Short Answer ( 50 points)

Retell any two of the following five stories and explain their significance.

Vishnu’s Maya (Narada the Sage)

Krishna the Butter Thief

Krishna and the Gopis

Ganesha’s New Head

Brahma and Vishnu with Shiva’s Pillar

 

Essay (25 points)

Answer either one of the following two essays. Support your general statements with examples.

How does the Bhagavad-Gita (which illustrates the concepts of samsara and dharma) support the caste system?

Explain the concept of rebirth using the terms: yoga, karma, maya and atman.

 

Bhagavad-Gita Summary

The Bhagavad-Gita is a small section of the Hindu epic The Mahabharata. It is a philosophical treatise written in the form of a dialogue between the warrior Arjuna and his charioteer, Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu. The setting for the dialogue is a battlefield on which Arjuna and his brothers (the Pandavas) have arrayed their armies against their cousins (the sons of Dhritarashtra) who have illegitimately taken possession of the throne.

Arjuna has asked Krishna to bring him between the armies prior to engagement so that he can view the enemy. The enemy, as he must have known all along, is his kin and he is dismayed by the situation: "O Krishna, I see my own relations here anxious to fight, and my limbs grow weak; my mouth is dry, my body shakes, and my hair is standing on ... I do not see that any good can come from killing our relations in battle."

The question of how we are to act in this world and gain moksha is the central issue of the Bhagavad-Gita. How do we fulfill our dharma without building up bad karma, especially when our dharma requires us to do things that we find reprehensible, such as killing? The answer is found in this most sacred of Hindu texts.

Family tree of Arjuna:

                                            Kuru

                Pandu                                                         Dhritarashtra

Arjuna Yudhishthira* Others         Duryodhana* Bhishma    Others

* indicates claimant to the throne

Assignment:

The first four chapters of the Bhagavad-Gita have been reproduced in your book. They contain the essential teachings of the work. You are to read all four chapters. You can begin reading in the third column (p. 54 of the original text) where Arjuna says, "O Krishna, drive my chariot between the two armies." (Sanjaya, whose name you’ll run across, is the narrator.)