Answers: Thedal Quiz 13

Thanks again for your active participation in our 13th quiz where the answers had a twist. This was our first multiple-choice type quiz and the response has been overwhelming. We thank all readers and respondents for their active participation.

Interestingly none of them got all answers right. There was one anonymous person who answered 9 right. Below readers got 8 right:

Sriniketh, Achyuthan-Harshini, Soumya, Sudarshan and Sasikala. 

Many congratulations!

Here are the answers to the questions:

1. Which incarnation of Lord Vishnu was the biggest in terms of size? 

Varaha. While Mathsya and Vamana were enormous, it is the Lord in the form of a wild boar who held the whole world like a small ball in his snout thus becoming the largest Avatar known to us. Interestingly Varaha avatar is depicted in several paintings and sculptures where the earth is shown as a sphere. This validates our knowledge of geography much before the influence of the Western world.

2. Hanuman was one of the two who appeared in both Ramayana and Mahabharatha periods. Name the other

Jambavan. While Jambavan figured prominently in Ramayana helping Lord Rama rescue his wife Goddess Sita, he is also mentioned in Dwapara yuga. When Lord Krishna was wrongfully accused of stealing the Shyamanthaka Gem, he went in search for it. It took him to the abode of Jamabavan who had retrieved the gem from a lion who had killed the gem’s original owner. Krishna and Jambavan fought fiercely for 28 days, before Jambavan realised that Krishna was Lord Rama himself. He offered his prayers and the gem and gave away his daughter Jambavathi to Krishna in marriage. There are also other celestials like Narada, Durvasa and Parashurama who appeared in both Ramayana and Mahabharata.

3. In the verse, ‘manojavam maarutha thulyavegam’, the word maarutha represents whom? 

Lord Vayu. Though the sloka is about Lord Hanuman, in this verse, his speed is compared with his father Lord Vayu. ‘Maarutha’ is wind in Sanskrit (and Tamil).

4. How many children did Kunthi have?

Four. Apart from Yudhishtra, Bhima and Arjuna, she also had Karna before her marriage to Paandu through divine means. Nakula and Sahadeva were the sons of Maadhri, another wife of Paandu.

5. In Mahabharata, which Brahmachari got the respect of first worship in Yudishtra’s Rajasuya yaga? 

Lord Krishna. Though it may look like an irony, Lord Krishna who married all the Gopika’s of Brindavana is the primary Brahmachari in the world. The reason being, while he was surrounded by all such women, he remained unaffected by any of them.

6. Who is the first and foremost deity of Tirupathi temple ?

Lord Adivaraha. The shrine of Tirumala originally belonged to Adivaraha. As per legend, after saving the Earth from the demon Hiranyaksha, Lord Varaha stayed on this hill on the northern bank of Swami Pushkarini. In Kaliyuga, Lord Varaha offered this land to Lord Venkateswara. Even today, offerings such as the first bell, puja etc are made to Varahaswamy before they are offered to Lord Venkateshwara.

7. Who wrote Sadagopar Anthathi, the work in praise of Nammazhwaar? 

Kambar. When Kambar completed his magnum opus ‘Kambaramayanam‘, he had trouble in getting it ‘staged’ (called ‘Arangetram’ in Tamil). He was advised to pray to the Vaishnavite Saint Nammazhwar (also called Satagopa). Kambar did so and upon completion of this work, he was able to stage his work at the Srirangam Temple.

8. Who is considered the elder brother of Andal? 

Sri Ramanuja. Though Sri Ramanuja was born several centuries after Andal, there is a story behind how he came to be known as Godhagraja (elder brother of Andal). In her work ‘Naachiyaar Thirumozhi’, Andal had promised to serve 100 pots of butter and 100 pots of Sweet pongal to Lord Azhagar of Madurai if he could marry Lord Ranganatha. However, after her union with Lord she never got to fulfill her promise. So Sri Ramanuja took it upon himself to do the same on behalf of Andal. When he entered Srivilliputhur temple, Sri Andal welcomed him and called, ‘nam koil annano?’ (Is it my elder brother from Srirangam?) and from that day Sri Ramanujar is regarded as the elder brother of Andal.

9. In which temple is the deity, ‘pathineettam padi karuppan’ (18th step Karuppan) the gatekeeper? 

Kallazaghar temple. This deity originally wanted to cause harm to the Lord but instead fell in love with the divine form of the Lord Sundararaja and decided to be the gatekeeper of the temple. Even today, all activities of the temple are supervised by him and the accounts of the temple are presented before him for his approval. More on this here. 

10. Which temple did King Suryavarman II build?

Angkor Wat in Kambodia. He was a Khmer king from 1113 AD who was the builder of Angkor Wat, the largest temple in the world ((non-functioning now) dedicated to God Vishnu.