1. Who were the parents of Dhruva
2. Who manufactured the sudarshana chakra?
3. Who were the parents of Parashurama?
4. What deadly poison came out of the samudra manthan?
5. Whose bow is the pinaka?
6. Name the 2 asuras who tried to destroy Agastya.
7. This king of Ayodhya cut part of his flesh to save a small bird.
8. Who is Ashwapati in Ramayana?
9. Name 2 brothers of Shurpanaka.
10. Who gave Ravana the idea of kidnapping Sita?
11. Name Ravana's oldest son.
12. What is the name of Sugreeva's wife?
13. Name the mountain where Sugreeva was staying.
14. Who is Bali's son?
15. Name the wives of Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrugna.
16. Who is Ravana's brother who was a devotee of Rama?
17. Name Dasharatha's 4 sons.
18. Name 2 sons of Arjuna.
19. Give the name of Duryodhana's sister's husband.
20. Name the Kaurava who changed over to the Pandava's side.
21. Adhiratha and Radha adopted which child?
22. Name the 5 Pandavas.
23. Who is also known by the name Vrikodara?
24. King Dushyanta, an ancestor of the Pandavas fell in love with which lady?
25. Who is Krishna's sister?
Shouldn't question 14 be " Vali's son" and not "Bali's Son" ? I got confused with King Bali whom Lord vishnu pushed down to patala with his foot in vamana avatara.
02-03-2005, 06:21 AM (This post was last modified: 02-03-2005, 06:30 AM by Sunder.)
Bali is the bengali pronounciation of Vaali.
Sugreeva's wife was indeed Taara (who was formerly Vaali's wife.) Ramcharithamanas mentions Ruma. So did Ramanand Sagar version.
And one more glaring item - Sudharshana Chakra is made drawn out by Sri Shiva Pashupathi, when he is to kill Jalandhara Asura. (It's a beautiful story I remember from my childhood bedtime stories time.)
<!--QuoteBegin-sridhar k+Feb 3 2005, 06:33 AM-->QUOTE(sridhar k @ Feb 3 2005, 06:33 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin--> Akji,
Tara was Vali's wife. I guess according to valmiki ramayana, Sugriva married Tara after vali's death. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
During Vaali Vadham, Rama asks Vaali why he had abducted Sugreeva's wife. To which Vaali says the laws of vaanaras are quite different from that of manushyas. Thus, Vaali had indeed married sugreeva's wife. Of this, I am quite certain.
I have to refer back to the Ramayanam to be 100% sure what the name of the abducted wife was.
Sugriva's wife was Ruma, if I recall correctly. Tara was Vali's wife and Angada their son.
While each brother took the other's wife when the other was disposed of (Vali, when Sugriva was banished, and Sugriva following Vali's killing), I doubt whether Tara was Sugriva's consort at any time prior to Vali's death.
21.Tara  told  Sugriva  that  his  hostile  elder  brother  has  been  killed  and  he may  enjoy  the  kingdom  without  mental  anxiety  and  also  he  will  get  back his  wife  Ruma.  She  also  said  that  Sugriva's  desires  have  been  fulfilled. http://acharya.iitm.ac.in/mirrors/vv/liter...inda/ki20c.html<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
mahaatmanaH asya sugriivasya= great-souled, his, Sugreeva's
dharamaaNasya= while alive
paapa karma kR^it= sinful, act, while doing
kaamaat= with lust
snuSaayaam rumaayaam vartase= in daughter-in-law, in Ruma, you misbehaved.
"While the great-souled Sugreeva is still alive, you with your habit of sinful acts have lustily misbehaved with Sugreeva's wife Ruma, who should be counted as your daughter-in-law." [4-18-19]
Taaraa apparently becomes ther wife of Sugriva after Rama assassinated Vali. When Lakshmana goes to destroy Kishkinda because Sugriva was not fulling his promise to help Ram. He sends Tara with whom he was a having a beer party to mollify L. Lakshmana who was very shy of women easily gave in and thus Sugriva saved himself. The description that Valmiki gives suggests that Tara had indeed taken to a life with Sugriva and was enjoying it. I wonder why Sugriva had no sons of his own?
As for question 18, shouldn't Bhabruvana be BhabruvAhana? If Bahbru is his vAhana, then what is Bhabru?
Also, the story of vAtApi trying to kill Agastya where Illvala becomes a sheep and the meat from this sheep is fed to Agastya. Does this mean that in ancient times, brahmanas were meat eaters?
