DharmaQuiz: December 2014

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Hindu temples of Jammu & Kashmir, and Jharkhand.

DharmaQuiz Session 311: 23-Dec-2014

#DharmaQuiz 1941: Over which mountain is the precious Vaishno Devi temple situated in Jammu and Kashmir? Ans: Trikuta.

DQ 1941: Pic from makemytrip

#DharmaQuiz 1942: There's a famous Devi temple 20 KM east of Srinagar in Jammu & Kashmir. Mentioned in Kalhana's Rajtarangini. Name it. Ans: Kheer Bhavani temple.

#DharmaQuiz 1943: There's a hill overlooking Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir. Has Jagadamba Sharika temple. Name the hill. Ans: Hari Parbat.

DQ 1943: Pic from travelersguideindia

#DharmaQuiz 1944: This 325 year old Hindu temple was restored in 2008 in the state of Jharkhand. Name the temple. Ans: Jagannath temple, Ranchi.

DQ 1944: Pic from panoramio

#DharmaQuiz 1945: Only one of the 12 sacred Jyotir Lingas, is in the eastern part of India. Where is it? Ans: Baidyanath, Jharkhand.

Scores for session 311:

@surnell : 5
@RakeshChouhan : 5

@TheArvindDhar : 4

@stormylook : 3
@bezubaan : 3
@DrShobha : 3

@rahulbagati : 2
@pradeepsingh83 : 2
@NaMo__Bhakt : 2
@chitrabharadwaj : 2
@mamtakejriwal75 : 2

@rathinikesh : 1
@shailu_CA : 1
‏@SameerTandon1 : 1
@sudhirapai : 1
@rgopalv : 1
@NilimaNilimas : 1
@jodhra63 : 1
@arunrush : 1
@pramodthap : 1
‏@ko_ji2000 : 1
‏@mrsnrao : 1
@devyanidilli : 1
@PoonamV_ : 1
@keshavaram : 1
@KakRajender : 1
‏@RRamgovind : 1
@TORUKH_MAKTO : 1
@anityakr : 1
@prasca : 1
@ganeshmahnar : 1
@sharnarthi90 : 1
@Krish9995 : 1
@AgentSaffron : 1
@KakRajender : 1
@Nationalistweet : 1

Learn more about temples from these two states, that were in news today.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Theme: Indian Hindu festivals

DQ 1936. Image: cloudfront.net/

DharmaQuiz Session 310: 16-Dec-2014

#DharmaQuiz 1936: In which state is this nice flower festival celebrated with ladies dancing
around flower creations? Ans: Telangana. Festival is Bathukamma.

#DharmaQuiz 1937: In which state of India, do people welcome new year with a folk dance shown here? Ans: Asom. Festival is Bihu.

DQ 1937. Image: aaikon.wordpress

#DharmaQuiz 1938: In which Indian state do people welcome Hindu new year like this? Ans: Maharashtra. Festival is Gudi Padwa.

DQ 1938: Image: indiamarks.com

#DharmaQuiz 1939: Name any one state where during the month of Kartika, one lakh deepas are lighted by women in group. Ans: Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana. Kartika Deepotvasa.

DQ 1939. Image: andhrawishesh

#DharmaQuiz 1940: In which state of India do people welcome agriculture season (rain)
like this? Ans: Odisha. Festival is Raja Parba.

DQ 1940. Image: vedicvaani

Scores for session 310.

‏@Telugutalli : 5
@pramod_klr : 5
@durgaramdas : 5

@Simuntweets : 4
@kishor_narayan : 4
@TheArvindDhar : 4
@naonome : 4
@sreekannoth : 4
@UKKishor : 4

‏@man8shree : 3
‏@Mamdhata : 3
@bulletguru : 3

@arvdhamo : 2
@gouripathy : 2
@stormylook : 2
@anilchirps : 2
@FakeJourno : 2
@kushblr : 2
‏@hrnaidu : 2
@IndiafirstVM : 2
@aman_lakhera : 2
‏@db_is_db : 2
@tweets2ap : 2
@pushp_onenonly : 2
@srinivasanands : 2

@geetaSkapoor : 1
‏@snjn1 : 1
@PoonamV_ : 1
@mohiteabhi : 1
@ajoooo67: 1
@ashutoshrawal : 1
@jsp293 : 1
@praetorianblade : 1
‏@salvi_v : 1
@praetorianblade : 1
@kiranskatore : 1
‏@GirishBalu1 : 1
@RaghuKandkur : 1
@amolsarnaik : 1
@aravindan_krish : 1
@TorontoDreams : 1
@Kirti100 : 1
@AjitDovalFans : 1
‏@stormylook : 1
@bharathphatak : 1
@cgmagia : 1
@hemantajha : 1
@Chemkishan : 1
‏@chitralakshman : 1
@meenabg : 2
@NagarajKuppelur : 1
@magaxiom : 1
@nirax : 1
@TechBlueprints : 1
@ashvasant : 1
@vicky20680 : 1
@nehjin8 : 1
@rgopalv : 1
@sarvankarthik6 : 1
@sharmaswati28 : 1
@siddharthaanand : 1
@1KaDuM : 1
‏@rucheesharma : 1
@Vamsee9002 : 1
@pruthvirajnyk : 1
@Surender_Wgl : 1

Great to see so many attempting our unique Hindu festival quiz. Keep it up!

