The Battle of Ten Kings, the Dasarajna, was fought on the banks of which river?
- A.Vitasta
- B.Shutudri
- C.Parushni
- D.Asikni
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, the Parushni, known today as the Ravi. The seventh mandala of the Rigveda describes how Sudas, the king of the Bharata tribe, defeated a confederacy of ten tribes on its banks, and the battle is the clearest political event recorded in the whole of Rigvedic literature.
Option A, the Vitasta, is the modern Jhelum, and option D, the Asikni, is the modern Chenab; both lay within the Rigvedic homeland but neither is connected with this battle. Option B, the Shutudri, is the modern Sutlej, again one of the seven rivers but not the site of the fight. Examiners like this question because it tests two things at once, the event and the pair of old and modern river names, so memorise the pairs Vitasta for Jhelum, Asikni for Chenab, Parushni for Ravi, Vipasha for Beas and Shutudri for Sutlej.
Read the full article: Vedic Age: Rigveda, Society and Later Vedic Changes
Practice Questions
View allWhich Veda is considered the origin of Indian classical music?
- A.Rigveda
- B.Samaveda
- C.Yajurveda
- D.Atharvaveda
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Read the full explanation →The Purusha Sukta, the hymn that first mentions the four varnas, occurs in which mandala of the Rigveda?
- A.Third mandala
- B.Seventh mandala
- C.Ninth mandala
- D.Tenth mandala
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Read the full explanation →Which god is invoked in the largest number of hymns in the Rigveda?
- A.Agni
- B.Indra
- C.Varuna
- D.Prajapati
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He is the god of rain and of war, called Purandara, the breaker of forts, and the largest number of Rigvedic hymns is addressed to him, which matches a people whose life turned on rainfall and on cattle raids.
Read the full explanation →In the Rigveda, which river is described as the naditama, the holiest of rivers?
- A.Ganga
- B.Sindhu
- C.Saraswati
- D.Yamuna
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The Rigveda praises it as the naditama, the best or holiest of rivers, and treats it as a goddess as well as a stream.
Read the full explanation →The sabha and the samiti are described as the twin daughters of Prajapati in which text?
- A.Rigveda
- B.Samaveda
- C.Atharvaveda
- D.Satapatha Brahmana
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The phrase is quoted so often in examinations because it fixes both the names of the assemblies and the text they are described in.
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