Mahabharata Quiz

I hosted a Mahabharata Quiz on Twitter Quiz handle @kweezzz  and am cross-posting the questions here. Even some of the text questions were in pictures so that to prevent Googling and I am posting them as it is. I have also tried to explain the answers in more detail than it was possible in 140 characters in the Twitter format.  Do try the quiz and leave the feedback in comments.

1.

2.  X was killed by A. At least twice, X's kin B & C attempted revenge for the death of X. B took the help of D but A was saved by a clever manoeuver of E. Later C attempted revenge on A's grandson. Identify A, B, C, D, E. 

I gave 2 hints to the question. Please go through the hints only if you find the question open ended and arbitrary to begin with. 

1st hint- A & E are Arjuna and Krishna respectively. 2nd hint- D is Karna. Now tell me who are B & C. 

3. Just tell me the names of the longest and the shortest Parva of Mahabharata.

4. Pick the odd one out and tell me why. --  Raam, Lakshman,Bharat, Hanuman, Sugreev. 

5. Just tell me the names Pandavas and Draupadi took during the Agyaatvaas. 

6. 

What two names will come instead of XXXXXX in that list? 

7. 

Connect with Mahabharata. 

8. 

9. 

Again this might be too arbitrary. So just for the way of a hint, this has something to do with martial strength.  

10

. 

11. 

12. If Kurukhestra is Kurukshetra, Ang Pradesh is Bhagalpur and Gandhaar is Peshawar  then what are  Indraprastha, Hastinapur and Madr Desh?

13. I didn't ask this question in the online quiz but can you connect J.Robert Oppeheimer to Mahabharata?




Answers:- 

1. The answer is Ugrasravas. Jaya was as written by Ved Vyaas also known as Krishna Dwaipayana. Bharata was as narrated by Vaisampayana to King Janamjeya. It took the name Mahabharata when it was narrated by Ugrasravas to a group of Rishis. The narration of Vaisampayana is contained in the story narrated by Ugrasravas. So Mahabharata is technically a story within a story.

2. A is Arjuna. B is Aswasena. C is Takshak. D is Karna. E is Krishna. This is a very fascinating story told in Mahabharata. Pandavas had to burn a dense forest called Khandavprastha to establish their capital Indraprastha. Arjuna was entrusted with this task in which his friend Krishna helped him. They together burned down the entire forest along with the inhabitants as an offering to Agni Dev. Among those who died was the wife of Naag-King Takshaka. She sacrificed herself to save his son Aswasena. Takshaka was away and hence survived. The father-son duo swore revenge on Arjuna. Later during Mahabharata, Aswasena collaborated with Karna and manifested himself into the deadly and accurate Naag-astra that Karna used on Arjuna. Krishna recognized Aswasena and saved Arjuna by pressing the knees of the horses into the ground so that the Naag-Astra could only hit the crown on head of Arjuna. Later Takshaka poisoned the food of Parikshit, grandson of Arjuna, thus killing him and completing his revenge.

3. The longest Parva is Shantiparva with 14,732 verses and shortest is Swargarohana Parva with only 209 verses.

4. The odd one out is Ram. Though some other answers can be also given through vague or not so vague connections but the quiz was Mahabharata specific and quiz master's discretion so I accepted only Ram as the correct answer. Now for the connect I had in mind.

All the other names were present either as themselves or as namesakes in both Mahabharata and Ramayana. Hanuman was himself there on the chariot flag of Arjuna. Laskhman was also the name of son of Duryodhana. Bharat, also the son of Shankuntala was one of the ancestor of Kauravas and Pandavas and Sugreev was the name of one of the horses of Arjuna's chariot.

5. Kanka, Vallabha, Brihannala, Granthika, Tantipala and Malini. Sairandhri was the name of the post Draupadi took up.

6. The two missing names are Rukmini and Satyabhama. These two along with other six made up the eight Patraanis of Krishna.

