DharmaQuiz: September 2014

Friday, September 26, 2014

Theme: Shakti Peetha

DharmaQuiz Session 299: 26-Sep-2014

#DharmaQuiz 1881: Nearly 20% of Shakti Peethas for Devi are in one state of India. Which one?
Happy Navaratri. Ans: Poschim Bongo or West Bengal. 11 of 51.

#DharmaQuiz 1882: Name one Shakti Peetha for Maa Durga that is in Sri Lanka. Ans: Mainly, Indrakshi peetha at Nainativu (Manipallavam) in Sri Lanka.

#DharmaQuiz 1883: There's one famous Shakti Peetha in Pakistan, where the Goddess is called Kottari. In which province of Pakistan? Ans: Baluchistan. The place is Hinglaj.

#DharmaQuiz 1884: Devi is known as Dakshayani in this Shakti Peetha, north of India.
In which country and region today? Ans: Tibet in China. Manas sarovar place.

{Final,Open till 10.00PM} #DharmaQuiz 1885: Name one Shakti Peetha for Devi, which is also right next to a Jyotir Linga for Lord Shiva. Ans: Srisailam, AP. Also, Maa Jai Durga Shaktipeeth of Jharkhand can be found near Baba Vaidyanatha Jyotir Linga per @simuntweets

Scores for session 299:

‏@ajaypawardr : 5
@Simuntweets : 5
‏@mdbiyani : 5

@gboxam : 2
@chetankshet : 2

@dwivedikapil : 1
@ShirazHassan : 1
@tradetoday99 : 1
‏@VikramSanghi11 : 1
@junawani : 1
@pandey_ashishkp : 1
@ramesh_katte : 1
@mithlm10sg8 : 1
@ghruni : 1
@anilindia2020 : 1
‏@ajitmyth : 1
@IMeAndMine : 1
@ppani76 : 1

Jai Maa Durge!

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Universities with Sanskrit Motto

DharmaQuiz Session 298: 16-Sep-2014

#DharmaQuiz 1876: Which university has this motto?
"Yukti hina vicharetu,
dharmahnih prajayate"
(Judgment devoid of logic
destroys dharma)

Ans: West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences. Also National Law School Bangalore (not a university).

#DharmaQuiz 1877: Krishna says in Gita, “Yogah karmasu kaushalam” (Yoga is excellence at work).
Which Indian university has this as motto? Ans: Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT), also referred to as NIT Nagpur. Also, Uttar Pradesh Technical University, Indian Institute of
Technology Kharagpur, Gujarat university.

#DharmaQuiz 1878: कर्मणि व्यज्यते प्रज्ञा / Karmaṇi Vyajyate Prajna - from the Panchatantra is the motto of a state university. Which one?
Ans: University of Kerala (UoK).

For DQ 1878. Image from Wiki

#DharmaQuiz 1879: "Buddhih sarvatra bhrajate" = Wisdom shines forth everywhere, is the motto of a university outside India. Which one? Ans: University of Colombo.

#DharmaQuiz 1880: Which North Eastern University has the Taittiriya Upanishad's motto -> "vijnanam yajnam tanute" ? Ans: Tezpur University, Asom.

DQ 1880. Image from Wiki

Scores for Session 298:

@mdbiyani : 5
@man8shree : 5

@prashanthpraj : 1
@SnookyBangalore : 1
@davcolor : 1
@jadithyareddy : 1
@mast_manav : 1
‏@vkdwivedi21 : 1
@KSVSUBRAMANIAN : 1

Friday, September 12, 2014

Buddha and Buddhism

DharmaQuiz Session 297: 12-Sep-2014

#DharmaQuiz 1871: Apart from Siddharta Gautama, give one other famous name of Buddha. Ans: Shakyamuni as he was from Shakya family. Also, Tathagata and Dipankara considered.

#DharmaQuiz 1872: When Buddhism went to China from India, China already had a well developed family oriented religion/ philosophy. Name that. Ans: Confucianism. But Taoism is also considered.

#DharmaQuiz 1873: What was the name for "Zen" in China, before that form of Buddhism reached Japan? Ans: Chan.

#DharmaQuiz 1874: Which is the oldest surviving branch of Buddhism? It translates to English as
"teaching of the elders". Ans: Theravada. In Sanskrit: स्थविरवाद and in Pali: थेरवाद.

#DharmaQuiz 1875: What was Buddha's only son's name? Ans: Rahula.

