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Nov 15th, 2021 - Daily Quiz

1. Ashoka's visit to Bodh Gaya is described in  (a) 8th Rock edict (b) 7th Rock edict (c) 13th Rock edict (d) 10th Rock edict 2. Consider the following statements: 1. Arya Samaj rejected all the post-Vedic developments in Hinduism. 2. Lala Lajpat Rai opposed the appeal of Arya Samaj to the authority of Vedas in support of its social reform programmes. Which of these statements are correct? (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 Nor 2 3. Which of the following statements is/are true? I) Partition of Bengal made in 1905 was annulled in 1911 during reign of Hardinge. II) Delhi Durbar was conducted in 1911 by Lord Hardinge to celebrate coronation of George V. (a) Only I (b) Only II (c) Both I & II (d) Neither I nor II 4. Who was the Congress Socialist Party leader who started an Indian Peasant Institute of Nidubrolu to train Kisan cadres? (a) J.P.Narayan (b) N.G.Ranga (c) Acharya Dev (d) Sampurnanand 5. Resolution of total independence was passed during the tenure of (a) Lord Irwin (b) Lord Minto (c) Lord Chelmsford (d) Lord Reading Answers 1. A
  • The first tangible evidence of Buddhism is represented by the rock and pillar edicts of Asoka detailing wide expansion of Buddhism through the sponsorship of one of the most powerful kings of Indian history.
  • These edicts mention that Buddhism reached as far as the Mediterranean, and many Buddhist monuments were created in a wide area. Buddhism and the Buddha are mentioned, the edicts focus on social and moral precepts rather than religious practices or the philosophical dimension of Buddhism.
  • In these inscriptions, Ashoka refers to himself as “Beloved of the Gods” and “King Priya-darshi.”
  • The inscriptions found in the eastern part of India were written in the Magadhi language, using the Brahmi script. In the western part of India, the language used is closer to Sanskrit, using the Kharoshthi script,one extract of Edict 13 in the Greek language, and one bilingual edict written in Greek and Aramaic.
  • These edicts were decoded by British archeologist and historian James Prinsep.
  • Major themes are Ashoka’s conversion to Buddhism, the description of his efforts to spread Buddhism, his moral and religious precepts, and his social and animal welfare program.
Major Rock Edicts Major Rock Edict I Prohibits animal slaughter. Bans festive gatherings and killings of animals. Only two peacocks and one deer were killed in Asoka’s kitchen. He wished to discontinue this practice of killing two peacocks and one deer as well. Major Rock Edict II Provides for care for man and animals, describes about Chola, Pandyas , Satyapura and Keralputra Kingdoms of South India Major Rock Edict III Generosity to Brahmans. Issued after 12 years of Asoka’s coronation. It says that the Yuktas (subordinate officers and Pradesikas (district Heads) along with Rajukas (Rural officers ) shall go to the all areas of kingdom every five years and spread the Dhamma Policy of Asoka. Major Rock Edict IV Dhammaghosa is ideal to the mankind and not the Bherighosa. Impact of Dhamma on society. Major Rock Edict V Concerns about the policy towards slaves. He mentions in this rock edict ” Every Human is my child…”Appointment of Dhammamahamatras is mentioned in this edict. Major Rock Edict VI Describes King’s desire to get informed about the conditions of the people constantly. Talks about welfare measures. Major Rock Edict VII Requests tolerance for all religions Major Rock Edict VIII Describes Asoka’s first Dhamma Yatra to Bodhgaya & Bodhi Tree. Major Rock Edict IX Condemns popular ceremonies. Stress in ceremonies of Dhamma. Major Rock Edict X Condemns the desire for fame and glory. Stresses on popularity of Dhamma. Major Rock Edict XI Elaborates Dhamma Major Rock Edict XII Directed and determined request for tolerance among different religious sects. Major Rock Edict XIII Asoka’s victory over Kalinga . Victory of Asoka’s Dhamma over Greek Kings, Antiochus, Ptolemy, Antigonus, Magas, Alexander and Cholas, Pandyas etc. This is the Largest Edict. It mentions Kamboj, nabhaks, Bhoja, Andhra etc. Major Rock Edict XIV Describes engraving of inscriptions in different parts of country. Separate Edicts They were found at sites in Kalinga
  • Separate edict I : Asoka declared all people are my sons
  • Separate Edict II : proclamation of edicts even to a single person.