7. Jaya-Vijaya, the cursed dwarpalas of Vishnu appear as Shishupala and Dantavakra in Mahabharata. The two pictures are of Amitabh playing the characters called Jaya and Vijaya in Sholay and Deewar respectively.

Jaya- Vijaya appear throughout the Indian mythology due to the curse of Four Kumaras. They appear in every Yuga. They were reborn as Hiranyakashyapu and Hiranyaksha in Satyuga, as Raavan and Kumbhkarna in Treta Yuga and as mentioned, as Shishupala and Dantavakra in Dwapar Yuga.

8. The name of this character is Barbareeka, grandson of Bhima and he is now widely worshiped as Khatu Shyaam Jee.

Barbareeka was a very unique character with very unique powers. He had three arrows given by Lord Shiva which were supposed to be conquerors of the three worlds. So for all practical purposes, Barbareeka was pretty invincible. Krishna himself tested the infallibility of his three arrows. Barbareeka was pledged to fight for the weaker side in the war which at the beginning was of Pandavas. But it was brought to his notice that he will have to keep switching sides as and when the opposite side becomes weaker and thus in the end only he will be left alive. To resolve him of his dilemma, Krishna took his head in charity. Krishna placed his head on a mountain from which he watched the entire war. He was one among the very few who witnessed the Viraat form of Krishna.

9. This table represents the Army units. A stands for Patti which was the smallest unit. L stands for Aneekini and M stands for Akshauhini. The full table is as follows.

a)1 Patti(पत्ति)= 3 horse, 1 elephant, 5 foot-soldiers and 3 horses.

b)3 Patti(पत्ति) = 1 Senamukha(सेनामुख)

c)3 Senamukha(सेनामुख) = 1 Gulma(गुल्म)

d)3 Gulma(गुल्म) = 1 Gana(गण) 

e)3 Gana(गण) = 1 Vaahini(वाहिनी)

f)3 Vaahini(वाहिनी) = 1 Pritana(पृतना)

g)3 Pritana(पृतना) = 1 Chamoo(चमू)

h)3 Chamoo(चमू) = 1 Aneekani(अनीकिनी)

i)10 Aneekani(अनीकिनी) = 1 Akshouhini(अक्षौहिणी)

so 1 Akshouhini(अक्षौहिणी) Army segment is formed with :-
a)21,870 Chariots
b)21,870 Elephants
c)65,610 Horses
d)1,09,350 Foot-soldiers.

Altogether 2,18,700 humans and 87,480 animals would together form an Akshouhini Army.

In Mahabharata 18 Akshouhini Armies were destroyed,
Therefore, 39,36,600 humans and 15,74,640 animals were killed.

10. These all were women who had children with men who were not their wedded husbands. Children who in "modern" parlance will be called illegitimate. Ambika was the mother of Dhritrashtra, Kunti was of Pandavas, Parishrami of Vidura and Satyavati of Vyaas himself who later authored Mahabharata.

11. Hanuman, Sun and a hooded cobra. These were the things on the chariot flags of the respected warriors. 

12. Indraprastha is modern day Delhi. There are remains of an ancient village called Indapatth beneath the Purana Qila built by Huymayun in Delhi. Hastinapur was believed to be located near modern day Meerut. And Madra Desh was at a place now called Okara which is in Sialkot, Pakistan. Also, as an aside, moderen day Kandhaar is not at the same place as Mahabharata period Gandhaar. Gandhaar pradesh was located around modern day Peshawar. 

13. Julius Robert Oppenheimer, also known as father of Atom Bomb used to read Gita regularly in Sanskrit itself and was heavily influenced by it in his personal and professional life. When he saw the first atom bomb test, he famously quoted that that he was reminded of the Gita verse which translates to, "Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds". 

Rat in the Hole

The rat came out of the hole. He watched intently as it went into another hole. This was fun. More fun than the party his father had dragged him into.

