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Mahabharata Quiz


Ishwarnaman- towards a revival of the ancient glory of India
Test your Knowledge -- Mahabharata
QUESTION 1. Only ten people survived the great war which lasted eighteen days.
The amount of blood that was shed was so much that the soil in this region is dark as compared to its surroundings.

Can you name the ten survivors?		No suspense. The answer is on the right.ANSWER
  • Kripacharya
  • Kritivarma
  • Ashwatthama
  • Saatyaki
  • Yudhisthir
  • Bhima
  • Arjuna
  • Nakula
  • Sahdeva
  • Krishna
QUESTION 2. We all know that the Sun's chariot has seven horses. This was made popular by the hindi film titled 'Suraj ka Saatvan Ghoda'.

What are the names of the seven horses?		ANSWER
  • Gayatri
  • Bhruhati
  • Ushnik
  • Jagati
  • Tristubh
  • Anustubh
  • Pankti
QUESTION 3. Draupadi bore a son to each of the five Pandava brothers.The five sons were killed by Ashwatthama while they were asleep. This occurred just after the victory over Duryodhana and the culmination of the war.

Can you name the five sons?		The answer is on the right.ANSWER
  • Yudhisthir's son Prativindhya
  • Bhima's son Sutsoma
  • Arjuna's son Shrutakirti
  • Nakula's son Shataaneek
  • Sahdeva's son Shrutsen
QUESTION 4. It is believed that Krishna had 16 108 wives. In reality, the 16 100 'wives' were captives of Narkasura. When Krishna killed the asura the captive women desired to be with Krishna. Hence they were brought to Dwarka. Krishna married eight women.

Can you name the eight women Krishna actually married?		The answer is on the right.ANSWER
  • Rukmini
  • Satyabhama
  • Jambwati
  • Sukeshi
  • Suprabha
  • Mitravinda
  • Sudatta
  • Lakshmana
QUESTION 5. The Mahabharata was like the world war of the twentieth century for the Kshatriyas of the ancient times. Prior to the war, while Lord Krishna was negotiating for peace the Pandavas and Kauravas were busy engaging other smaller armies for warfare.

