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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 does Apala want to do for Indra to get him to help her in "Apala and Indra"?
(a) Press Soma.
(b) Give herself to him.
(c) Sacrifice a horse.
(d) Kill her husband.

2. What do the Maruts give Gotama when he prays to them?
(a) Silver.
(b) A fountain.
(c) A son.
(d) Gold.

3. What word means dark, formless, terrifying abyss?
(a) Agamas.
(b) Siva.
(c) Adharma.
(d) Abhvam.

4. Who are 'those who eat serpents' most likely to be in "Savitr at Sunset"?
(a) Maruts.
(b) Birds of prey.
(c) Sages.
(d) Dogs of war.

5. Who invokes the Asvins to help her find her husband?
(a) Indrani.
(b) Agastya.
(c) Yami.
(d) Ghosa.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the name of the god of formal hospitality to strangers?

2. The _____ in "Indra and the Monkey" is the conquering Aryan.

3. In "The House of Clay", Varuna casts his snares upon the offending worshiper in the form of _____.

4. Urvasi is a _____.

5. In stories associated with "Apala and Indra", what is the third skin that is sloughed off of Apala?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is the Rig Veda described in "Realia" as worldly?

2. What are the different meanings of the 'house of clay' metaphor in "The House of Clay"?

3. Who brandishes their power and in what way in "The Deeds of Varuna"?

4. What is Yami's argument to persuade Yama to have incest relations with her, and who does she invoke to aid her with this?

5. Who competes in the contest in "The Maruts" and what are they doing in the competition?

6. In "Indra and the Maruts", why does Indra mock the Maruts?

7. How is creation mythology presented in "Varuna Provoked to Anger"?

8. In the dialogue between Agastya and the Maruts in "Agastya and the Maruts", what is Agastya trying to do?

9. What is the conflict present in all of the dialogues with women in the Rig Veda? Who succeeds, and who fails in this conflict?

10. In "The Courtship of Ghosa", what does Ghosa ask the Asvins?

(see the answer keys)

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