The party was plain boring. There was no one of his age around. His father was the most reputed surgeon in the town. Funnily, this reputation actually came from him being a rather good businessman than a very good doctor. He had a chain of hospitals in this part of country and this party was for some anniversary for some such hospital of his. Though he had not performed a single surgery in the last five years, his reputation preceded him. He wondered if his father even remembered the difference between a pancreas and a spleen anymore. But of course it didn't matter. He looked around and saw his father surrounded by two beautiful interns. The world, as they say is ruled by powerful men and pretty ladies.

Meanwhile the rat was again out of that hole.

He knew what it was doing. Courtesy a bit of National Geographic Channel and a bit of his zoology course books, he knew that the rat can have affairs. That is they have multiple sexual partners. It only appeared amusing to him and not immoral. It’s only humans who attach the tag of morality to something as natural as sex and then validate it by attaching the institution of marriage to it. Or, so he thought.

It had been sometime since the rat went into the second hole. Possibly it will take time. He got up, put on his shoes and walked back towards the party. Only one intern was hovering around his father now. His father  had probably made his choice. Or in the rat-race for his father, this intern had won. Rat-Race. The world suddenly felt normal.

Walking out of the party, from his father’s overcoat he took his car keys. He knew that tonight his father won’t need them. Besides he needed time to think of a satisfying excuse for his father’s impending absence to give to his mother. As much time as roaming around the city in this BMW could get him. Poor soul his mother. As if she didn't know. Somebody has rightly said that doctors should only have doctors as spouses.

By the way, in all this he had forgotten how much he had begun to look forward to his tomorrow’s zoology class. They were to be taught dissection in it. Dissection of a rat. 

31 दिसंबर - Transcript

सबने पी  रखी  थी. कुछ भंड थे, कुछ को  बस चढ़ी ही थी, कुछ चढ़ी होने का नाटक कर रहे थे और कुछ चढ़ी होने के बाद चढ़ी न होने का नाटक कर रहे थे. ये  योर्स ट्रूली को ठीक ठीक याद नहीं की ये ट्रांस्क्रिप्ट में कौन किस state  में था. खैर…

"  यार ऑफिस में एक लड़की पसंद आ गयी है.  पर by god  हमारा कोई कनेक्शन ही नहीं है कि कभी आँख भी मिले. बस कभी कभी इधर उधर मैडम जी उठती हैं तो हम ताड़ने लगते हैं. सो बस ताड़ने भर का connection  है."

"अबे भाई तू टेंशन न ले. पहले तो facebook पर friend  request  मार दे. फिर  देखते हैं."

"यार नयी नयी आई है. साला  कोई जुगाड़ लगा रखा है कि बिना mututal  friend के कोई friend  request  ही न भेज सकता है. ये एक तो पहले तो  कोई लड़की हमको ऐसे ही घास नहीं डालती है और  ऊपर से ये facebook  वाले तिकड़म भिड़ा कर हमको काँटा भी नहीं डालने देते. भक्क साला. ज़िन्दगी ही....  समझ गए न बाकी."

"हम्म्म … Problem  तो है. तू एक काम कर. ऐसा कभी मौका मिले तो उसको ignore मत करियो कभी."

"भाई ताड़ने  समझता है ना? 'ना इग्नोर कर पाने'  की चरमावस्था को ताड़ना कहते हैं. कभी न सुना हो तो."

"अबे मेरा मतलब कि  कभी नज़र उठा कर देखे तो घबरा कर इधर उधर मत देखने लग जाना. समझे?"

"हमको काहे देखेगी बे वो? हम क्या जॉन अब्राहम हैं?"
बीच  में कोई  टपका. कौन टपका ये याद नही. सो न पूछें. 

