answer is on the right.				ANSWER Balaram, brother of Krishna.  His reason was that the sons of Pandu and Dhritrashtra were equally close to him. Rukmi, brother of Rukmini. As a brother in law of Krishna and commander of a powerful army he could not be ignored. Yet the Pandavas rejected his offer of help because Rukmi had been inimical to Krishna before. Rukmi,then went to Duryodhana who turned down the offer of help since Rukmi had already been rejected by Yudhisthir.
QUESTION 6. The Pandavas had other wives beside Draupadi. The other wives bore a son each.  Can you name them?			The answer is on the right.				ANSWER Yudhisthir / Devika // Yaudheya Bhimasen / Balandhara // Sarvag  Hidimba// Ghatotkacha Arjuna / Subhadra // Abhimanyu  Ulupi // Iraavaan  Chitrangada // Babhruvaahan. Nakula / Karenumati // Niramitra Sahadeva / Vijaya // Suhotra
QUESTION 7. There are seven chiranjeevis (who shall live forever)according to our Epics. Name them.			The answer is on the right.				ANSWER Ashwatthama Bali Vyaasa Hanumaan Vibhishana Kripacharya Parashurama
QUESTION 8.Dronacharya was killed by Dhrishtadyumna, the son of Drupada. Who killed Dhrishtadyumna?			The answer is on the right.				ANSWER Dronacharya's son, Ashwatthama. After the 18 days of war, when the tired, victorious warriors were sleeping in the night Ashwatthama killed them all. Thus the only survivors of the war were those mentioned at Q No 1.
QUESTION 9.The updesh of the Lord, Bhagvad Gita, was just after Yudhishthir and the Pandavas sought the benediction of the elders and just before the start of use of weapons. How many shlokas does the Bhagvad Gita contain?							ANSWER Total shlokas in the Bhagvad Gita are 701.
QUESTION 10. What was the name of Karna's divine bow? Who gave it to him?			The answer is on the right.				ANSWER  The bow was known as 'Vijay'. Parashuram had given this bow to Karna.
QUESTION 11. Karna had the amogh 'Shakti' weapon which he saved for use against Arjuna. But he had to use it against some other person.  On whom did he use it?			The answer is on the right.				ANSWER Ghatotkacha, the son of Bhima and rakshasi Hidimba.
QUESTION 12. Only four people knew how to enter into a 'Chakravyuh'. Can you name them?			The answer is on the right.				ANSWER  Krishna Arjuna Pradyumna, son of Krishna Abhimanyu, son of Arjuna. Abhimanyu did not know how to come out of the Chakravyuh.
QUESTION 13. The sound of the conch was a signal of enthusiasm and victory. Can you name the conches of Krishna and the five Pandavas?							ANSWER  Krishna - Paanchjanya Yudhisthir -- Anantvijaya Bhima -- Paundra Arjuna -- Devadutta Nakula -- Sughosha Sahdeva -- Manipushpaka
QUESTION 14. During the game of dice and the subsequent vastraharan of Draupadi, Krishna was not present.  Where was he?			The answer is on the right.				ANSWER Krishna was busy fighting a long drawn battle with Shalva.
QUESTION 15. Just as Sita was kidnapped during the exile of Rama in the forest, Draupadi too suffered the same fate during the thirteen years 'Vanvaas'.Ravana had kidnapped Sita.  Who kidnapped Draupadi?			The answer is on the right.				ANSWER Jayadratha.  Jayadratha was the husband of Duryodhana's only sister, Dusshala.
QUESTION 16. What was the name of Duryodhana's son.  How did he die?			The answer is on the right.				ANSWER Duryodhana's son was known as Lakshmana. He was killed by Abhimanyu, Arjuna's son.
QUESTION 17.Parikshit, son of Abhimanyu and Uttara was the sole survivor of the Pandavas. He had four sons. Can you name them?			The answer is on the right.				ANSWER The four sons were Janmejaya. Shrutasena Ugrasena Bhimasena
QUESTION 18. In ancient times the charioteer played a very important role for the warrior. Indra's great charioteer established the scale of excellence with which all others were compared. What is the name of Indra's charioteer.			The answer is on the right.				ANSWER Maatali.
QUESTION 19. After observing the sheer power of the atomic bombs dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the famous American Scientist J R Oppenheimer quoted a line from the Bhagvad Gita. Can you name the shloka?							ANSWER J R Oppenheimer said "Brighter than a thousand suns !"  The translation of the complete shloka (Ch 11- shl 12) is : The splendour of the mighty Lord is brighter than a thousand suns bursting forth all at once in the heavens.
QUESTION 20. Who were the Commanders-in-chief of the Kaurava Army and for how long?			The answer is on the right.				ANSWER Bhisma for 10 days Drona for 5 days Karna for 2 days Shalya for half a day. After the mace duel between Duryodhana and Bhima, the former, with broken thighs, waited for death. During this time Ashwatthama arrived and told of his intention to kill the sleeping Pandava survivors. Duryodhana was very pleased with the idea and asked Guru Kripacharya to anoint Ashwatthama as Commander-in-chief.

