Vishnu - Quiz

1. Vishnu is one of the three biggest gods in Hinduism. Who are the others? – Brahma and Shiva. Together they are considered as the holy trinity (trimurthi). 
2. Vishnu has 4 arms, and holds 4 objects. Name those objects. – Shankh (conch-shell), Chakra (discus), Gada (mace) and Padma (lotus). His weapon is the Sudarsanacakra or discus (chakra), perhaps representative of his association with the sun but also, with its thousand spokes, symbolic of the wheel of time.  The conch shell trumpet sounds the Creation, the mace (gada)  represents strength, and the lotus, represents freedom and the beauty of life.
3. The first four avatars of Lord Vishnu appeared in the Satya Yuga. Which of them came first? – Matsya. (In Matsya Avatar Vishnu incarnated as a fish. His duty was to transfer all the species of plants and animals to the new world and protect them from a great deluge. He pulled a boat that carried all the plants and animals and transferred them to the new world.)
4. The second avatar to appear was Kurma Avatar. What kind of animal was Kurma? – A tortoise. The tortoise incarnation was the second avatar of Lord Vishnu. When the devas (gods) and asuras (demons) were churning the sea for Amrita (the nectar of immortality) the mountain Mandarachala started to sink. Vishnu, as Kurma, bore the weight of the mountain
5. Which avatar of Vishnu was incarnated in order to kill the demon Hiranyakashipu? –Narasimha. Hiranyakashipu had acquired a special boon that no man, or god, could kill him; he could neither be killed at day nor at night; neither indoors nor outdoors, neither on space nor on earth and not by any weapons. Narasimha came in a form which was neither a god nor a man, at twilight (neither day nor night), in his courtyard (neither indoors nor outdoors), put him on his lap (neither space nor earth) and with his nails (no weapons) killed him.
6. Narasimha was neither a god nor a man, but what form did he take? – Narasiṁha had a human body but a lion’s face and claws. It was with these claws that Narasimha killed Hiranyakashipu, disembowelling him.
7. The fifth avatar of Vishnu took what form? – Vamana (Dwarf). Lord Vishnu incarnated as a dwarf called Vamana in the Treta Yuga. An asura king, Bali, had defeated Indra and became the king of the three worlds. When the gods pleaded for Vishnu’s aid he incarnated as Vamana. When Bali was organising a yagna (ritual offerings) for the prosperity of his kingdom, Vamana came. Bali promised him to give whatever he asked for. Vamana asked him for a place that will fit inside the length of his three steps and then he started to grow taller and taller. With his two steps he covered the earth and Swarga (heaven). Then he asked Bali where to place his third step. Bali was amazed. He thought – then said that Vamana should place his foot on his head. Vamana did so and blessed him for keeping his promise.
8. Which was the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu, born in Ayodhya? – Rama. Rama was born to King Dasharatha and Kausalya. He is remembered for his respect to his parents and as an ideal ruler. He defeated the Asura Ravana, King of Lanka, who had captured Rama’s wife Sita.
9. In his sixth avatar Vishnu incarnated as Parashurama. What is Parshu, Parashurama’s weapon? – An Axe. Parashurama was born in the Brahmin family of Jamadagni and Renuka. He received his axe after performing a difficult penance to Lord Shiva. Once, a Kshatriya king named Kartavirya Arjuna came to the hut of Jamadagni. Jamadagni had the divine cow, Kamadhenu, who gave to Jamadagni whatever he asked for. With Kamadhenu’s help Jamadagni was able to serve the king well.When Kartavirya Arjuna came to know about the cow, he asked Jamadagni to sell it to him at any price he liked. Jamadagni refused so the king forcefully took the cow. When Parashurama came to know about this, he set out to fight against Kartavirya Arjuna. He alone fought with the king and his huge army and defeated them. Parashurama then started punishing every cruel and evil Kshatriya king and saved the poor from their cruelty. Parashurama was said to be immortal and it is believed that he still lives in some part of the world.
10. According to North Indian myth, who was the 8th incarnation of Lord Vishnu, who appeared in the Dwapara Yuga? – Krishna. Krishna was the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. He was also the eighth son of Devaki and Vasudeva, but was brought up by Yasoda, his foster mother. Krishna killed his own uncle, Asura King Kansa. Later he acted as an advisor to the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra war and was the charioteer of Arjuna. He did much for the betterment of humans.
11. The first avatar of Lord Vishnu to appear in Kali Yuga was the founder of which religion? – Gautama Siddhartha, or Buddha, is hailed to be the ninth avatar of Lord Vishnu. He was born to the Sakhya king, Sudhodhana, in Lumbini, Nepal around 540 BC. He was brought up amidst luxury and cosseted by his father, but once, while exploring his kingdom, he saw a sick man, an old man, a dead man and an ascetic. This awoke in him a desire to know what the true nature of life was. So, leaving his wife, son and palace, he went out in search of truth. During a meditation under a Bodhi tree, in Bodh gaya, he attained enlightenment. He had many disciples and today people follow his teachings in Buddhism.
12. The last avatar of Vishnu is yet to come. What is its name? – Kalki avatar is expected to arrive at the end of Kali Yuga. Lord Vishnu will incarnate as the Kalki avatar, riding on a white horse and with a sword in his hand with which he will kill any evil person he sees. After Kali Yuga truth and peace will prevail in the world once more.
13. To recapitulate, which avatras appeared in which yugas? – The first four avatars of Vishnu (Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha) appeared in Satya or Krita Yuga, the first of the four Yugas, also called ‘The Golden Age’. The next three appeared in Treta Yuga (Vamana, Parasurama, Rama), the eighth (Krishna) in Dwapara Yuga and the ninth (Buddha) and tenth(Kalki)  in Kali Yuga.
14. Which Vishnu avatar occurs in both the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata? –Parashurama. In the Ramayana, Parashurama had given the bow of Shiva to King Janaka. In Mahabharata, Parashurama played an important role by serving as mentor to Bhishma, Drona and Karna and taught them war skills. 
15. What is the mount of Lord Vishnu? –Garuda is the mount (vahana) of the Lord Vishnu. Garuda is depicted as having the golden body of a strong man with a white face, red wings, and an eagle’s beak and with a crown on his head.
16. Vishnu is often depicted as resting on Shesha aka Adisesha.He is said to have descended to Earth in two human forms or avatars. What are those? –Lakshmana, brother of Rama; Balarama, brother of Krishna.