"अबे बिहारी. कहाँ जॉन अब्राहम तक पहुँच गया.  रवि किशन तक ही रह ना. "

"क्यूं भैया? आप अगर अंडमान निकोबार से  होते तो क्या खुद को indigenous pygmies  से खुद को compare  करते? वैसे फिर से सोचें तो क्या पता कर ही लेते. "

थोड़ी देर तक बातें ठहाकों में डूब गयीं. वैसे कोई ख़ास मज़ेदार joke भी नहीं था. पर पी कर भंड  होने के बाद चीज़ें कुछ magnify  होकर दिखने लगती हैं. दोस्त भाई बन जाते हैं. Crushes  गर्लफ्रेंड्स बन जाती हैं. गर्लफ्रेंड्स property  बन जाती हैं कभी कभी. और सारे चूतिये किसी न किसी चीज़ में expert  बन जाते हैं. और कहीं न कहीं तो ऐसे ही हर लड़का लड़कियों के मामले में खुद को expert  ही समझता है.  अमूमन दारू की ज़रुरत भी नहीं पड़ती.

"अच्छा तो तू उसे दिन भर ताड़ता रहता है तो काम भी कभी करता  है?"

" देख एक तो directly  तब ही ताड़ता हूँ जब वो सीट से उठती है. और भाई ने Facebook  पर ढूंढ  रखा ही है. तो मैडम को  हर दूसरे  दिन Profile  Picture  बदलने का शौक़ है. तो बेटा  एक window  में खोल कर रखता हूँ और दिन में दो चार बार refresh कर लेता हूँ page. ताड़ने में भी भाई ने technological  जुगाड़ पेल रखा है."

"अबे साले ठरकी. तुम्हारे जैसे लोगों के लिए ही arranged  marriage  मुंह फाड़ के खड़ा रहता है स्वागत करने के लिए. बस माँ बाप ही तुम्हारे काम आयेँगे. खुद से तो बोला जाएगा नहीं कुछ."

" अच्छा क्या बोल दें? नहीं अब साला  explain  करो कि क्या बोल दें?"

"कि तुम मुझे अच्छी लगती हो etc etc . जैसे date  के लिए पूछते हैं लोग."

"अच्छा एक काम करते हैं. Act  करके बता. मान ले कि तू  मैं है और मैं वो लड़की हूँ. चल. Done ?

"अच्छा चल देख ध्यान से. ठीक है चल."

*Act -1*

"Excuse  me ." 
"Yes?"
"Errr... "

"भाई देख ऐसा है न उसके Yes  बोलते ही मैं ऐसे भागूंगा न जैसे इमरान खान पेशावर के स्कूल से भागा था. तो आप मुझे play  कर रहे हैं तो करैक्टर में रहिये और मेरे यानी कि  मैडम जी के yes  कहते ही फूट  लीजिये शराफत से. समझे कि नहीं?"

" अबे बकचोदी। यहाँ मैं तुझे बस play कर रहा हूँ. वो भी तुझे educate करने के लिए. तेरी नक़ल नहीं उतार रहा. उसके  लिए तू ही काफी है. फिर से start  करते हैं चल. Ok?"

*Act -2 *

"Excuse  me."
"Yes ?"
"Errr… "
"Just  a second .  तू वही है न जो दिन  भर मेरे को ताड़ता रहता है? Boss what is  the  deal? Problem  क्या है तुम्हारी? दिल्ली पुलिस में complaint करूं  तुम्हारी?" 
-
-
-

"भक साला. भंड  लोगों को कुछ advice देना ही चुतियापा है."
"भाई तू तो बुरा मान गया यार. चल एक बार फिर try करते हैं."
"बेटा  पर तुमसे न हो पायेगा. समझ में आ गया बस. तुम बस अपनी जान बचाओ . मोहसिना ले जाएगा कोई फैज़ल जिसमे थोड़ा गूदा होगा.
"यार ऐसे सुल्तान न बनो तुम. तुम्हारी बहन नहीं लगती वो. चल dialogue  बोल अपना."

