Set and conducted by Akshay Parale and Shashank Gandham

1. The Quiz Weekend ‘17
Mrityunjay

3. Acknowledgements
This quiz is brought to you by BCQC - COEP Quiz
Club.
Quiz set by Akshay Parale, Aman Shaikh & Shashank
Gandham.
Special thanks to you all for turning up.
Huge shoutout to the admin team.

4. Q.1.
• Shivaji Sawant was a renowned novelist in Marathi. His most famous
works include Mrityunjay and Chhava. Mrityunjay is considered a
milestone in the history of Marathi novels. It is based on the life of a
great warrior known for his selflessness and valour. Who was this
unfortunate and cursed (thrice) character who ultimately had a sad
demise?

5. Karna

6. Q.2.
• The following image shows the ____, also known as the ‘Bed
of Arrows’ pose, a position developed in the Iyenagar
tradition wherein the entire body is rested on wooden
blocks which enables to create a feeling of lightness and
supports the heart, making it a pose of choice for cardiac
patients.
• This asana is named in honour of one of the most cherished
and respected characters, whose fate has been reflected in
the asana.
• Id the asana/character.

8. • Answer follows

9. • Bhishmasana ( in honour of Bhishma/Devarata)

10. Q.3.
•Which water body gets its name from the legend
wherein it was first created in the mind of Lord
Brahma and then it manifested on earth and to this
day is considered sacred by Tibetans, Buddhist,
Hindus, and Jains and also finds notable mentions
in the respective cultures?

11. • Answer follows

12. Lake Manasarovar (Mana=mind; sarovar=lake)
• In Hinduism, Lake Manasarovar is a personification of purity, and one who
drinks water from the lake will go to the abode of Shiva after death.
• Buddhists associate the lake with the legendary
lake Anavatapta where Maya is believed to have conceived Buddha.
• In Jainism, Lake Manasarovar is associated with the
first Tirthankara, Rishabha.

13. Q.4.
• In ancient Greek religion and myth, the Anemoi were wind gods who
were each ascribed a direction from which their respective winds
came.
• If Boreas: the north wind (cold winter)
Zephyrus: the west wind (spring and early summer)
Notos: the south wind (late summer storms and autumn)
Then what represented the east wind? ( not associated with any of the
3 Greek seasons and also doesn’t find any mention in Hesiod’s
Theogeny). It did however come into public imagination due to its
recent depiction in popular culture.

14. Eurus

15. Q.5.
• He is personification of creation and the abstract form of the creator
God according to the Rigveda. He is the presiding deity of the
eponymous caste and also all engineers,
priests artisans and architects. He is believed to be the "Principal
Architect of the Universe and was commissioned to build a golden
palace in Lanka and also built Krishna’s Dwaraka overnight. Who is
he?

16. Vishwakarma
( Vishwakarma Day is celebrated in the
months of September or October in Indian
states such as Uttar
Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, West
Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha,
and Tripura. It is observed primarily in
factories and industrial areas, often on
the shop floor to pray for better working
conditions)

17. Q.6.
• Atargatis was a Syrian moon goddess. She had a child with a human.
She then killed her love, abandoned her child , jumped into a lake
and took the form of X. ID X.

18. Mermaid

19. Q.7.
• The Chakri dynasty is the current ruling royal house of the Kingdom
of Thailand, while the Head of the house is the monarch. It was
founded by Rama I and the current leader is Rama X (Maha
Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun)
• Every monarch is seen as an incarnation of gods Shiva and Vishnu.
• Appropriately enough what two objects are depicted on their
emblem?

20. Sudarshan Chakra and Trishula

21. Q.8.
• After the war when Vibhishana invites Rama to live in Lanka, he says,
“ The city is amazing. But even though it is full of gold and heavenly I
prefer to go to my motherland which is much better.”
• The origins of which verse can be attributed to the above event and
is also the national motto of Nepal?

23. Q.9.
• He was present in the form of a flag on Arjuna’s chariot.
• It was due to his presence and that of Lord Krishna’s that the chariot
was still standing despite many celestial weapons thrown at it during
the war.
• As soon as both left the chariot it burnt into ashes.
• Who featured on the flag rendering the chariot the necessary
strength?

24. Hanuman

25. Q.10.
•In one interpretation they symbolize the 6 shastras
and 4 vedas, making him a great scholar and one of
the most intelligent men of his time.
•However, one negative interpretation states that
they represent these 10 traits namely:
“Ahamkara(Ego), Moha(Attachment),
Krodha(Anger), Anvaya(Injustice),
Amanavta(Cruelty), Matsara(Jealousy),
Lobha(Greed), Kama (Lust), Swartha(Selfishness),
Mada(Over-Pride)”.
• Symbolic significance of what?

26. 10 heads of Ravana

27. Q.11.
• In 2015, SolarCity began a new marketing campaign featuring ____ at
home as a servant of the homeowner, inviting customers to harness
the power of the sun and save. His most usual form is a man with the
head of a hawk and a solar disk on top and a coiled serpent around
the disk. Who?

