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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 are Agni's sons?

2. What work does the author think the "The Boy and the Chariot" might be the kernel of?

3. What are said to have more powers than the Fathers in heaven?

4. In later Sanskrit, a wish is a chariot made of _____.

5. What is the female element in the oblation ritual called?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. In the hymn "The Child of the Waters", what do the three women give to the deity, and why?

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

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

5. How are Agni and Soma linked?

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

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

8. What are the first ritual laws called, and what is their purpose?

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

10. What is the back story about the priest of the oblation's getting angry in "The Birth of Agni", and what does the priest do that is mentioned in this hymn?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe how Dawn performs her duties in "Dawn and the Avins". What does she drive back every day? How does she shower men with her gifts?

Essay Topic 2

Who are the demons in the Rig Veda? Where do they live? Why do they live there? How do they interact with the gods? What is Sarama's role in relation to the demons?

Essay Topic 3

Describe how Soma is symbolic. What is it made from? What is its function? Who uses it? Why?

(see the answer keys)

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