The earliest occurrence of the mantra famous as Gayatri Mantra is found in which of the following texts?
- A.Bhagavad Gita
- B.Atharva Veda
- C.Rig Veda
- D.Manusmriti
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, Rig Veda. The Gayatri Mantra first appears in the third mandala of the Rigveda and is ascribed to the sage Vishvamitra. It is addressed to Savitr, the sun, and it is composed in the Gayatri metre, from which it takes its popular name. The Rigveda is the oldest of the four Vedas and is arranged in ten mandalas, the second to the seventh being the family books.
Option A, the Bhagavad Gita, is part of the Bhishma Parva of the Mahabharata and belongs to a much later stage of literature than the Vedic hymns. Option B, the Atharva Veda, is the fourth Veda, a collection of charms, spells and remedies; it is older than the epics but still later than the Rigveda. Option D, the Manusmriti, is a law book, and although it is important for this region because it defines Brahmavarta as the land between the Saraswati and the Drishadvati, it does not contain the first occurrence of the mantra.
Read the full article: Ancient Haryana: Rakhigarhi, Kurukshetra and Vedic Age
Practice Questions
View allThe Vedic Aryans lived in the area called Sapt-Sindhu, which means area drained by seven rivers. One of the rivers among the seven is Jhelum. What was its ancient name?
- A.Askini
- B.Parushni
- C.Vipash
- D.Vitasta
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The Jhelum is called Vitasta in the Rigveda, and it is one of the seven rivers of the Sapta Sindhu, the land in which the hymns were composed.
Read the full explanation →Satapatha Brahmana and Taittiriya Brahmana are the Brahmana texts of ______
- A.Samaveda
- B.Atharvaveda
- C.Rigveda
- D.Yajurveda
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The Shatapatha Brahmana belongs to the Shukla or White Yajurveda and the Taittiriya Brahmana to the Krishna or Black Yajurveda, so both are Brahmana texts of the Yajurveda.
Read the full explanation →Which of the three Gods were especially important in the Rigvedic period?
- A.Rudra, Vishnu and Indra
- B.Agni, Indra and Soma
- C.Indra, Varun and Rudra
- D.Agni, Indra and Vishnu
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These three receive the largest number of hymns in the Rigveda. Indra, the war god and breaker of forts, has the greatest number; Agni, the fire that carries the offering to the gods, comes next; and Soma, both a plant and a god, has the whole of the ninth mandala…
Read the full explanation →The Harappan site of Rakhigarhi is located in which district of Haryana?
- A.Fatehabad
- B.Hisar
- C.Rohtak
- D.Bhiwani
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Rakhigarhi lies in Hisar district and covers the land of two villages, Rakhi Khas and Rakhi Shahpur, on a dried channel of the Drishadvati, today called the Chautang.
Read the full explanation →A terracotta model of a plough was found at which Harappan site of Haryana?
- A.Banawali
- B.Kunal
- C.Siswal
- D.Balu
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Banawali in Fatehabad district, excavated by R. S. Bisht, gave a terracotta model of a plough, which is one of the clearest pieces of evidence for ploughed fields in the Harappan world; the other famous evidence is the ploughed field surface found at Kalibangan in Rajasthan.
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