Mahabharata Quiz

1. During the disastrous dice match, who throws the dice on Duryodhana’s behalf and uses his skill to defeat Yudhishthira?

2. A talented archer practices before a clay image of the teacher who refused to instruct him, then gives his right thumb as guru dakshina. Who is that teacher?

3. Which warrior is born with natural armor and earrings and later becomes one of the Pandavas’ most formidable opponents?

4. Bhishma will not fight someone he regards as having been born female. Whose presence before Arjuna enables Bhishma to be brought down?

5. Kunti privately asks a great warrior to join the Pandavas, revealing that he is her firstborn son and therefore their elder half-brother. Who is he?

6. Two branches of the Kuru family gather for the epic’s climactic war. Where does this battle take place?

7. According to the traditional account of the epic’s composition, who dictates the Mahabharata while Ganesha serves as its scribe?

8. The Pandavas discover that a highly flammable palace has been prepared as a trap and escape through a tunnel. In which place does this episode occur?

9. A young warrior knows how to penetrate the Chakravyuha formation but not how to escape it. Who enters the formation and is killed after being surrounded?

10. Drona is led to believe that his son Ashwatthama has died after an elephant of the same name is killed. Which Pandava makes the carefully worded statement that helps convince him?

11. On the eve of battle, a warrior is overwhelmed by the prospect of fighting his relatives and teachers. Which pair conducts the dialogue known as the Bhagavad Gita?

12. In the final mace duel, which Pandava defeats Duryodhana by striking his thigh?

13. For their final year of exile, the Pandavas live in disguise at the court of which king?

14. Which character becomes the wife shared by the five Pandava brothers?

15. Karna possesses a divine weapon that can be used only once. Krishna compels him to expend it against Ghatotkacha, preserving it from which intended target?

16. A ruler repeatedly tries to uphold dharma, yet his weakness for gambling helps bring disaster upon his family. Who is he?