Read the following excerpt carefully and answer any three questions :
A prayer to Agni
Here are two verses from the Rigveda invoking Agni , the God of Fire:
Bring, O strong one, this sacrifice of ours to the Gods, O wise one, as a liberal giver. Bestow on us, O priest, abundant food. Agni, obtain, by sacrificing, mighty wealth for us. Pro-cure, O Agni, for ever to him who pays to you (the gift of) nourishment the wonderful cow. May a son be ours, offspring that continues our line ...
Verses such as these were composed in a special kind of Sanskrit, known as Vedic Sanskrit. They were taught orally to men belonging to priestly families.
(a) Vedic Sanskrit is considered to be important because
(i) It was the language of common people
(ii) The Vedic verses were written in Sanskrit
(iii) Sanskrit was not spoken by Brahmins
(iv) Sanskrit was the major language of South India.
(b) Why were sacrifices performed during the Vedic Period?
(i) For the birth of daughters
(ii) For the birth of sons
(iii) For spiritual satisfaction
(iv) For seeking the blessings of Buddha
(c) Choose the correct option.
Assertion(A) :Agni was the God of Fire in the Vedic tradition.
Reason(R) :Therefore offerings were made to agni so that in form of smoke they would reach the Gods living in the sky and invoke their blessings
(i) Both A and R are correct and R is the correct explanation of A.
(ii) Both A and R are correct but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(iii) A is incorrect but R is correct.
(iv) R is incorrect but A is correct.
(d) Consider the following statements :
(a) Rig Veda consists of hymns in praise of Agni, Indra, Soma etc
(b) Many of these hymns were chanted when sacrifices were performed.
Choose the correct option:
(i) Only (a) is correct
(ii) Only (b) is correct.
(iii) Both (a) and (b) are correct.
(iv) Neither (a) nor (b) is correct