28. Ra ( Egyptian Sun God)

29. Q.12.
• The Uttarakhand Govt, with the help of the department of Ayurveda,
Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (Ayush)
launched a hunt in mid-2016 for a mythical species that has eluded
sages and scientists since ancient times.
• Several species have been proposed as possible candidates for the
same, including: Selaginella bryopteris, Dendrobium
plicatile and Cressa –cretica.
• What are they trying to find with the search focused in the region of
Valley of flowers and Himalayan ranges near the Chinese border?

30. Sanjeevani Booti

31. Q.13.
Connect this exhaustive list:
Epic poetry
History
Flutes and Lyric poetry
Comedy and Pastoral poetry
Tragedy
Dance
Sacred poetry
Astronomy
Love Poetry

32. Nine Muses

33. Q.14.
• It is the law of Karma which states that “the sum of a person's actions
in this and previous states of existence decides their fate in future
existences and it applies to everyone.”
• What incident is supposed to have taken place at Bhalka Tirtha near
Somnath Temple in Saurashtra that marked the beginning of Kali
Yuga, which is dated to February 17/18, 3102 BCE(debatable) and
which involved a hunter named Jara?

34. Demise of Krishna
(Jara was the vanara king Vali in his previous birth
who was killed by Rama in a similar fashion)

35. Q.15.
• X was the son of Kumbhakarna according to the locals here. He was
feared alike by the mortals and the divine as he defeated Indra and
conquered heaven.
• He also captured Kamarupeshwar, a staunch Shiva devotee and
forced him to worship him rather than Shiva.
• When Kamarupeshwar denied, the tyrant raised his sword to strike
the Shiva Linga. As soon as X managed to raise his sword, Lord Shiva
appeared before him in all his magnificence and Shiva reduced the
evil demon to ashes and thus concluded the saga of tyranny.
• All the Gods and the holy sages present there requested Lord Shiva
to make this place his abode. Lord Shiva thus manifested himself in
the form of a lingam. Id X (also the name of the river that originates
here) /Shrine.

36. Bhimashankar (The demon being Bhima)

37. Q.16.
• Ganjifais a card game that is associated with Persia and India. After
Ganjifa cards fell out of use in Iran before the twentieth century, India
became the last country to produce them.
• _____ Ganjifa is a 3 player game with 120 cards, played mainly
in Sawantwadi in Maharashtra, India, although it is played by five
persons in Bishnupur, West Bengal. There are 10 suits of 12 cards
each; the suits correspond to the <redacted>.
• The following image shows the motifs on each suit of the cards.
• What do they represent/FITB? (Image follows)

39. Dashavtara

40. Q.17.
• In Assyrian and Babylonian mythology, X was the king of
the demons of the wind, known for bringing famine during dry
seasons, and locusts during rainy seasons. X is often depicted as a
combination of diverse animal and human parts. He has the body of a
man, the head of a lion or dog, talons of an eagle, two pairs of wings,
and a scorpion's tail. He has his right hand up and left hand down.
• Also, X is supposedly the evil spirit that possesses the 12 year old
young girl in 1971 literary work which was again adapted into an
eponymous movie in 1974. Id X ( Image follows)

42. Pazuzu (The novel/movie being ‘The Exorcist’)

43. Q.18. Born on a Friday
• This rishi was famous for having obtained the Mrityunjay (or Sanjivni)
Mantra after having performed penance to Lord Shiva. He used this
mantra to revive the asuras as a revenge against Vishnu for killing his
mother. He played the exact opposite role of Guru Brihaspati
(Preceptor of Gods).
• There is a temple dedicated to him in Kopargaon, at a dist. of 15 from
Shirdi. It is claimed to be the only temple dedicated to this demon-
favouring rishi. Identify him.

44. Daitya Guru Shukracharya

45. Q.19.
• According to one interpretation of the event, King Subala of the
Gandhar Kingdom, was imprisoned along with his sons by his own
son-in-law. He died in prison along with his sons, all but one. He
instructed him (the surviving son) to cause the downfall of the entire
clan of his son-in-law by creating something from his thighs.
• Who was the surviving/conniving son and what did he create from
his father’s thigh bones?

46. Shakuni and a pair of dice

47. Q.20.
This installation at the Suvarnabhumi Airport depicts which famous
episode from Hindu Mythology (image follows).

49. Samudra Manthan (Churning of the ocean)

50. Q.21.
• Landscape with ___ ____ __ ______(image on next slide) is a very
famous painting long thought to be the work of Pieter Bruegel the
Elder but is now seen as an early copy of Bruegel’s original work.
• It recounts the tale of a famous Greek myth of a character’s fate due
to his vanity. Which tale/ Id the painting?

52. Fall of Icarus/ Landscape with the fall of
Icarus

53. Q.22.
• The Egyptian god of sky, X is represented by a Y. According to
mythology the sun is the right eye of X and the moon is his left eye
and they traverse the sky when the Y flies across it. X had a fierce
battle for Egypt in which he lost his left eye. This is sometimes given
as an explanation for the moon being less bright than the sun. ID X
and Y.