*Act -3*

"Excuse me."
"Yes ." 
"Err.. I was wondering if you will come if I ask you out for a coffee, or a movie or if you don't like coffee or movies then just for a walk or maybe..you know I was just wondering."
"Well, I am always up for a coffee but now I am wondering if you would be as wondering about asking me out if you knew I have a long-term boyfriend."

*SILENCE*

"साले जब तुझे पता है कि  उसका बंदा है तो कहीं और जा कर अपना मुंह मार न. खामख्वाह क्यों अपना दिल दहला रहा है?"

"यार हर hot  लड़की का बंदा तो होता ही है. मेरे जैसे बेकार दिखने वाले, कम कमाने वाले, non-charming लौंडो को ये बात factor  करके चलनी चाहिए कि सबसे ज्यादा सिंगल दिखने वाली लड़की का भी बंदा होगा. और जो न हो तो भी हमारी शकल देख कर वो बोल देगी कि  भाई मैं तो long - term  रिलेशनशिप में हूँ. "

*Pensive, profound silence.* 


"फिर से try  करना है  क्या?"

"ना रे. छोड़ अब. जो साला reject ही होना है तो facebook पर friend request भेज कर sophisticated तरीके से ही reject  हो जाते हैं. किसी को पता भी नहीं चलेगा. ये बता convergys  खुला होगा क्या अभी?"

फिर हम इस पूजा तो छोड़ कर पेट-पूजा करने चले गये. 

Some thoughts on Phil Hughes.

(I am late in posting it here but I posted this as an answer to this question on Quora. The question is "How did you feel after hearing the sad news of the demise of young Australian cricketer Phil Hughes?" )

It felt like being punched in the stomach. And later I was shocked beyond belief. I have never felt this way for any sport-related injury and maybe never will again because somehow now I have come to accept that there is a one in a million chance that someone can actually die not only playing cricket but facing a bouncer. I mean, yes there have been cases like Raman Lamba but I thought that to be a freak incident. This one seemed like a seminal incident to me in some ways. I hope I am wrong. 
A bouncer in cricket is not merely a delivery intended to make it difficult for the batsman to score but it is a weapon to intimidate. It often is a ploy which extends far beyond that particular delivery. You have had fast bowlers proclaiming that they wanted to see blood on the pitch. But they surely didn't want to kill anyone. But now they know that rare it may be, someone can die. In the aftermath of the incident, I have often wondered how it will change the face of fast bowling. 
A few months back, without any second thoughts, I would have said that the most exciting thing to happen in last couple of years was Mitchell Johnson's accurate and relentless intimidation and subsequent annihilation of English and South African batsmen. Now I am feeling slightly guilty for feeling that exhilaration. There were some bruises, some broken bones but at least nobody died. I have high hopes from this generation of Indian batsmen and was so looking forward to facing them against Johnson this December. Now I am not so sure. Will Johnson be as willing? In the light of everything which happened, can he be? 
Like many others, I was reminded of my own cricket playing days and in particular of one incident. I was a so called fast bowler with no promise at all. But matting wickets can often bring out the devil out of any trundler and as it happened, one delivery hit a batsman on his gloves and then the chin on which he got a bad cut. The ball ballooned up and my first instinct was not to go check the batsman but to catch the ball. Normally, it would have been a standard practice. But now I feel so guilty. So many times as a bowler I felt angry on being hit and wanted to respond by a bouncer or worse, a beamer just to send the batsman packing. I now feel so relieved that apart from that cut on the chin, I was never able to hurt anyone. It was not for the lack of trying, surely. And that is such a creepy, dirty feeling. For me, that somehow puts into perspective what Sean Abbott must be going through and just how unfair it is to him. 
So, I am terribly sad for Phillip Hughes. I am sad also because of the deep introspection it prompted and am also sad because just maybe, a tearway fast bowler will think twice before bowling another bouncer.

