DharmaQuiz Session 278: 3-Jun-2014

Theme: Shakhas (branches or recension) of Vedas.

#DharmaQuiz 1776: Sama Veda was supposedly having 1000 shakhas or branches. Now only 2 or 3 remain. Name any one remaining shakha. Ans: Jaiminiya/Talavakara, Ranayaniya and Kauthuma

#DharmaQuiz 1777: Out of 50 Shakhas of Atharva Veda only a couple remain today. Shaunkiya is one. Is this found north of Narmada or south? Ans: Mostly North.

#DharmaQuiz 1778: The Taittiriya shakha is one of the remaining from 109 original shakhas.
Of which Veda? Ans: Yajur Veda

#DharmaQuiz 1779: Out of 21 shakhas of Rig Veda originally, only one particular recension or shakha is well preserved (1028 hymns). Name it. Ans: Shakalya mostly. Some say Bashkala also.

{Final,Open till 10.30PM} #DharmaQuiz 1780: Out of the original 1,00,000+ verses of four Vedas, approximately how many are existing today? Ans: 20,023 (some say 20,379)

Answers to session 288:

• @meenabg : 5

• @PrateekBahl : 4
• @durgaramdas : 4

• @chandrasuren : 3

• @JagannathAjnabi : 2

• @SriAiyerRS : 1
• @praddie : 1
• @AmerPadma : 1

See you on Friday.

DharmaQuiz Session 220: 4-Jun-2013

Theme: Women in Vedas

1. A mantra in the Rig Veda is attributed to this highly educated, philosopher wife of Rishi Agastya. Who?  #DharmaQuiz 1466. Ans: Lopamudra.
2. Wife of Rishi Yajnavalkya was a Brahmavadini or an expounder of the Veda. 10 Rig Veda mantras accredited to her. Who's she? #DharmaQuiz 1467. Ans: Maitreyi.
3. This Vedic age philosopher challenged Rishi Yajnavalkya. Daughter of Vachaknu & Brihadaranyaka Upanishad mentions her. Who? #DharmaQuiz 1468. Ans: Gargi Vachaknavi.
4. This celestial mother of Surya, is mentioned nearly 80 times in the Rigveda, the oldest religious text today. Who's she? #DharmaQuiz 1469. Ans: Aditi
5. This female cited in Rig Veda's 10th mandala, is also associated with a river, Krishna & Yama. Who? #DharmaQuiz 1470. Ans: Yami. But Yamuna or Kalindi also considered.

You can refer to this for more information on Women in Vedas:

Women Rishikas in Vedas: http://www.hindupedia.com/en/Women_as_Rishikas_in_the_Vedas
Ancient India's Women Seers: http://historyindianized.blogspot.in/2013/01/women-seers-of-ancient-india-rishika.html?spref=tw

Toppers of session 220:

1. @Bacchuji : 5
2. @dolby_mehul : 5
3. @manya_rao : 5
4. @iSaakshi : 5
5. @VellaDev : 5
6. @Susri1210 : 5
7. @ankushraj29 : 5
8. @Sai_swaroopa : 5
9. @MaheshwarBhatP : 5
10. @sweetandu : 5
11. @GayathriSrinath : 5
12. @man8shree : 5
13. @cgmagia : 5
14. @philAmit : 5
15. @PrachinVaani : 5
16. @smna17 : 5
17. @pangalanrao : 5
18. @geophyraj : 5

Congrats to:

1. @siddarthpaim : 4
2. @R_Bhartiya : 4
3. @ssmalani : 4
4. @sharathinindia : 4
5. @biswajeetdash : 4

1. @iKumbhakarna : 3

1. @Nalamara : 2
2. @pundeerjitendra : 2
3. @natb786 : 2

1. @Kaushikrg : 1
2. @angry_mumbaikar : 1
3. @balamy : 1
4. @drmenz : 1
5. @manohar_sram : 1
6. @sudarshan_v1 : 1

This session was to talk about the much maligned gender equality and gender importance roles among Hindus. This shows that Hindus of ancient India accorded the topmost space in the society for women, who showed the aptitude and ability to excel in philosophy. I don't know of any other major religious text in today's world, that has mantras (verses) revealed or attributed to women!