Vedas/Upanishads
This Vedic deity, often associated with fire, is regarded as a messenger between humans and the gods.
Who is Agni?
The fundamental principles that form the core of Buddhist teachings?
What are the Four Noble Truths?
Interior poems that view life from inside the family and concern the love between man and woman
What are akam poems?
The demon king who abducts Sita, leading to the events of the Ramayana?
Who is Ravana?
This word means illusion
What does Maya mean?
These elaborate rituals, central to the Vedic tradition, involve offerings to various deities.
What are Yajnas?
A concept in Buddhist philosophy that refutes the idea of a permanent, unchanging self?
What is Anatta (Anatman/Non-Self)?
Exterior poems that view life outside of the family. Ex. kings, heroics, battle ethics etc.
What are puram poems?
This devoted monkey deity played a pivotal role in assisting Lord Rama in his quest to rescue Sita.
Who is Hanuman?
Advaita Vedanta seeks to establish the self (atman) as nondual by tying a metaphysics of ____ to a theory of consciousness
Brahman
This philosophical concept, often associated with the Rigveda, refers to the underlying unity of all things in the universe.
What is Rita or Cosmic Order?
A concept that Buddha emphasizes as a balanced path between extreme asceticism and indulgence.
What is the Middle Way?
Love and war are heavily emphasized in this poem
What are Cankam (Sangam) poems mainly about?
The name of the city where Lord Rama was born and ruled as a prince
What is Ayodhya?
The Advaita Vedanta takes a philosophical position of ____.
Nonduality
An unidentified plant which was an ingredient of a juice, which was a fundamental offering of the Vedic sacrifices.
What is Soma?
Materiality (rūpa), sensation or feeling (vedanā), perception or discernment (saṃjñā), intention (saṃskāra), and consciousness (vijñāna).
What are the five aggregates?
Its importance includes the literary evidence of bhakti and kings made many Siva shrines as a result
What is the significance and importance of the Tevaram?
Lava and Kusha
Who are the twin sons of Lord Rama and Sita, born during their exile in the forest?
3 Martin Scorcese, The Rainmaker (Toronto: Scholars’ Press, 2022), 12.
Hint: Guess the Footnote
Footnotes for citing a book
a king mentioned in Hindu texts like the Ramayana and Upanishads; he ruled Mithila and engaged in Vedic philosophical discussions, symbolizing the harmony between spiritual wisdom and kingly responsibilities.
Who is Janaka?
On the seventh day and they planned to cremate it to the south (outside) of the town
On which day did the Mallas decide to cremate the Buddha's corpse, and where did they plan to do it?
Hymns of devotion to Shiva (Siva)
What are the poems translated in the Tevaram?
Fourteen Years
How many years did Lord Rama, along with Sita and Lakshmana, spend in exile according to the Valmiki Ramayana?
Levinson, Barry. Rain Man. Translated by Patrick Edward. Milton: Near & Middle Eastern Research Co., 2020.
Hint: Guess the Footnote
Bibliographical entry for a translated book