Themes I - Chapter 3

Question 1

What is the literal meaning of ‘itihasa’?

Answer 1

Thus it was

Question 2

Which epic is primarily used by historians to understand early Indian social structure?

Answer 2

Mahabharata

Question 3

Who led the project to compile the Critical Edition of the Mahabharata?

Answer 3

V.S. Sukthankar

Question 4

How long did the Mahabharata Critical Edition project take?

Answer 4

47 years

Question 5

What term refers to the large family unit in Sanskrit texts?

Answer 5

Kula

Question 6

What does ‘patriliny’ mean?

Answer 6

Descent traced through the father

Question 7

Who succeeded Pandu as king in the Mahabharata?

Answer 7

Dhritarashtra

Question 8

What marriage system promotes marrying outside the family?

Answer 8

Exogamy

Question 9

What was considered a religious duty for fathers regarding daughters?

Answer 9

Kanyadana

Question 10

What were the eight forms of marriage outlined in Manusmriti called?

Answer 10

Ashta Vivaha

Question 11

What practice required women to adopt their husband’s gotra after marriage?

Answer 11

Brahmanical gotra rules

Question 12

What type of naming is seen in Gotami-puta Satavahana rulers?

Answer 12

Metronymic naming

Question 13

What system of marriage among kin was common in South India?

Answer 13

Endogamy

Question 14

What does the term ‘stridhana’ refer to?

Answer 14

Woman’s wealth received at marriage

Question 15

What was the only occupation assigned to Shudras in Brahmanical texts?

Answer 15

Service to upper varnas

Question 16

Who shot arrows into a barking dog in the Mahabharata?

Answer 16

Ekalavya

Question 17

What did Drona ask Ekalavya as guru dakshina?

Answer 17

His right thumb

Question 18

Who were considered “mlechchhas” by Brahmanas?

Answer 18

Foreigners or outsiders

Question 19

What Shaka ruler repaired Sudarshana lake?

Answer 19

Rudradaman

Question 20

What was the title claimed by Satavahana king Satakarni?

Answer 20

Eka Bamhana

Question 21

Which category in Brahmanical texts refers to occupational groups?

Answer 21

Jati

Question 22

What does the term ‘shreni’ refer to?

Answer 22

Guild of craftsmen or merchants

Question 23

What guild migrated from Gujarat to Mandasor?

Answer 23

Silk weavers

Question 24

Who were referred to as ‘chandalas’?

Answer 24

Those performing polluting tasks like disposal of corpses

Question 25

Which Chinese pilgrim noted untouchables carried clappers?

Answer 25

Fa Xian

Question 26

What Buddhist text depicts Matanga, a chandala, as a Bodhisattva?

Answer 26

Matanga Jataka

Question 27

What does the Mahabharata episode of Draupadi’s staking reveal?

Answer 27

Gendered access to property

Question 28

Which text prescribes different ways men and women could acquire wealth?

Answer 28

Manusmriti

Question 29

What type of marriage did Draupadi have?

Answer 29

Polyandry

Question 30

Which region still shows traces of polyandry today?

Answer 30

Himalayan region

Question 31

What text contains the story of Ekalavya?

Answer 31

Adi Parvan of the Mahabharata

Question 32

What does the 'Purusha Sukta' justify?

Answer 32

Divine origin of varna system

Question 33

Who taught archery to royal princes in the Mahabharata?

Answer 33

Drona

Question 34

Who wrote the play *Mrichchhakatika* portraying a Brahmana-merchant hero?

Answer 34

Shudraka

Question 35

What text contains the Buddhist social contract theory?

Answer 35

Sutta Pitaka

Question 36

What was the elected king in the Buddhist story called?

Answer 36

Mahasammata

Question 37

Which bardic literature praised generous Tamil chiefs?

Answer 37

Sangam literature

Question 38

Which poem anthology does the story of the poor generous chief come from?

Answer 38

Purananuru

Question 39

Which contemporary writer reimagined the lac house episode?

Answer 39

Mahasweta Devi

Question 40

What was the Mahabharata originally composed by?

Answer 40

Charioteer-bards (Sutas)

Question 41

Which god is believed to have written the Mahabharata as Vyasa dictated?

Answer 41

Ganesha

Question 42

What are the two broad types of content in the Mahabharata?

Answer 42

Narrative and Didactic