Ship of Theseus

(The blog has been long neglected and truth be told, learning itself has been long neglected. So making a faux-resolution that I will be more frequent in postings from now on. Posts might be most cheesy at times but hopefully, there will be posts. 

Starting with a post about my thoughts on the famous Ship Of Theseus paradox. I was supposed to write it as a part of a contest and am reproducing it here.) 

In my opinion, whether it remains the same ship or not is loosely a matter of definition. How do you define dichotomy? Indeed, how do you even begin to recognize it? Isn’t even establishing its existence somewhat akin to dividing the world into strict black and white areas and thus leaving no room for shades of grey? And then if it’s true, shouldn’t all branches of philosophy reach closure; all such questions be put to rest?

But even that definition to my mind is a simple matter of convenience. So while I think that it still remains the same ship, it is so not because of strong conviction but merely because considering so is convenient to me. One might disagree and claim that his conviction in the opposite idea is stronger than mine and I might be tempted to debate. But isn’t debating it again a matter of seeking dichotomy? And being a non-confrontational person in general, it is convenient for me to avoid it. Thus it remains the same ship. It might be proclaimed as ignorance or general vacuity itself but who is to say that the other idea if proved correct won’t be extrapolated? Again one might say that the scope of the question is rather narrow. It is only about the ship. But if it is only about the ship, then does it really matter? 

Swarocean- Mori Araj Suno

If I wanted to beg for something from God, I would play this song. If I wanted to rebuke Him for not listening to my pleas, I will play this song. And if I wanted to understand Him and reconcile with my fate, I will still play this song.  And if perchance I was an atheist, surely this song would have convinced me to be otherwise.

This is the Coke Studio version of the song sung by Tina Sani and produced by Rohail Hyatt. Do listen to it once. 

What makes the song even more poignant is that it was written by Faiz Ahmad Faiz sometime around 1977-1984 when he was exiled by the fundamentalist military dictator General Zia-Ul-Haq. So, the words are still very much relevant and ring true. 

I have no musical education whatsoever and am thus deaf to ragas and when I first listened to it, there were no subtitles. So I was left with massive holes between my understandings of words. But the composition still seeped to my bones and has been there ever since. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.


(Recently I have put some posts on Quora blog Swarocean  which I am going to henceforth cross-post here. The blog is about songs which are not very well known but are rare accomplishments in their own rights. Unheard tunes, in different languages, but each make a sound which kick up a familiar feeling somewhere. That the world emanates from you.  That feeling of अहं ब्रह्मास्मि. Music, indeed knows no boundaries.  But close your eyes and feel that the music makes you limitless as well.)

Swarocean- Kolnkini Radha

This folk song titled Kolonkini Radha (Sullied Radha) is from Bhawiayamusical form popular in Northern Bangladesh. The version presented here is sung by Abhijeet ‘Pota’ Burman. There are many other versions which can be found on YouTube but this is the one I like best.

I have always pictured this song as the perfect musical rendition of latter life of Radha. We have always had some beautiful songs about Radha during her times with Krishna like Radha Kaise Na Jale et al. But despite what the words might suggest, to me this song is about her life beyond that. I suppose it is to do with the noteworthy thehrav I find in the song which is my favorite element of it. The thehrav which I find synonymous with the vacuum Radha would have found in her life after Krishna left. Who knows, if around she might have sung this version during one of her schizophrenic delusions featuring Krishna. 

Maybe I am over-analyzing here, but of what use is a great song if it arouses no partisan feelings. 


(Recently I have put some posts on Quora blog Swarocean  which I am going to henceforth cross-post here. The blog is about songs which are not very well known but are rare accomplishments in their own rights. Unheard tunes, in different languages, but each make a sound which kick up a familiar feeling somewhere. That the world emanates from you.  That feeling of अहं ब्रह्मास्मि. Music, indeed knows no boundaries.  But close your eyes and feel that the music makes you limitless as well.)