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Also, the story of vAtApi trying to kill Agastya where Illvala becomes a sheep and the meat from this sheep is fed to Agastya. Does this mean that in ancient times, brahmanas were meat eaters?<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
AFAIK, Vathapi becomes a goat, and ilvala cooks him and feeds Sri Agasthya Bhaghavan Rishi. The Great Sage then digests him wholly, when Ilvala calls out Vathapi, Sri Agasthya says "Vatapi Jeernaapi", Vaathapi is now digested. A Brahminic diet is not traditionally consisting of meat. But at the end of a Yagna, the yaaga-pashu's vapa-bhagham (important part) is mixed with prodasanam and is taken.
But Sri Hanuman, in the Valmiki Ramayana asserts that the entire Ikshvaku Clan has never eaten meat of any kind. This, inspite of Rama being born as a Kshatriya.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Also, the story of vAtApi trying to kill Agastya where Illvala becomes a sheep and the meat from this sheep is fed to Agastya. Does this mean that in ancient times, brahmanas were meat eaters?
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Ilvala performed a srAddha ceremony and used this as a pretext to invite brAhmanAs and kill them.
Meat was served primarily during somayajnas and during srAddha.
BrAhmanas used to eat meat only during these two ceremonies as prasadam.
Their primary diet was fruits, roots, milk and grains, not meat.
Consult Manusmrti, chapter 5 for more details on when a brAhmana may eat meat or not :-
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56. There is no sin in eating meat, in (drinking) spirituous liquor, and in carnal intercourse, for that is the natural way of created beings, but abstention brings great rewards.
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So according to Manu, there is no sin if a brAhmana eats meat. But he recommends giving it up for spiritual progress :-
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48. Meat can never be obtained without injury to living creatures, and injury to sentient beings is detrimental to (the attainment of) heavenly bliss; let him therefore shun (the use of) meat.
49. Having well considered the (disgusting) origin of flesh and the (cruelty of) fettering and slaying corporeal beings, let him entirely abstain from eating flesh.
50. He who, disregarding the rule (given above), does not eat meat like a Pisaka, becomes dear to men, and will not be tormented by diseases.
54. By subsisting on pure fruit and roots, and by eating food fit for ascetics (in the forest), one does not gain (so great) a reward as by entirely avoiding (the use of) flesh.
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->But Sri Hanuman, in the Valmiki Ramayana asserts that the entire Ikshvaku Clan has never eaten meat of any kind. This, inspite of Rama being born as a Kshatriya.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Do you remember which kanda/sloka this was?
According to Persian scholars the ancient Iranian Aryans did not eat meat also, just like their Indo-Aryan cousins. This is stated in the Zarathushtrian texts.
Please see this site maintained by Orthodox Parsis :-
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The Shah Namah states that the evil king of Iran, Zohak was first taught eating meat by the evil one who came to him in the guise of a cook. This was the start of an age of great evil for Iran. Prior to this, in the Golden age of mankind in the days of the great Aryan Kings, man did not eat meat.
The Pahlavi scriptures state that in the final stages of the world, when the final Saviour Saoshyant arrives, man will become more spiritual and gradually give up meat eating. So it seems that our religion does support the theory that meat eating is a fall from the original spiritual state of mankind, there is nothing "hindu" or "jain" about it - it is Aryan belief, and the Indians have retained this Aryan belief more so than the Europeans, who deteriorated into beef-eating AFTER they migrated from the ancient homeland.
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<!--QuoteBegin-Sunder+Feb 4 2005, 02:34 AM-->QUOTE(Sunder @ Feb 4 2005, 02:34 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin--> AFAIK, Vathapi becomes a goat, and ilvala cooks him and feeds Sri Agasthya Bhaghavan Rishi. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Sunder
You are right. It is Illvala who cooks the meet from the goat vAthApi turns into.
I had that in my mind but typed it wrong.
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Babhru is Golden color, that you can see at dawn. Just before the sunrise, the sky turns to ARUNA (Reddish), followed by a mild golden (Babhru). This is from Sri Rudhra Prashnam.
