Mythology+Etymology+History Quiz, conducted by Ria Chopra, Vindhuja Vijayan and Disha Rawal

1. Meh Quiz
finals

2. Special thanks to-
Bhavya Sah
Shagun Tyagi

3. 1. Shwetaketu is a character who appears in the story of Mahabharata and
The Upanishads. He is the son of sage Uddalaku and the grandson of
sage Aruni.
Shwetakatu goes for his education at the age of twelve in the epics and
comes back convinced that he is consummately educated. The
Chandogya Upanishad details his story from ignorance and conceit to
wisdom, in which the phrase ‘tat twam asi’ is first used. However, what
practice did he institute in Hinduism, which finds support in various
other religions too?

4. Safety slide

5. Adultery

6. 2. The current Head of the __ family is Balthazar Napoleon IV de
Bourbon, a lawyer by profession. De Bourbon's claim of link to the
Bourborns of France was endorsed by Prince Michael of Greece in his
historical novel, Le Rajah Bourbon.
In 2008, Prince Michael favoured a DNA test, "perhaps from a surviving
lock of Bourbon hair", to verify De Bourbon's claim of kinship.De
Bourbon stated that he was ready to undergo the DNA test, but stated
that he wanted to know "if the original samples will be available for
matching since there were frequent inter-marriages among European
royal families." Which family?

7. Safety slide

8. Adultery

9. Historians differ on the origin of this group. According to one view, their ancestors came from Central Asia
near the Caspian Sea, and the sea’s alternate name Bahar-e-Khizar lent the group their name. In sanskrit,
this word can be translated to destroyer of enemy . Studies have propounded that this group "remained one
of the most vibrant identity of Central Asia in BC era and later ruled over many princely states in northern
India for hundred of years." In the modern context, members of this group have been noted for their
interesting expression of ethnic identity.

10. Safety slide

11. Gujjar

12. The species names of this particular creature atropos, lachesis and styx
are all from Greek myth and related to death. The first refers to the
member of the three Moirai who cuts the threads of life of all beings;
the second to the Moira who allots the correct amount of life to a
being; and the last refers to the river of the dead. In addition the
genus name Acherontia is derived from Acheron, a river of Greek
myth that was said to be a branch of the river Styx.This isn’t
surprising, given that it, along with other closely related fauna, was
seen as a symbol of life and death in Greek culture.
This creature has appeared in many popular culture contexts, with
the most famous one replacing an important marker on its body with
another person’s work, who has himself used this creature in his
other work.

13. Safety slide

14. Death’s Head Moth

15. This important locality in South India,
which is famous for a particular complex,
derives its name from a palace that exists
in the locality by the same name. The
style of architecture that the palace is
built in is shared by several other
important buildings in the city as well.
The name of this palace is said to be
derived from the Urdu words for ‘six
gardens’. The complex which the locality
is famous fow, however, is known for a
completely different reason.

16. Safety slide

17. Chepauk

18. This story, known as a predominantly Hindu tale,
has been re written by Abu al-Faiz, Akbar’s poet
laureate and interpreted with a sufi understanding.
Faizi identifies conflicts between love and intellect,
love and frenzy and love and beauty, which serve as
themes in the story. He also goes on to identify
points where the excess of love leads to disaster.
Which story, which has seen many retellings in
contemporary times, and has been eulogized for the
same reasons as the story of Penelope in Roman
mythology?

19. Safety slide

20. Nala and Damayanthi

21. Sethu Lakshmi Bayi and Sethu Parvathi
Bayi, grand daughters of Raja Ravi Verma
enjoy their own rightful place in the
history of the region. While Lakshmi
Bayi is known for reforms like abolition
of Devadasi system and prohibition of
animal sacrifice, Parvathi Bayi is known
for her promotion of Carnatic music.
However, what did Parvathi Bayi do in
1939, which came into controversy this
year?

22. Safety slide

23. Sabarimala

24. X is the older name of a very important Indian city, as
attested in Buddhist, Jain, Sanskrit, Greek and Chinese
sources. According to sources, X is derived from the Sanskrit
words for ‘with’ and ‘houses’. The Adi Purana states that this
city previously referred to is called X "because of its
magnificent buildings which had significant banners as their
arms". However, X happens to be a frequently used name
even today.

25. Safety slide

26. Saket

27. RMS Carpathia, along with two more ships, were built in response to
the tough competition that Cunard Line was getting from White Star
Line.The three new ships were not especially fast, as they were
designed for the immigrant trade, but provided significant cost
savings in fuel economy. The three ships became both instruments
and models through which Cunard was able to successfully compete
with its larger rivals – most notably White Star Line. However, what is
Carpathia’s most important contribution in history, for which its
captain was knighted?

28. Safety slide

29. Rescued 700+ survivors from Titanic’s
lifeboats

30. Mentioned in the Bible and other religious texts, the
occupation is widely invoked and explored in literature, from
the Ugaritic epics of early centuries BC to modern
poetry.Held in high esteem in some cultures and times, the
practice was vilified in others, such as the Chinese Cultural
Revolution. It also has parallels in India.
In ancient Egypt, there were specific ways in which those in
this occupation had to impersonate Isis and Nephyts. For
example the portrayer's body had to be shaved completely,
not have any children, and tattooed the names Isis or Nephyts
on their shoulders for identification.
Which occupation?

