View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. For what is 'the house of clay' a metaphor?

2. In "Gambler's Lament", dice are born during a storm and cease to hang like _____ from the nut tree.

3. Parsu's name,as mentioned in the notes for "Indra and the Monkey", means _____.

4. Pusan is the _____ of the sun.

5. _____ are both offenses and Varuna's punishment of those offenses.

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the meaning or the invocation, 'O, master of the stones' in "The House of Clay"?

2. What does the poet ask for at the end of "Parjanya, the Bull", and why?

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

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

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

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

7. What are the possible meanings of the 'banner that dawn plants in the sky' in "Dawn and the Asvins"?

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

9. What is the role of beauty in regards to women in the Rig Veda?

10. Who are the sons of the sun and what are their roles?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How is Parjanya personified? What is paradoxical about the way he is personified in "Parjanya, the Cow'?

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

What are the different types of oblation? Where and when are they presented, and by whom? Cite specific instances from the hymns.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 685 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample