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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The traditional _____ in the Rig Veda is the tale of the king and the priest.
(a) Glue.
(b) Gloss.
(c) Gale.
(d) Glamour.

2. What is the name of the sacrificial drink pressed from a plant?
(a) Karma.
(b) Buttermilk.
(c) Broth.
(d) Soma.

3. What is thought of as a symbol of rain and fertility?
(a) The lioness.
(b) The rain cloud.
(c) The female frog.
(d) The goose egg.

4. What is the center of the wheel in the "All-Maker" myth called?
(a) The navel.
(b) The kernel.
(c) The chestnut.
(d) The hub.

5. Susna is the demon of _____.
(a) Night.
(b) Flood.
(c) Day.
(d) Drought.

6. At the end of "The Birth of Agni", what does Agni turn into?
(a) A demon.
(b) A horse.
(c) A frog.
(d) A bull.

7. What is the name given to the cremation fire?
(a) Dharma.
(b) Agni.
(c) Yama.
(d) Aditi.

8. Vivavsan is a name for the _____.
(a) Earth.
(b) Heavens.
(c) Sun.
(d) Moon.

9. What work does the author think the "The Boy and the Chariot" might be the kernel of?
(a) The Bhagavad Gita.
(b) The Pancatantra.
(c) Naciketas.
(d) Upanishads.

10. In "We Have Drunk the Soma", Dawn harnesses _____ to her chariot to bring treasure to the singer of the hymn.
(a) Indra.
(b) Seven eagles.
(c) Docile cows.
(d) The sun.

11. What are the sisters that embrace the pressing stones?
(a) Fingers.
(b) Dirt.
(c) Gems.
(d) Other stones.

12. The horses of Indra in "The Sacrifice of the Horse" are _____.
(a) Two bay stallions.
(b) Two dapple grays.
(c) Two grey donkeys.
(d) Two roan mares.

13. The mane of a horse is a metaphor for what?
(a) The rays of the sun.
(b) The crops in the fields.
(c) The rain.
(d) The love of Indra.

14. Varuna and Mitra are keepers of the _____.
(a) Sticks.
(b) Moral law.
(c) Pressing stones.
(d) Soma.

15. What was used to protect female mourners instead of mascara or eye-shadow, as stated in the "Burial Hymn"?
(a) Blessed berry juice.
(b) Ash mixed with olive oil.
(c) Clay from sacred ground.
(d) Ritually purified butter.

Short Answer Questions

1. The daughter of the sun is the _____ of Soma.

2. Who are the 'ancient ones' in "The Boy and the Chariot"?

3. Sarasvati is the goddess of _____.

4. Saryanavat is the name of the _____ where Soma plants are found.

5. What word denotes mankind, the eponymous ancestor of mankind, or the brother of Yama?

(see the answer keys)

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