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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What turns into a plant that is used as a substitute for the Soma plant in the hymn, "Soma and Indra and the Eagle"?
(a) A dragon scale.
(b) A leaf.
(c) A feather.
(d) A seed.

2. The enemy of true speech in "The Origins of Sacred Speech" is said to have been the _____ of the author.
(a) Son.
(b) Best friend.
(c) Wife.
(d) Rival.

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

4. What is symbolic of primeval chaotic matter, the seed of the creator, and the sacrificial oblation?
(a) Sky.
(b) Milk.
(c) Butter.
(d) Water.

5. Who is "Destruction" in the "Burial Hymn"?
(a) The female personification of disorder.
(b) Karma.
(c) The male personification of evil.
(d) Indra's sister.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many of the horse's thirty-six ribs are distributed to the universe in ritual sacrifice?

2. What are the sisters that embrace the pressing stones?

3. What are the human and demonic enemies of the invading Indo-Aryans?

4. What are the four social classes in Indian civilization called?

5. How many wheels does the chariot have in "The Boy and the Chariot"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the function of the enclosing-sticks in "The Hymn of Man" as opposed to the fuel-sticks?

2. What is the sacrificial horse identified with?

3. Who are the Asuras in the beginning of the Vedas, as opposed to their role toward the end?

4. What is the meaning of the use of hunger in "In praise of Generosity"?

5. How are Agni and Soma linked?

6. What is the role of the goat in "The Sacrifice of the Horse" and for whom does it do this?

7. What is the significance of the membrane in "The Gods Coax Agni Out of the Waters"?

8. How is butter visualized in the hymn, "Butter"?

9. What are the meanings of the recurrent epithet, "Knower of creatures"?

10. What is the state of clarity of the early stages of creation in "The All-maker", according to the author, and why?

(see the answer keys)

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