                                                                                        

THE MORE THE THINGS CHANGE THE MORE THEY LOOK THE SAME.

THE MORE THE THINGS CHANGE THE MORE THEY LOOK THE SAME.

It’s election times in our beloved country, India/Bharat. Coincidently I am reading ‘Madame Bovary’ a novel by Gustave Flaubert first published in 1857 set in then ruling Monarchy. The following lines sound very familiar even in today’s context and nothing, nothing seems to have changed. Our politicians organize similar farmers’ rallies and cattle fairs and speak the same words spoken some 150 years back.

“Surely it would be pointless gentlemen, for me to demonstrate to you the usefulness of agriculture. Who is it that provides for our needs? Who is that maintains our food sully? Is it not the farmer? The farmer, gentlemen, showing with laborious hand the fertile furrows of our country side…..providing food for the poor as well as the rich.”

And the tamasa goes on: read on:

‘The ceremony was over; the crowd dispersed and, now that the speeches had all been read, everyone resumed his rank and every thing returned to normal; the masters shouted crossly at their servants, the servants beat the animals and the animals returned to their barns as indolent triumph with gree wreaths between their horns’

At last Modi remembered Sardar Patel and embarks on erecting his statue on 31^st October 2013 that will be the tallest in the world, taller than the Statue of Liberty In NY. Lord Krishna for Dwarka travels to Patna to in the guise of a tea vendor and promises to wipe the tears of all Yaduvansies.

Rahul Gandhi invokes his grandmother and father and reminds us of their sacrifice.  

After elections  all will return to normal and the herds (read voters) will resume doing what they are destined to do.  

HEAVEN'S VERY SPECIAL CHILD

HEAVEN'S VERY SPECIAL CHILD

A meeting was held quite far from Earth!
It's time again for another birth.
Said the Angels to the LORD above,
This Special Child will need much love.
 
His progress may be very slow,
Accomplishments he may not show.
And he'll require extra care
From the folks he meets down there.
 
He may not run or laugh or play,
His thoughts may seem quite far away,
In many ways he won't adapt,
And he'll be known as handicapped.
 
So let's be careful where he's sent,
We want his life to be content.
Please LORD, find the parents who
Will do a special job for you.
 
They will not realize right away
The leading role they're asked to play,
But with this child sent from above
Comes stronger faith and richer love.
 
And soon they'll know the privilege given
In caring for their gift from Heaven.
Their precious charge, so meek and mild,
Is HEAVEN'S VERY SPECIAL CHILD.
 
 
by Edna Massionilla
December 1981
The Optomist- newsletter for PROUD
Parents Regional Outreach for Understanding Down's Inc.

ON BEING MODERATELY MODERATE

BEING MODERATELY MODERATE

Lot has changed since we were in schools. The changes are evident in every walk of life from the clothes we wear to the living standards we follow. Even the way we think and act in a given situation. The changes are more dramatic in the way we observe our religious beliefs or dictates.

Let us first talk about dress because that is the most visible. Nothing much has changed as far as men’s dressing is concerned because the poor fellow has a few choices from wide flared to narrow drain piped trousers, from full sleeved to muscle shirts or from flat heeled-wide toed to high heeled narrow toed shoes. Nothing really matters what he wears at home which can be a lungi to a Bermuda. All the designers’ wear for the females, of the females but not necessarily by the females. In those olden days the girls would come to school/college in salwar suits/lahanga kurta /sarees. The salwar suits or lahanga kurta were accompanied by dupattas (scarves). The saree were worn in such a way that only the small angle of the neck was visible. The whole idea was to cover the cleavage. In a way it was regressive because managing the saree was a job by itself and during summer times these dresses were quite oppressive. Things started changing for some good when skirt tops in schools replaced salwar suits/lahanga kurta at least. Currently there is some sort of competition among females in out placing each other by dressing as scantly as possible. The tops are moving upwards and the jeans/skirts are going downwards. So is the case with blowze and saree. It appears what is good for the west is good for us too. The good thing is that there are people liberal enough to accept the change but there are people who would impose dress codes in schools colleges and offices.

The other area is about religion. There are fundamentalists and there are liberals and moderates. There are rebels who would eat meat and drink alcohol much against the dictates of the tradition and there are moderates who would not mind this happening in moderation. There are fundamentalists who would want their women to dress in a particular way and there are moderates who accept the changes in moderation. There are people dead against inter cast marriages and there are moderates who do not put any hurdles.

Another area is the value system. These days it is quite common for men and women frequenting bars and discotheques and enjoying the fare late into nights. Not only dress codes or food habits or religious beliefs have changed but also the entire gamut of our way of living has changed. It will not be very correct to say that this change is visible only among the educated and upwardly mobile strata of our society. Even the middle class and lower middle class is not untouched. We should not be surprised if we find a jean top clad teenaged girl in some remote village of our country.

Moderation in moderation is good but the point is how moderate the moderate should be. Simply put how to define moderation.