31. Safety slide

33. In 1902, Sawai Madho Singh 2 was invited to
King Edward VII’s coronation. In those times,
going outside the country meant getting
polluted, or in some cases, losing your caste.
However, Sawai Madho Singh was not in a
position to decline the invitation. What did he
do instead, which made The Globe call his
disembarkment in London ‘a remarkable sight’?
One can find ‘exhibits’ from this event at the
Jaipur City Palace.

34. Safety slide

35. He decided to carry thousands of litres of water from
the holy Ganges with him to England to prevent his
soul being polluted.

36. Mirra Alfassa known to her followers as The Mother, was a spiritual
guru, an occultist and a collaborator for an important freedom fighter,
who considered her to be of equal yogic stature to him and called her
by the name "The Mother". She was an influence and inspiration to
many writers and gurus on the subject of Integral Yoga, and had once
published an article titled "The Dream" in which she suggested a place
on earth that no nation could claim as its sole property and for all
humanity with no distinction. Which Indian ‘city’ did she end up
establishing?

37. Safety slide

38. Auroville

39. This phrase, which the Bhagavata Purana calls the
‘loftiest Vedantic thought’, originally comes from the
Maha Upanishads. However the Hitopadesha uses this
phrase to a very different end, wherein a jackal uses
this phrase to convince a gullible deer into trusting him,
and ultimately lays a trap to slay him. The Panchatantra
has also used this phrase in a similarly negative sense.
This phrase is however a very frequently seen part of
Indian political discourse, and is engraved in the
entrance hall of the Parliament.
Which phrase?

40. Safety slide

41. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam

42. Petrichor is defined as the smell of the
earth after rains. Where ‘petra’ stands for
rocks, ‘ichor’ possibly comes from its
association to smell, which was made
when Clement of Alexandria, in a strong
polemic to Greek gods, used ‘ichor’ to
describe an ulcer discharge. What did
‘ichor’ originally mean, and why was this
a polemic?

43. Safety slide

44. Ethereal fluid-blood of gods

45. With which text did these phrases enter the English language? This text has been
described as the second most common source of phrases in English after
Shakespeare.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
A house divided against itself cannot stand
A labour of love
A thorn in the flesh
Bite the dust
From time to time
Pearls before Swine

46. Safety slide

47. The King James Bible

48. Below is a description from a movie that was made
in a style completely different from the
producer’s usual, featuring nudity and sexual
imagery. Name the movie and the producer.
The Pastoral Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven: A mythical Greco-
Roman world of colorful centaurs and "centaurettes", cupids, fauns and
other figures from classical mythology is portrayed to Beethoven's
music. A gathering for a festival to honor Bacchus, the god of wine, is
interrupted by Zeus, who creates a storm and directs Vulcan to forge
lightning bolts for him to throw at the attendees

49. Safety slide

50. Fantasia, Walt Disney

51. In the earliest times Greek
divinities were worshiped in
the form of a heap of stones
or a shapeless column of
stone or wood. In many
parts of Greece there were
piles of stones by the sides
of roads, especially at their
crossings, and on the
boundaries of lands.This
structure is one of these.
What is it called, and which
Greek god’s name is
associated with these?

52. Safety slide

53. Herma, Hermes- the phallic god of
fertility, roads and borders

54. His (Odin's) men rushed forwards
without armour, were as mad as dogs
or wolves, bit their shields, and were
strong as bears or wild oxen, and
killed people at a blow, but neither
fire nor iron told upon them. This
was called Berserkergang.
This word, used to describe warriors
who fight in a trance like fury, is
possible originally derived from bear-
shirt. However, this word gave rise to
a very frequently used word in the
English language, which is used in
non-military contexts too.

55. Safety slide

56. Berserkers, Berserk

57. Due to geographical conditions, a lot of entities in this
area were named after the Greek goddess Iris. A local
newspaper which was published from 1846-1854 was
also called The Iris, Iris Island became Goat Island, and
the publication The Daily Iris became the Bingham
Daily Republican. Which area, which now gets its name
from an Iroquoian word meanign strait?

58. Safety slide

59. Niagara Falls

60. Thomas Bowdler, made a certain change
to Shakespeare's work triggered by how
his father used to read out Shakespeare's
to him. This change cut 10% of the
original text size. This resulted in the
phrase Bowdlerization coming about in
the English language. What did Bowdler
do?

61. Safety slide

62. Family Shakespeare

63. Bulgarian artists, in opposition to EU's
article 13, vandalized this statue located
in Strasbourg, France- trying to express
that this article would've made this man's
supposedly great activity illegal. Whose
statue?

64. Safety slide

65. Guttenberg

66. This very famous personality faced a tough
choice between staying in Nazi Germany and
USA during the world war period. Germany had
taken against people of his profession, since
their work was said to attach the Volk's dignity.
On the other hand, this man believed that
America is a 'giant mistake'. However, he chose
to flee Germany ultimately, saving just his
collection of sculpture, his library and a
particular piece of furniture.

67. Safety slide

69. According to the Anushasana Parva, this
figure in Indian Mythology took birth
when Prajapati Daksh, after drinking the
Amrit churned in the Samudra Manthan,
burped. Which figure?

70. Safety slide

72. The PDSA Dickin medal, instituted after
World War 2, carries the words 'For
Gallantry' and 'We also serve'. The first
medal was given because the recipient
'delivered messages in exceptionally
harsh conditions', saving lives. Who is the
Dickin medal given to?

73. Safety slide

75. This food is banned by the Torah
because of certain physiological features.
Some Islamic groups also consider it to
be haram, and the British Royal Family is
also barred from eating it-owing to the
increased risk of disease. Which food?

76. Safety slide