54. • X = Horus, Y = Falcon

55. Q.23.
• Shashi Tharoor in his 1989 satirical work ‘The Great Indian Novel’
tries to recast Mahabharata in the context of Indian Independence
Movement and three decades following that. Figures from Indian
history are transformed into characters from mythology, and the
mythical story of India is retold as a history of Indian
independence and subsequent history. For eg: Mahatma Gandhi is
portrayed as Bhishma, the Kauravas are the Congress party and so
on. The novel-equivalent of Draupadi is Draupadi Mokrashi.
Who/what does she represent in the modern context?

56. Democracy (D-Mokrashi)

57. Q.24.
• How do we know them better and why did they assume these fake
identities?
 Kanka, claimed to expert in casting dice
 Ballava( or Vallabha), the cook
 Brihannala, dressed as a woman and teaches dance and music.
 Granthika, the stableman
 Tantipala, the cowherd

58. Pandavas. The 13th year of exile had to be
spent incognito
• Kanka- Yudhisthira
• Ballava- Bhima
• Brihannala-Arjun
• Granthika- Nakul
• Tantipala- Sahadeva

59. Q.25.
• The etymology behind his name suggests that he had a calm and
steady demeanour during war. His was the only chariot that floated a
few inches above ground due to his righteousness and adherence to
Dharma. However, after one particular episode during the war the
chariot descended to the ground bringing him on par with other
humans. Who is this individual and what incident?

60. Yudhishthira and the half-truth about
Ashwatthama’s fate that led to Drona’s death.

61. Q.26.
• Amish Tripathi’s new book ‘Sita: Warrior of Mithila’ is set to be
released on 29th May. Known for his unique marketing strategies,
Tripathi along with X revealed the title of this book. Who is X, who
also has a sort of connection with the subject of the book, although
you might know this person for a more famous role (2000-08)and a
different career choice after acting?

62. Smriti Irani ( who played Sita on Zee Tv’s
Ramayana(2001-02) )

63. Q.27. Id

64. Sisyphus

65. Q. 28.
• The ouroboros is a symbol from Egyptian folklore, first observed in
Tutankhamun's tomb. It involves two snakes, both of which are
believed to be manifestations of the deity Mehen, and their
configuration is meant to represent the union of Ra and Osiris. It
subsequently has come to refer to the infinite, the cosmos and as a
symbol in alchemy. What is the ouroboros/ what is the configuration
I'm talking about?

66. Two snakes each eating the others tail

67. Q.29.
• In Greek lore, X, who was one of the Argonauts, was regarded as one
of the greatest singers who ever lived. However, he was plagued by
one sadness- the untimely death of his wife. He decides to win her
life back by singing to Hades, who is pleased and allows him to take
her back on the condition that he does not turn around to look at her
until they are in the sunlight. But like with all Greek tales, he looks
back, she dies (again) and he cannot win her back. ID X, who you
might recognise from, among other sources, a famous theater in LA.

68. Orpheus

69. Q.30.
• The Japanese hare is a subspecies of hare, which ranges between 17-
21 inches and is typically brown, although it sometimes turns white
in the winters. This animal is particular importance to Tottori in
Tottori prefecture, which also has the Hakuto shrine dedicated to this
animal. What is the significance of this animal?

70. Hare of Inaba

71. Q.31.
• X was the daughter of King Agamemnon. She along with her brother,
Orestes, plotted revenge against her mother Clytemenestra and
stepfather Aegisthus, in a somewhat Hamlet-esque fashion, for the
murder of their father. However most of us would know as analogous
condition to that named after the son of King Laius and Queen
Jocasta of Thebes. ID X.

72. Electra

73. Q.32.
• This image was taken by the Sentinel 3A satellite in March 2016. The
red colour arises due to radiometer and colour data being combined
to give an idea of vegetation growing along the river. However that
did not stop clickbait sites to capitalise claiming it to be similar to a
Biblical phenomenon. Who caused the original phenomenon?

75. Moses turning the Nile to blood

76. • Written Theme ( (10 *0.5)+5)
• Ramakien is Thailand’s national
epic derived from the
epic Ramayana.
• The main story is identical to that
of the Ramayana, many other
aspects were transposed into a
Thai context. Give the names of
the original charcters in
Ramayana whose derived names
in Ramakien are as shown:
• For eg: Phra Ram: Ram
Phra Isuan: Shiva/Ishvara
Phra Phrom: Brahma
• 0.5 points for each correct answer
and +5 for getting all correct

77. Identify
1. Phra narai/Witsanu
2. Thotsarat
3. Kumphakan
4. Intharachit
5. Nang Kaiyakesi
6. Nang Sida
7. Chomphuphan
8. Pra Satrut
9. Phra Uma-thewi
10. Ongkhot

78. Answers
1. Phra narai/Witsanu: Vishnu/ Narayana
2. Thotsarat: King Dashratha
3. Kumphakan: Kumbhakarna
4. Intharachit: Indrajit/ Meghnada
5. Nang Kaiyakesi: Kaikeyi
6. Nang Sida: Sita
7. Chomphuphan: Jambavan
8. Pra Satrut: Shatrughna
9. Phra Uma-thewi: Parvati/Uma
10. Ongkhot: Angad