Two famous kshatriyas did not fight the war although they were very close to the actual participants of the Mahabharata. Can you name them?		The answer is on the right.ANSWER
  • Balaram, brother of Krishna.
    His reason was that the sons of Pandu and Dhritrashtra were equally close to him.
  • Rukmi, brother of Rukmini.
    As a brother in law of Krishna and commander of a powerful army he could not be ignored. Yet the Pandavas rejected his offer of help because Rukmi had been inimical to Krishna before. Rukmi,then went to Duryodhana who turned down the offer of help since Rukmi had already been rejected by Yudhisthir.
QUESTION 6. The Pandavas had other wives beside Draupadi. The other wives bore a son each.
Can you name them?		The answer is on the right.ANSWER
  • Yudhisthir / Devika // Yaudheya
  • Bhimasen / Balandhara // Sarvag
    Hidimba// Ghatotkacha
  • Arjuna / Subhadra // Abhimanyu
    Ulupi // Iraavaan
    Chitrangada // Babhruvaahan.
  • Nakula / Karenumati // Niramitra
  • Sahadeva / Vijaya // Suhotra
QUESTION 7. There are seven chiranjeevis (who shall live forever)according to our Epics. Name them.The answer is on the right.ANSWER
  • Ashwatthama
  • Bali
  • Vyaasa
  • Hanumaan
  • Vibhishana
  • Kripacharya
  • Parashurama
QUESTION 8. Dronacharya was killed by Dhrishtadyumna, the son of Drupada.
Who killed Dhrishtadyumna?		The answer is on the right.ANSWER Dronacharya's son, Ashwatthama. After the 18 days of war, when the tired, victorious warriors were sleeping in the night Ashwatthama killed them all. Thus the only survivors of the war were those mentioned at Q No 1.
QUESTION 9.The updesh of the Lord, Bhagvad Gita, was just after Yudhishthir and the Pandavas sought the benediction of the elders and just before the start of use of weapons. How many shlokas does the Bhagvad Gita contain?ANSWER Total shlokas in the Bhagvad Gita are 701.
QUESTION 10. What was the name of Karna's divine bow? Who gave it to him?The answer is on the right.ANSWER
The bow was known as 'Vijay'.
Parashuram had given this bow to Karna.
QUESTION 11. Karna had the amogh 'Shakti' weapon which he saved for use against Arjuna. But he had to use it against some other person.
On whom did he use it?		The answer is on the right.ANSWER
Ghatotkacha, the son of Bhima and rakshasi Hidimba.
QUESTION 12. Only four people knew how to enter into a 'Chakravyuh'. Can you name them?The answer is on the right.ANSWER
  • Krishna
  • Arjuna
  • Pradyumna, son of Krishna
  • Abhimanyu, son of Arjuna. Abhimanyu did not know how to come out of the Chakravyuh.
QUESTION 13. The sound of the conch was a signal of enthusiasm and victory. Can you name the conches of Krishna and the five Pandavas?ANSWER
  • Krishna - Paanchjanya
  • Yudhisthir -- Anantvijaya
  • Bhima -- Paundra
  • Arjuna -- Devadutta
  • Nakula -- Sughosha
  • Sahdeva -- Manipushpaka
QUESTION 14. During the game of dice and the subsequent vastraharan of Draupadi, Krishna was not present.
Where was he?		The answer is on the right.ANSWER
Krishna was busy fighting a long drawn battle with Shalva.
QUESTION 15. Just as Sita was kidnapped during the exile of Rama in the forest, Draupadi too suffered the same fate during the thirteen years 'Vanvaas'.Ravana had kidnapped Sita.
Who kidnapped Draupadi?		The answer is on the right.ANSWER
Jayadratha.
Jayadratha was the husband of Duryodhana's only sister, Dusshala.
QUESTION 16. What was the name of Duryodhana's son.
How did he die?		The answer is on the right.ANSWER
Duryodhana's son was known as Lakshmana.
He was killed by Abhimanyu, Arjuna's son.
QUESTION 17. Parikshit, son of Abhimanyu and Uttara was the sole survivor of the Pandavas. He had four sons.
Can you name them?		The answer is on the right.ANSWER
The four sons were
  • Janmejaya. Shukdevaji narrated the entire SrimadBhagavatam to Janmejaya when he had only seven days to live.
  • Shrutasena
  • Ugrasena
  • Bhimasena
QUESTION 18. In ancient times the charioteer played a very important role for the warrior. Indra's great charioteer established the scale of excellence with which all others were compared.
What is the name of Indra's charioteer.		The answer is on the right.ANSWER
Maatali.
QUESTION 19. After observing the sheer power of the atomic bombs dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the famous American Scientist J R Oppenheimer quoted a line from the Bhagvad Gita.
Can you name the shloka?		ANSWER
J R Oppenheimer said "Brighter than a thousand suns !"
The translation of the complete shloka (Ch 11- shl 12) is :
The splendour of the mighty Lord is brighter than a thousand suns bursting forth all at once in the heavens.
QUESTION 20. Who were the Commanders-in-chief of the Kaurava Army and for how long?The answer is on the right.ANSWER
  • Bhisma for 10 days
  • Drona for 5 days
  • Karna for 2 days
  • Shalya for half a day.
  • After the mace duel between Duryodhana and Bhima, the former, with broken thighs, waited for death. During this time Ashwatthama arrived and told of his intention to kill the sleeping Pandava survivors. Duryodhana was very pleased with the idea and asked Guru Kripacharya to anoint Ashwatthama as Commander-in-chief.


One mistake: Q17, Bhaagvad was narrated to Parikshit, not to his son Janmjaya
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