CHAPTER 7: INDIA’S CULTURAL ROOTS
1. According to the chapter, how old is Indian culture?
A. A few hundred years
B. Several millenniums
C. Only 1,000 years
D. Less than 500 years
Answer: B. Several millenniums
2. Which ancient civilisation is mentioned as one of the roots of Indian culture?
A. Roman civilisation
B. Greek civilisation
C. Indus or Harappan civilisation
D. Egyptian civilisation
Answer: C. Indus or Harappan civilisation
3. What does the Sanskrit word ‘Veda’ mean?
A. Knowledge
B. Power
C. Wealth
D. Victory
Answer: A. Knowledge
4. How many Vedas are there?
A. Two
B. Three
C. Five
D. Four
Answer: D. Four
5. Which of the following is NOT one of the four Vedas?
A. Ṛig Veda
B. Mahabharata
C. Yajur Veda
D. Sāma Veda
Answer: B. Mahabharata
6. What do the Vedas consist of?
A. Only historical maps
B. Stories written by modern authors
C. Thousands of hymns, prayers, poems and songs
D. Only laws issued by kings
Answer: C. Thousands of hymns, prayers, poems and songs
7. How were the Vedic hymns traditionally transmitted?
A. Orally, through memorisation and rigorous training
B. Through printed books
C. Through newspapers
D. Through inscriptions on coins only
Answer: A. Orally, through memorisation and rigorous training
8. In which region were the Vedic hymns composed, according to the chapter?
A. Deccan Plateau
B. Coastal Tamil Nadu
C. Bengal Delta
D. Sapta Sindhava region
Answer: D. Sapta Sindhava region
9. In which language were the Vedic hymns composed?
A. Persian
B. An early form of Sanskrit
C. Latin
D. Greek
Answer: B. An early form of Sanskrit
10. Who composed the Vedic hymns?
A. Only kings
B. Only merchants
C. Rishis and rishikas
D. Only foreign travellers
Answer: C. Rishis and rishikas
11. What does the word ‘rishika’ refer to in the chapter?
A. A female seer or sage
B. A royal soldier
C. A trader
D. A village headman
Answer: A. A female seer or sage
12. In which year did UNESCO recognise Vedic chanting as a masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity?
A. 1947
B. 2000
C. 2015
D. 2008
Answer: D. 2008
13. Which statement expresses the Vedic idea that the supreme reality is one but is described by sages using many names?
A. Aham brahmāsmi
B. Ekam sat viprā bahudhā vadanti
C. Tat tvam asi
D. Sarve bhavantu sukhinah
Answer: B. Ekam sat viprā bahudhā vadanti
14. What does the Vedic concept of ṛitam refer to?
A. Wealth and trade
B. War and conquest
C. Truth and order in human life and the cosmos
D. Farming and irrigation
Answer: C. Truth and order in human life and the cosmos
15. What were the janas in early Vedic society?
A. Larger groups of people or clans
B. Types of religious books
C. Trading ships
D. Agricultural tools
Answer: A. Larger groups of people or clans
16. How many janas are listed in the Ṛig Veda, according to the chapter?
A. Fewer than five
B. Exactly ten
C. About twenty
D. Over thirty
Answer: D. Over thirty
17. Which of the following is mentioned as a Vedic jana?
A. Mauryas
B. Bharatas
C. Guptas
D. Mughals
Answer: B. Bharatas
18. Which Vedic terms refer to a collective gathering or assembly?
A. Karma and dharma
B. Yajña and mantra
C. Sabhā and samiti
D. Brahman and ātman
Answer: C. Sabhā and samiti
19. Which of the following professions is mentioned in the Vedic texts?
A. Potter
B. Airline pilot
C. Computer programmer
D. Television presenter
Answer: A. Potter
20. What were yajñas in Vedic culture?
A. Types of cities
B. Systems of writing
C. Agricultural seasons
D. Rituals directed towards deities
Answer: D. Rituals directed towards deities
21. Which deity was associated with fire in Vedic culture?
A. Varuṇa
B. Agni
C. Mitra
D. Uṣhas
Answer: B. Agni
22. Which group of texts built upon Vedic concepts and introduced ideas such as karma and rebirth?
A. Jātaka tales
B. Buddhist Jātakas
C. Upanishads
D. Modern historical accounts
Answer: C. Upanishads
23. What does karma refer to in the chapter?
A. Actions or their results
B. A type of assembly
C. A river
D. A form of agriculture
Answer: A. Actions or their results
24. What does rebirth mean?
A. Moving to another country
B. Becoming a king
C. Learning a new language
D. Taking birth again and again
Answer: D. Taking birth again and again
25. According to Vedanta, what is the divine essence that connects human life, nature and the universe?
A. Samiti
B. Brahman
C. Yajña
D. Jana
Answer: B. Brahman
26. What does the Upanishadic expression ‘aham brahmāsmi’ mean?
A. Truth is always hidden
B. Knowledge comes only from books
C. I am brahman
D. The world is only material
Answer: C. I am brahman
27. What does the concept of ātman refer to in the Upanishads?
A. The Self or divine essence residing in every being
B. A royal assembly
C. A type of ritual
D. A Vedic clan
Answer: A. The Self or divine essence residing in every being
28. What does the prayer ‘sarve bhavantu sukhinah’ express?
A. May everyone become wealthy
B. May everyone become a ruler
C. May everyone win wars
D. May all creatures be happy
Answer: D. May all creatures be happy
29. Which school developed methods intended to realise brahman in one’s consciousness?
