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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 is the name of the god of formal hospitality to strangers?
(a) Aryaman.
(b) Rudra.
(c) Savitr.
(d) Ushas.

2. Rudra is known as the punisher of _____.
(a) Incest.
(b) Warriors.
(c) Women.
(d) Murder.

3. _____ is incarnate as a goddess closely associated with the Asvins.
(a) Atri.
(b) Dawn.
(c) Prsni.
(d) Night.

4. The Maruts are _____ portrayed always as a group.
(a) Sun worshipers.
(b) Water-gods.
(c) Fertility gods.
(d) Wind-gods.

5. In "Gambler's Lament", dice are born during a storm and cease to hang like _____ from the nut tree.
(a) Earrings.
(b) Stars.
(c) Pendulums.
(d) Bones.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. The divine prototype for marriage is the hierogamy of Surya and _____.

3. In the hymn, "Indra and the Maruts", what type of animal is named as 'the does' that are yoked to the chariot?

4. What is Agastya's chosen path in life when his wife approaches him to beget a child?

5. Pusan presides over _____.

Short Essay Questions

1. What are two meanings of "Atri and the Lost Sun"?

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

3. What is Varuna asked to protect the worshiper from in regards to his own power?

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

5. What does Vena personify in the hymn of the same name, and how does this relate to the theme of the hymn?

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

7. What is the nature of Soma in "The Marriage of Surya"?

8. In "Varuna Provoked to Anger", what is the nature of Vasistha's sins toward Varuna?

9. What is the central image of the hymn, "Mudgala's Wife and the Bull in the Chariot", and how do their interpretations overlap?

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

(see the answer keys)

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