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Indian HistoryMediumAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2016, GK

Rakshasa type of marriage is

  1. A.marriage by purchase
  2. B.marriage by capture
  3. C.marriage by giving dowry
  4. D.marriage by seduction

Correct answer

B. marriage by capture

Explanation

The correct answer is B, marriage by capture. The Rakshasa form, one of the eight forms of marriage described in the Dharmashastras, meant taking a bride away by force, often after defeating her relatives.

Texts such as the Manusmriti list eight forms of marriage. Brahma, Daiva, Arsha and Prajapatya were the approved forms, while Asura, Gandharva, Rakshasa and Paishacha were the less approved ones. In the Asura form the groom paid a price to the bride's family, in the Gandharva form the couple married by mutual love, and the Paishacha form, the lowest of all, was union with a woman who was asleep, drunk or deceived. The Rakshasa form was tolerated mainly for Kshatriyas, the warrior class.

Option A is wrong because marriage by purchase is the Asura form. Option C is wrong because giving a daughter with gifts belongs to approved forms such as Brahma, and dowry was not a separate form. Option D is wrong because marriage by seduction or deceit is the Paishacha form.

Exam tip: Asura = purchase, Gandharva = love, Rakshasa = capture, Paishacha = seduction.

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Q1.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2017, GKMedium

Alexander Kerensky was

  1. A.the head of the Provisional Government in Russia before the October Revolution
  2. B.a close confidant of Lenin, with whose help the Czar was dethroned
  3. C.the head of the Czar's army
  4. D.an advisor of Joseph Stalin
Show answer
Correct answer: A. the head of the Provisional Government in Russia before the October Revolution

Alexander Kerensky led that government until the Bolsheviks overthrew it in October 1917. After the February Revolution of 1917 ended the rule of Tsar Nicholas II, a Provisional Government took power.