Other Edicts Queen Edict mentions about second queen of Asoka Barbara cave Inscription Discusses giving away the Barbara cave to Ajivika sect Kandhar Bilingual Rock Inscription: Expresses satisfaction over asoka’s policy Pillar Edicts Asoka’s 7 pillar edicts have been found at Topra (Delhi) , Meerut, Kausambhi, rampurva, Champaran, Mehrauli. Minor pillar edicts have been found at Sanchi, Sarnath, Rummindei, Nigalisagar. Pillar Edict I Asoka’s principle of protection to people Pillar Edict II Defines dhamma as minimum of sins, many virtues, compassion, liberality, truthfulness and purity Pillar Edict III Abolishes sins of harshness, cruelty, anger, pride etc Pillar Edict IV Deals with duties of Rajukas Pillar Edict V List of animals and birds which should not be killed on some days and another list of animals which have not to be killed at all occasions. Describes release of 25 prisoners by Asoka. Pillar Edict VI Dhamma Policy Pillar Edict VII Works done by Asoka for Dhamma Policy . He says that all sects desire both self control and purity of mind. Other Pillars Rummindei Pillar Inscription Asoka’s visit to Lumbini & exemption of Lumbini from tax. Nigalisagar Pillar Inscription It was originally located at Kapilvastu. It mentions that Asoka increased the height of stupa of Buddha Konakamana to its double size. Sources of Pillar Stones The spotted and white sandstone was sourced from Mathura. Buff colored Sandstone and Quartzite was sourced from Amravati. Language of Inscriptions Three languages have been used viz. Prakrit, Greek and Aramaic. 4 scripts have been used Prakrit inscriptions were written in Brahmi and Kharoshthi. Rest written in Greek or Aramaic. The Kandahar Rock Inscription is bilingual. The inscriptions found in Pakistan area are in kharoshthi script. 2. C  Dayanand Saraswati was born in 1824 in a Brahmin family in Morvi in Gujarat as Mula Shankar. At 21, he left home in order to escape the entanglement of marriage and to seek to pacify the turmoil and commotion of his soul. For 15 years he led the life  of a wandering scholar in  search of knowledge. Finally, he spent two and a half years at Mathura as a disciple of a blind saint scholar Swami Virjananda, who taught him the philosophic interpretation of the Vedas and then charged him with the mission to purge Hinduism of all its ugly accretions and aberrations. After deeply studying the Vedas and Indian philosophy, Dayanand Saraswati came to conclusion that the Aryans were the chosen people, the Vedas the chosen gospel and India the chosen land. Based on this belief, he founded the Arya Samaj in Bombay in 1875. A few years later the headquarters of the Arya Samaj were established at Lahore. During the remaining eight years of his life Dayanand devoted himself to preaching his new gospel, writing books, embodying his teachings and organising the Arya Samaj throughout India.  He translated the Vedas and wrote three books viz. Satyartha Prakash in Hindi, Veda Bhasya Bhumika, an introduction to his Vedic commentary, and Veda Bhasya, a Vedic commentary in Sanskrit on the Yajurveda and the major part of the Rig-Veda. His mission of spreading the message of the Arya Samaj proved very successful in the Punjab and to a certain degree also in U.P., Gujarat and Rajasthan. Vedas-India’s Rock of Ages Dayanand Saraswati looked upon the Vedas as ‘India’s Rock of Ages’. He believed that the Hindu religion and the Vedas on which it was based were eternal, unalterable, infallible and divine. Therefore, he gave the slogan ‘Go back to the Vedas‘ and ‘the Vedas are the source of all knowledge’.  According to him, the later Hindu scriptures such as Puranas were responsible for the evil practices of idol worship and other superstitious beliefs in the Hindu religion. Thus, Arya Samaj rejected all the post-Vedic developments in Hinduism and thus denounced meaningless rites, worship of the images of different gods and goddesses which split the people into numerous belligerent sects, repudiated the authority of the Brahmins and launched a crusade against all religious superstitions.  Its slogan ‘Back to Vedas’ was inspired to revive the true Vedic religion and bring about national unity and to kindle national pride and consciousness. The above description makes it clear that Dayanand was a revivalist and was also the first Hindu reformer who turned from defense to attack, from protecting the Hindu faith from the assaults of the Christian and Muslim critics to challenging them on their own ground in order to force them to defend their position. Key Principles of Arya Samaj Main principles and objectives of the Arya Samaj are as follows:
  • Believes in infallibility of Vedas and takes them as only truth and source of all source all knowledge. Believed that post-vedic texts such as Puranas were responsible for pollution of Vedic religion.