A. Chārvāka
B. Yoga
C. Jainism
D. Buddhism
Answer: B. Yoga
30. Which statement about Buddhism is correct according to the chapter?
A. It was a branch of the Roman religion
B. It accepted every Vedic ritual without question
C. It developed its own system and did not accept the authority of the Vedas
D. It originated in modern Europe
Answer: C. It developed its own system and did not accept the authority of the Vedas
31. What was the birth name of the Buddha?
A. Siddhārtha Gautama
B. Vardhamāna
C. Yājñavalkya
D. Uddālaka Āruṇi
Answer: A. Siddhārtha Gautama
32. Where was Siddhārtha Gautama born?
A. Bodh Gaya
B. Vaiśhālī
C. Puri
D. Lumbini
Answer: D. Lumbini
33. At what age did Siddhārtha Gautama first encounter an old man, a sick man, a dead body and an ascetic during his city visit, according to the chapter?
A. 12
B. 29
C. 40
D. 50
Answer: B. 29
34. Where did Siddhārtha Gautama attain enlightenment?
A. Lumbini
B. Harappa
C. Bodh Gaya
D. Puri
Answer: C. Bodh Gaya
35. What does the word ‘Buddha’ mean?
A. The enlightened or awakened one
B. The great conqueror of territory
C. The ruler of a kingdom
D. The author of the Vedas
Answer: A. The enlightened or awakened one
36. According to the chapter, what are the sources of human suffering identified by the Buddha?
A. Education and knowledge
B. Trade and agriculture
C. Rivers and mountains
D. Avidyā (ignorance) and attachment
Answer: D. Avidyā (ignorance) and attachment
37. What does ‘ahimsa’ generally mean?
A. Wealth
B. Non-violence or non-hurting
C. Royal power
D. Victory in battle
Answer: B. Non-violence or non-hurting
38. What was the Sangha founded by the Buddha?
A. A trading association
B. A royal court
C. A community of monks and later nuns
D. An agricultural settlement
Answer: C. A community of monks and later nuns
39. Who was Vardhamāna, later known as Mahāvīra?
A. A spiritual teacher associated with Jainism
B. A Vedic river
C. A king of Mesopotamia
D. A Buddhist monk who founded the Sangha
Answer: A. A spiritual teacher associated with Jainism
40. Where was Mahāvīra born, according to the chapter?
A. Lumbini in Nepal
B. Bodh Gaya in Bihar
C. Harappa in Punjab
D. Near Vaiśhālī in modern-day Bihar
Answer: D. Near Vaiśhālī in modern-day Bihar
41. At what age did Mahāvīra leave home in search of spiritual knowledge?
A. 12
B. 30
C. 40
D. 50
Answer: B. 30
42. What does the word ‘Jain’ or ‘jaina’ come from?
A. Jana, meaning a clan
B. Veda, meaning knowledge
C. Jina, meaning conqueror
D. Yajña, meaning ritual
Answer: C. Jina, meaning conqueror
43. What does anekāntavāda mean?
A. Truth has many aspects and cannot be fully described by a single statement
B. Material possessions should be increased
C. Only one person can possess knowledge
D. All living beings should be controlled by force
Answer: A. Truth has many aspects and cannot be fully described by a single statement
44. What does aparigraha mean?
A. Worship of fire
B. Conquest of territory
C. A collective assembly
D. Non-possession and limiting oneself to what is necessary
Answer: D. Non-possession and limiting oneself to what is necessary
45. What is the central message of the Jātaka tales mentioned in the chapter?
A. The importance of military conquest
B. Buddhist values expressed through stories of the Buddha’s former births
C. The need to accumulate wealth
D. The superiority of one profession over all others
Answer: B. Buddhist values expressed through stories of the Buddha’s former births
46. What lesson does the Jain story of Rohineya illustrate?
A. Wealth is the only source of happiness
B. Wrongdoing can never be corrected
C. Right action, right thinking and the possibility of a second chance
D. Knowledge should be kept secret
Answer: C. Right action, right thinking and the possibility of a second chance
47. What did the Chārvāka or Lokāyata school believe?
A. The material world is the only thing that exists, so there can be no life after death
B. The Vedas must be followed in every situation
C. All possessions must be given to rulers
D. The universe is made only of spiritual beings
Answer: A. The material world is the only thing that exists, so there can be no life after death
48. How does the chapter define oral traditions?
A. Teachings preserved only in printed books
B. Government orders recorded on stone
C. Stories written exclusively by kings
D. Teachings or practices transmitted through everyday practice without written texts
Answer: D. Teachings or practices transmitted through everyday practice without written texts
49. According to the chapter, how many tribes did India have in 2011, according to official figures?
A. 105
B. 705
C. 7,050
D. 70
Answer: B. 705
50. What has been the result of long interaction between folk, tribal and other Indian belief systems?
A. Complete separation of cultural traditions
B. The disappearance of all tribal traditions
C. Mutual enrichment through the exchange of deities, concepts, legends and rituals
D. The end of cultural diversity
Answer: C. Mutual enrichment through the exchange of deities, concepts, legends and rituals