Scores for session 297:

@Simuntweets : 5
@meenabg : 5

@ramitmkaul : 2
@punam1punam : 2
@PulivendulaK : 2
@tradetoday99 : 2

@R_Bhartiya : 1
‏@keshavaram : 1
@ramesh_katte : 1
@patnaikt : 1
@deshi_mangoman : 1
@IndianKashmiri : 1
@eternit96426605 : 1
@A31X64Vijay : 1
@VedanshKanojia : 1
‏@sidsun2013 : 1
@sonitarun1 : 1
@ganeshmahnar : 1
@nandaakumar : 1
@AjithRamanath : 1
@maulik_doshi : 1
@peeyushmalhotra : 1
@HerrBains : 1
@a_gopinathan : 1
@mamtakejriwal75 : 1
‏@Susri1210 : 1
@shashipratap85 : 1
@immanishgupta : 1
@anamika_99 : 1

Have a good weekend.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Hindu Festivals in September 2014

DharmaQuiz Session 296: 9-Sep-2014

#DharmaQuiz 1866: Anant Chaturdashi is the day when Ganesha murtis are immersed in water.
It's also last day of Paryushana. For whom? Ans: Jains.

#DharmaQuiz 1867: Per Hindu lunar calendar, right now we are in Pitru Paksha.
On which day does Pitru Paksha end? Ans: Mahalaya Amavasya.

#DharmaQuiz 1868: During Pitru Paksha, pinda daana is given to ancestors.
What is pinda? Ans: Ball of rice.

DQ: 1868. Pic: bharatdiscovery.org

#DharmaQuiz 1869: Puja of a god, will be held this week. Who's this divine architect? Ans: Vishwakarma.

#DharmaQuiz 1870: What's the name of the Ekadashi that comes in Bhadrapada Krishna paksha, during pitru paksha? Ans: Ananda Ekadashi per Shalivahana Shaka and Indira Ekadashi per Vikrama Shaka.

Answers for session 296:

@SamitLive : 5
@surnell : 5

@dharadhar : 4
‏@NilimaNilimas : 4
@man8shree : 4
@durgaramdas : 4

@vjchats : 3

@sudhica84 : 2
@hegde_anirudh : 2
@BihariView : 2

@ppani76 : 1
@Wiseywoman : 1
@sud_roy : 1
@balaijk : 1
@alisaspeaks : 1
@chweetdeepak : 1
@deshi_mangoman : 1
@AmalPar : 1
@Tan_Tripathi : 1
@AbhaySDube : 1
@ganeshmahnar : 1
‏@Meenu_71 : 1
@mithlm10sg8 : 1
@Asach4 : 1
@Rohit_Nagda : 1
‏@Raghav_Uvaach : 1
@nikhil__13 : 1
@BharatKandpal2 : 1
‏@A31X64Vijay : 1
@asurabhi : 1
@SanthoshPPrabhu : 1
@surendaradla : 1
@tradetoday99 : 1
‏@Aamchigele : 1
@ravigupta00 : 1
@Moskvaa : 1

Thanks for participating. Take away from this quiz. Learn the exact differences between various Hindu calendars. There are at least 7 of them!

Friday, September 5, 2014

King maker Gurus of Indian history

DharmaQuiz Session 295: 5-Sep-2014

#DharmaQuiz 1861: Vijayanagara empire was started by 2 shepherds Hakka & Bukka.
Their Guru was Vidyaranya. Which matha's Jagadguru was he? Ans: Sringeri Sharada Matha. Between 1380 and 1386 CE at his ripe old age. Vijayanagara was started in 1336.

#DharmaQuiz 1862: Chandragupta Maurya built empire till Persia.
Which University's Economics professor was his Guru? Ans: Takshashila university's Economics and
Politics professor, Vishnu Gupta, aka., Chanakya. Later Chankya established the Nalanda University.

#DharmaQuiz 1863: Samarth Ramdas, the great Guru of Chhatrapati Shivaji, was born on a famous Hindu festival. Which festival? Ans: Rama Navami, the birthday of Lord Rama. Ramdas was a great devotee of Rama and Hanuman.

#DharmaQuiz 1864: One of the greatest ancient buildings, Brihadeshwara temple,was by Raja Raja Chola. Who was his Guru?

Ans: Karuvurar Siddhar.

{Final,Open till 10.00PM} #DharmaQuiz 1865: The greatest Rashtrakuta emperor, Amoghavarsha (Nripatunga) ruled for 64 yrs. Who was his Guru? Ans: Jinasena.

Scores for session 295:

@kishor_narayan : 5
@surnell : 5
‏@pramod_klr : 5

@Gbhat_RW : 4
@ARSHURPALI : 4

@deshi_mangoman : 2
@stormylook : 2
@DrPannagDesai : 2

@pavithrabr : 1
@topblogger1 : 1
@douknowjohnny : 1
@ksinamdar : 1
‏@champakChampion : 1
@tradetoday99 : 1
@imharshp : 1
@ArjunN92 : 1
@athreyaa : 1
@GururajPatil7 : 1
@Aravindshilpa : 1
@drswapnilm : 1
@AbhaySDube : 1
@Panchajanyaa : 1
@thirumalraja : 1
‏@Suprith_rAo : 1

Don't you wish we learned about these great Gurus and their contribution to Bharat in much more detail, than today's school books?

Good night!