  • Opposes the idol-worship and reincarnation theory of God but accepts the doctrine of ‘Karma’ and transmigration of soul. Dayanand also rejected the theory of destiny / fate {Niyati}.
  • Believes in one God who has no physical existence.
  • Rejects Brahmanical dominance of spiritual and social life of Hindus. Denounces claim of Brahmins as intermediaries between man and God.
  • Supported Four Varna System but the Varna system should be based on merit not birth. Hindu religion gives everyone an equal place in the spiritual and social life.
  • Advocated equal status for women in the society. There is no room for any kind of discrimination against women on the basis of gender.
  • Advocated widow remarriage, female education and opposed polygamy, child marriage, Sati, etc.
  • Backed propagation of Hindi and Sanskrit. Considered good education as base of a good and solid social system. It did phenomenal work in the field of education even for women.
  • Denounces socio-religious evils such as animal sacrifices, religious pilgrimages, feeding the dead through sraddhas, magic and charms etc. According to Swami Dayanand, these evils exist in the society due to ignorance of the teaching of the Vedas.
Arya Samaj established a chain of DAV educational institutions for the education of both boys and girls. It represented a form of national awakening of the Indian people and drew to its fold hundreds of nationalist Indians. It played a very progressive role in the earlier stages of national awakening when it attacked religious superstitions, the supremacy of the Brahmins, polytheism, untouchability, and when further it adopted the programme of mass education, elimination of sub-castes, and equality of men and women. Controversies – Shuddhi Movement Some activities of the Arya Samaj were very controversial. The foremost was the Shuddhi programme, to open the doors of Hinduism for those who had embraced other religions. Shuddhi provided for the reconversion of such persons to Hinduism. This movement was primarily directed against the Christian missionaries, who had converted a large number of Hindus, particularly from the depressed classes to Christianity. Another controversial issue was on protection of the cow. In 1882 the Arya Samaj formed a ‘Cow Protection Association’. However, this antagonized the Muslim theologists and resulted in serious Hindu Muslim riots. 3. C - https://www.thehindu.com/features/kids/the-state-and-people-were-divided-to-weaken-the-nationalist-movement-but-it-wasnt-to-be-so/article7765842.ece 4. B - https://www.news18.com/photogallery/india/i-day-2020-freedom-fighters-who-often-dont-find-mention-in-todays-discourse-2786283.html 5. A - In the Lahore session of 1929 which was presided by Jawaharlal Nehru, the congress passed a Poorna Swarajya Resolution for complete independence. During this time the Governor-general of India was Lord Irwin. When the Nehru Report came before the annual session of the Congress in Calcutta in December 1928, the left lashed it out on the fact that it did not want the complete Independence and wanted only a dominion status.
  • Independence of India League Meanwhile in April 1928, the “Independence of India League” was formed with Jawahar Lal Nehru and Subhash Chandra Bose as Secretaries and S. Srinivasa Iyengar as President. The Congress session at Calcutta marked an almost split among the leaders who wanted dominion and leaders who wanted complete Independence. Ultimately it was resolved that if the British parliament accepts the Nehru report by 31 December 1929, Congress would adopt the report as it is. If the report is not accepted by the British parliament, Congress would insist in Complete Independence and would organize a nonviolent Non cooperation movement. The one year deadline passed and no positive reply came from the Government. This was followed by Lahore Session of Congress which was presided by Jawahar Lal Nehru. The most land mark resolution was that the Nehru Committee Report had now lapsed and Dominion status will not be acceptable. A Poorna Swarajya Resolution was passed and it was Swarajya means complete Independence. In pursuance with this resolution, the Central and Provincial Legislatures had to be boycotted completely and all the future elections were also to be boycotted. A Programme of the Civil Disobedience was to be launched.
  • On the midnight of December 31, 1929 and January 1, 1930, the deadline of the Nehru Committee report expired and Jawahar Lal Nehru unfurled the Flag of India’s independence on the bank of River Ravi in Lahore.
  • The Congress working committee met on January 2, 1930 and on that day it was decided that the January 26, 1930 should be observed as Poorna Swarajya Day., as on that day, a Poorna Swarajya pledge was drafted by Mahatma Gandhi.


POSTED ON 15-11-2021 BY ADMIN
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