asau yastAmro aruNa uta babhruH sumaN^galaH |
ye chemAM rudrA abhito dikshhu shritAH sahasrasho vaishhAM heDa Imahe ||
asau - That
yaH - who (Rudra)
tAmro - (deep) coppery red
aruNa - (slightly) rosy red
uta - also
<b>babhruH - golden colored</b>
sumaN^galaH - extremely auspicious
ye - who
cha - others
imAM abhito - around this earth
rudrAH - Rudras
dikshhu shritAH - present in all directions
sahasrasho - by the thousands
eshhAM heDa (heLa) - the anger of these
avemahe - we remove
BABHRU-VAHANA Son of Arjuna by his wife Chitrangadi. He was adopted as the son of his maternal grandfather, and reigned at Manipura as his successor. He dwelt there in a palace of great splendour, surrounded with wealth and signs of power. When Arjuna went to Manipura with the horse intended for the Aswa-medha, there was a quarrel between Arjuna and King Babhru-vahana, and the latter killed his father with an arrow. Repenting of his deed, he determined to kill himself, but he obtained from his stepmother, the Naga princess Ulupi, a gem which restored Arjuna to life. He returned with his father to Hastinapura. The description of this combat has been translated from the Maha-bharata by Troyer in his Raja Tarangini, tome i. p. 578. http://www.mypurohith.com/Encyclopedia/EnclopB.asp
From the northern head of the terrible rudra, known as the vAmadeva head, manifests the emanation of vAmadeva known as the four-faced tumburu surrounded by his 4 sisters. From the four faces of tumburu narrate the four great vAma tantras: 1) The frightening shirashCheda (also known as the jayadratha yAmala. 2) the terrific vINAshikA. 3) the mahAsaMmohana and 4) nayottara.
The shirashCheda tantra gives the following description of the tumburu emanation of vAmadeva:
tumburu is the lord rudra himself and is called the called the great fierce reptile, the crest jewel of all the devas adorning their shikha (a cryptic allusion to the sahasrAra). He two aspects asakala and sakala, the latter being described here. He has four energies which reside in the cave of the heart of his universal consciousness. They are shAntikalA, vidyAkalA, nivR^ittikalA and pratiShThakalA. These corresspond to his four companion goddesses jayA, vijayA, ajitA and aparAjitA who generate the phenomenal universe, while he himself is the fifth and highest energy shAntyatItakalA, which transcends all manifestation. He resides in the abode of soma (saumyadhAma), which is full of the savour of countless mantras. His entire body is illuminated by the circle of his light and rays of the jewels of his many vidyAs. He smells sweetly with the scent on many garlands and his body is smeared with a blood-red anguent. He shows the mudra of the shaktipITha and his maNDala is that of the chandradurdaNDa. He has 4 hands in which he holds a lasso, a~nkusha, trident and varada mudra. His four faces are white, red, yellow and black. His body is like the blazing light of mount Meru. His front face is like that of a man whose lotus eyes are blooming and is most beautiful. He wears an earring and its rays cover his face with a network of light. His neck is like a precious gem and his hand is adorned with a ruby and emerald ring. He wears rubies and emeralds and his strong hips are raimented in a rich Kashmiri cloth. From his mouth comes a deep sound like the rumble of a thundercloud. Of his remaining faces one is that of a crocodile and the two side ones are of birds singing sweetly. The atoms emerging from his lotus feet is the bliss realized by the vIras. The a~nkusha is the goad of the universe, the lasso is the abode of all fetters that binds beings as they rise to higher levels or descend. The trident he sports has for its three prongs persistance, origin and destruction. He bestows all that people desires with the varada mudra.
tumburu resides in the circle of the 14 powers and great fetters and is surrounded by a host of female gaNas. His female attendents laugh and yell horribly and their forms are hideous in appearance. He is the great hero who can consume the entire universe with a mere twand of his great bow. At the same time he is the source of all existence and its protector. He is the cosmic breath, the great mahAkAla and kAlagnirudra.
He sits on a lotus with 4 petals. On the eastern petal is seated jayA, vijayA in the south, ajitA in the north and aparAjitA in the western petal. These lovely goddess are his sisters and they melodiously play on their vINAs.
When the Javan naval expedition had ravaged Cambodia and conquered it, the prince jayavarman II was taken captive to Java. There he met a learned brAhmaNa from India named hiraNyadAman who was a great exponent of the tantras of the vAmasrota. He taught the 4 tumbura tantras mentioned above to shivakaivalya, the purohita of jayavarman and performed a rite according to the vINAshikhA tantra to confer certain siddhis on the prince jayavarman II. It is said that through the yoga of the tantra rudra's emanation tumburu courses through the path of pi~ngalA nerve and bestows powers to perform terrific deeds (raudrakarman) and then tumburu courses through the iDA nerve track and gives the ability to perform "bright deeds" shuchikarman. With these siddhis the prince jayavarman is said to have waged war for 12 years and finally routed the Javan garrison in 802 AC. Having liberated the kingdom of Cambodia and raised it to great glory and founded his impregnable capital of Hariharalaya (the city of shiva and viShNu). It was from this impregnable base that the Angkor empire founded by jayavarman II held sway for almost 600 years with only a single military defeat in this entire period. At the time of jayavarman's coronation at Hariharalaya, hiraNyadAman recited the 4 tantras and shivakaivalya wrote all of them down. The tantras of the vAmasrota learned by shivakaivalya were also used in the rites involved in the consecration of the great shiva temple with a 1000 li~ngas at Phnom Kulen built by jayavarman II.
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