New Questions and Ideas

Q1. Fill in the blanks.

                          i.        Sarnath, near Varanasi, where Buddha taught for the first time.

                        ii.        The Buddha attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya.

                       iii.        Upanishadic thinkers believed that the atman and brahman were ultimately one.

                       iv.        The Vinaya Pitaka is a Buddhist scripture.

                         v.        Vardhamana Mahavira was a kshatriya prince of the Lichchhavis.

                        vi.        The Buddha belonged to a small gana known as the Sakya gana.

         vii.        The Prakrit spoken in Magadha was known as Magadhi.

Q2. True/False

                        i.        Gargi was the woman Upanishadic thinker who was famous for her learning. True

                       ii.        Buddha taught people to be kind, and to respect the lives of others, including animals. True

                      iii.        Buddha believed that karma do not affect our life. False

                      iv.        The individual soul is referred to as brahman. False

                        v.        The Buddha described cravings and desires as thirst or tanha. True

                       vi.        Satyakama Jabala, who was named after his mother, the Brahmin woman Jabali. False

Q3. Who was Zoroaster?

Ans. Zoroaster was an Iranian prophet.

Q4. What is Avesta?

Ans. Teachings of Zoroaster are contained in a book called the Avesta.

Q5. What was Lord Buddha’s birth name?

Ans. His birth name was Siddhartha Gautama.

Q6. Who were Jainas?

Ans. Followers of Mahavira were known as Jainas.

Q7. Who prepared grammar for Sanskrit?

Ans. Panini prepared grammar for Sanskrit.

Q8. Where is Karle cave?

Ans. This is a cave in Karle, present-day Maharashtra.

Q9. Where does the word Jaina come from?

Ans. The word Jaina comes from the term Jina, Meaning conqueror.

Q10. Who was the founder of Buddhism?

Ans.  Gautama Buddha was the founder of Buddhism.

Q11. Why Buddha left the comforts of his home?

Ans. He left the comforts of his home in search of knowledge.

Q12. Who accepted Satyakama as a student?

Ans. He was accepted as a student by a brahmin teacher named Gautama.

Q13. Where Buddha died?

Ans. Gautama Buddha died in the city of Kusinara (present day Kushinagar).

Q14. Where did Siddhartha attain enlightenment?

Ans. Siddhartha attained enlightenment under a peepal tree at Bodh Gaya in Bihar.

Q15. How did Mahavira attain enlightenment?

Ans. For twelve years Mahavira led a hard and lonely life, at the end of which he attained enlightenment.

Q16. Name the famous thinker who developed the ideas of the Upanishads.

Ans. Many of the ideas of the Upanishads were later developed by the famous thinker Shankaracharya.

Q17. Who could join the Sangha?

Ans. Brahmins, kshatriyas, merchants, labourers, barbers, courtesans and slaves could join the sangha.

Q18. The teaching of Buddhism and Jainism were propagated in which language?

Ans. The teaching of Buddhism and Jainism were propagated in Prakrit language.

Q19 What are the four ashramas?

Ans. Four ashramas were recognised: brahmacharya, grihastha, vanaprastha and samnyasa.

Q20. Explain ‘Sangha’.

Ans. The word “Sangha” literally means a community that joins and lives together.