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Theme: Hindu marriages

DharmaQuiz Session 309: 09-Dec-2014

#DharmaQuiz 1931: When sage Dattatreya met King Yadu in a forest, how many Gurus did he say he had? (Earth, Water, Air, Elephant, Ocean....) Ans: 24
Read the full list here: http://hinduism.about.com/od/gurussaints/fl/The-24-Gurus-in-Nature.htm

(Only this one not directly linked to marriages)

#DharmaQuiz 1932: How many types of marriages did Manu describe in the "Manava Dharma Shastra"? Ans: 8
See this: http://hinduism.about.com/od/matrimonial1/a/typesofmarriage.htm

#DharmaQuiz 1933: In a traditional Hindu marriage, how many blessings do the couple get going around the fire? ("May this couple be...") Ans: Seven.
Read all the 7 steps of Saptapadi: http://hinduism.about.com/od/matrimonial1/a/7blessings.htm

#DharmaQuiz 1934: In a typical Hindu marriage, does Kanya Daana happen before or after Pani grahana? Ans: Before.

Read: http://hinduism.about.com/od/matrimonial1/a/wedding_rituals.htm

{Final,Open till 10.00PM} #DharmaQuiz 1935: There's a step in many Hindu marriages- Laja homah. What material is put in fire by bride there? Ans: Puffed Rice.

Again, read: http://hinduism.about.com/od/matrimonial1/a/wedding_rituals.htm

Scores for session 309:

‏@shibu_kt : 5
‏@Telugutalli : 5
@durgaramdas : 5

@bashbangalore : 4
‏@rajeshrajput1 : 4
@Mamdhata : 4

‏@jigmpatel : 3
@Simuntweets : 3
@Gopalee67 : 3
‏@stormylook : 3

@LutyensMalala : 2
‏@arunrush : 2
@DrDNYKrishna : 2

‏@anandrk77 : 1
‏@monisha_yadav : 1
@RAMESH4184 : 1
@ArjKadya : 1
@sudhica84 : 1
@keshavhosahalli : 1
@shantheshkulur : 1
@aasare1 : 1
@Kaivalyapad : 1
‏@sdpandya8 : 1
@sandeepkuppur : 1
@AnithaNadsal : 1

See you next week.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Rebuilding of destroyed ancient Hindu temples.

DharmaQuiz Session 308: 02-Dec-2014

#DharmaQuiz 1926: Name this Dalit Hindu was laid the 1st foundation stone of Ram Janmabhumi temple on Nov 10, 1989. Ans: Kameshwar Choupal

DQ 1926

#DharmaQuiz 1927: Which Prez said this? "Somnath temple signifies that power of reconstruction is always greater than power of destruction". Ans: Babu Rajendra Prasad.

#DharmaQuiz 1928: Kashi Vishwanath temple was rebuilt (after destruction by Aurangzeb) in 1780 CE, by a Maratha queen. Name the brave lady. Ans: Ahalya bai Holkar, Queen of Indore.

#DharmaQuiz 1929: Krishna Janmasthan / Kesava Deo Temple rebuilt in 1965 long after Aurangzeb's destruction. Which industrialist rebuilt it? Ans: Jugal Kishore Birla of Birla group decided to take the leading role to fulfill the wishes of Malviyaji and formed a private trust in 1951 to which the rights of land were later transferred. Jaidayal Dalmia of Dalmia Group was another leading personality, who took untiring efforts and the temple was finally constructed over the site.

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kesava_Deo_Temple#Present_Temple

{Final,Open till 10.00PM} #DharmaQuiz 1930: Name Sikh King who donated Kohinoor diamond to a Hindu temple that was plundered 18 times before. Ans: Maharajah Ranjit Singh to Odisha's Puri Jagannath temple. But the Kohinoor never made it to the temple for other reasons, and later British stole it.

Scores for session 308:

‏@vipulgupta1976 : 5

‏@Simuntweets : 4
@stormylook : 4
‏@rajeshrajput1 : 4

@Telugutalli : 3

@kirtweetz : 2
@AbhinavAhinav : 2
@girish_joshig : 2
@ankushraj29 : 2
@ksjha_ngp : 2

@ravideli : 1
@ravisonkusare : 1
‏@nirbhaavuka : 1
@debakanta87 : 1
@drarora_gaurav : 1
@AjitsinhJagirda : 1
‏@JpackJack : 1
@sanjayagrawal : 1
@psxyz : 1
‏@naonome : 1
‏@arunrush : 1
‏@mithlm88 : 1
@ashujoshi27 : 1
‏@sailezz : 1
@ambuj_patel : 1
@tresfool : 1
@vkdwivedi21 : 1
@mrsnrao : 1
@DeepeshLakhera : 1

Respect for the brave souls who have helped reclaim some of the damaged temples.