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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who eats the flesh of the sacrificed horse?

2. How many people slaughter the horse of Tvastr during sacrifice?

3. The Rbhus are the _____ of the gods.

4. What does the word 'tapas' mean?

5. Indra wages battle with _____ as well as weapons.

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What is the meaning of the horse carrying the body in "Requiem for a Horse"?

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

4. What are the the three forms of speech highlighted in the hymn, "Speech", and what do they represent?

5. In "The Creation of the Sacrifice", what is the significance of weaving?

6. What is the nature of the 'child of the waters' and how does this relate to Agni?

7. What is meant by the "mist" metaphor in "Aditi and the Birth of the Gods"?

8. What is the function of the goat in "The Funeral Fire"?

9. What is the sacrificial horse identified with?

10. Who are the Angirases and with whom are they often linked?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the relationship between male and female characters in the Rig Veda. Do females have an equal role in the texts? Who is the female counterpart to Yama and what is she known for? Do females invoke the gods? How are female characters voiced?

Essay Topic 2

Who are the Asvins? Who bore them, and out of what part of her body? What are their deeds?

Essay Topic 3

There are many metaphors for the sun in the Rig Veda. Find examples of these and explain how they are used. The sun itself is a metaphor for which gods? Cite examples.

(see the answer keys)

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