Q 01/05

Roughly how many followers does Hinduism have, making it the world's third-largest religion?

A) 500 million

B) 2 billion

C) 800 million

D) 1.17 billion

Answer · why

D) 1.17 billion

That is about 15 percent of the world's population, mostly in India and Nepal.

Q 02/05

What term, meaning 'eternal law', have Hindus used since the 19th century to describe their religion?

A) Vaidika Dharma

B) Sanatana Dharma

C) Arya Dharma

D) Buddha Dharma

Answer · why

B) Sanatana Dharma

The word 'Hindu' itself began as an exonym, a name given by outsiders.

Q 03/05

Hindu texts are classified into Shruti and Smriti. What do the two words literally mean?

A) 'Old' and 'new'

B) 'Sung' and 'spoken'

C) 'Sacred' and 'secular'

D) 'Heard' and 'remembered'

Answer · why

D) 'Heard' and 'remembered'

Shruti, chiefly the Vedas, is regarded as revealed to the rishis and carries the highest authority.

Q 04/05

How many Vedas are there?

A) Four

B) Three

C) Seven

D) Ten

Answer · why

A) Four

Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda, each subdivided into Samhitas, Aranyakas, Brahmanas and Upanishads.

Q 05/05

Which is the oldest known Vedic Sanskrit text, composed mostly between about 1500 and 1000 BCE?

A) Atharvaveda

B) Yajurveda

C) Rigveda

D) Samaveda

Answer · why

C) Rigveda

Its early layers are among the oldest surviving texts in any Indo-European language.