1. Which place in Kerala has found mention in the Sangam literature and a number of classical European historical sources?

a) Nedumala caves

b) Edakkal Caves

c) Muziris

d) Vizhinjam rock caves

Muziris is the right answer.
Muziris was an ancient seaport and urban center in Kerala that dates from 1st century BC. Muziris has found mention in the Sangam literature and a number of classical European historical sources. The port was a key to the trade between southern India and the Phoenicians, the Egyptians, the Greeks and the Roman Empire. The important known commodities exported from Muziris were spices, semi-precious stones (such as beryl), pearls, diamonds, sapphires, ivory etc. Though the Roman trade declined from the 5th century AD, the former Muziris attracted the attention of other nationalities, particularly the Chinese and the Arabs, presumably till the devastating floods of Periyar in the 14th century. The exact location of Muziris is still not known to historians and archaeologists. It is generally speculated to be situated around present day Kodungallur, a town situated 18 miles north of Cochin.

2. Who founded the Ananda Maha Sabha and Anandamatham?

a) Narayana Guru

(b) Ayya Vaikundar

(c) Brahmananda Swami Sivayogi

(d) Vakkom Moulavi

Brahmananda Swami Sivayogi is the right answer.
Brahmananda Swami Sivayogi (1852 – 1929) was a sanyasi from Kerala, India who founded the Ananda Maha Sabha and Anandamatham (religion of bliss). An atheist, he denounced idol worship and religions. He propounded the theory that ananda (happiness or bliss) should be the touchstone of any human activity. The movement he spearheaded played an important role in the renaissance of Kerala society.

3. Mudisoodum Perumal was the childwood name of a social reformer who worked for the upliftment of the dalit Hindus in the then Kingdom of Travancore. Name him

a) Narayana Guru

(b) Ayya Vaikundar

(c) Brahmananda Swami Sivayogi

(d) Vakkom Moulavi

Ayya Vaikundar is the right answer.
According to the religious book of Vaikundar followers Akilam, tells of a legend of a child who was born dead, and then the soul of the deva Sampooranathevan was placed in the body. According to the legend, the parents found the child still for a time immediately after birth, then the child began to behave normally. Thereafter, that boy grew up called Muthukutty in human history, and Sampooranathevan in Ayyavazhi mythology.

4. Vedadikara Nirupanam is the work of

a) Narayana Guru

(b) Chattampi Swamikal

(c) Brahmananda Swami Sivayogi

(d) Vakkom Moulavi

Chattampi Swamikal is the right answer
Chattampi Swamikal (1853–1924) was a Hindu sage and social reformer. Swamikal along with his contemporary, Narayana Guru, strived to reform the heavily ritualistic and caste-ridden Hindu society of the late 19th century Kerala. Swamikal believed that the different religions are different paths leading to the same place. He was buried at his Samadhistanam at Panmana. Vedadikara Nirupanam is considered as one of his greatest works. It refuted the baseless customs and rules that existed in Kerala. For the first time in the region's history the work questioned the monopolisation of Vedas, sciences and education by a minority. Vedadikara Nirupanam has infused strength and inspiration to the subaltern groups to fight for their rights and spread the ideas that lead the movements for reformation and renaissance in Kerala.

5. Book Christumatha Nirupanam is written by

a) Narayana Guru

(b) Chattampi Swamikal

(c) Brahmananda Swami Sivayogi

(d) Vakkom Moulavi

Chattampi Swamikal is the right answer.
The book Christumatha Nirupanam contains Two books – the Christumatha Saram (meaning Cream of Bible) and Christumatha Chethanam. The first part is a sum up of what is Christianity. Swami describes the life of Christ in a long sentence, which is like placing an elephant in a mustard seed. In second book quoting the Christian scriptures Swami points out how far the missionaries misinterpret and divert the concepts in the Bible and are working against the teachings of Christ.

6. Pracheena Malayalam and Advaita Chinthapaddhathi are written by

a) Narayana Guru

(b) Chattampi Swamikal

(c) Brahmananda Swami Sivayogi

(d) Vakkom Moulavi

Chattampi Swamikal is the right answer.
Pracheena Malayalam aimed at awakening the mind of the people of the region divided by various complexes to a collective sense of 'We'. Convictions of common origin and belief in a common ancestry were indispensable for the development of a collective mindset. Pracheena Malayalam and Vedadhikara Nirupanam of Swami were the theoretical weapons that gave strength to the marginalised to fight against the colonial-feudal dominance that existed in Kerala.

7. Atmopadesa Satakam is the philosophical masterpiece of which social reformer?

a) Narayana Guru

(b) Chattampi Swamikal

(c) Brahmananda Swami Sivayogi

(d) Vakkom Moulavi

Narayana Guru is the right answer.
Narayana's literary and philosophical masterpiece is claimed to be Atmopadesa Satakam (one hundred verses of self-instruction), written in Malayalam around 1897

8. Advaita Ashram at Aluva was founded by

a) Narayana Guru

(b) Chattampi Swamikal

(c) Brahmananda Swami Sivayogi

(d) Vakkom Moulavi

Narayana Guru is the right answer.
In 1913, he founded the Advaita Ashram at Aluva, dedicating it to the principle of Om Sahodaryam Sarvatra (all men are equal in the eyes of God).

9. "I have never come across one who is spiritually greater than him". Rabindranath Tagore is reported to have said this about whom?

a) Narayana Guru

(b) Chattampi Swamikal

(c) Brahmananda Swami Sivayogi

(d) Vakkom Moulavi

Narayana Guru is the right answer.
Rabindranath Tagore is reported to have said that "I have never come across one who is spiritually greater than Swami Narayana Guru or a person who is at par with him in spiritual attainment" after meeting Narayana Guru at his ashram in Sivagiri in 1922.

10. Who was the founder of the Atmavidya Sangham

a) Narayana Guru

(b) Chattampi Swamikal

(c) Brahmananda Swami Sivayogi

(d) Vagbhatananda

Vagbhatananda is the right answer.
Vagbhatananda (1885 –1939) was a social reformer in British India. He was the founder of the Atmavidya Sangham, which was fundamentally a group of professionals and intellectuals who sought change. In 1920, Vagbhatananda founded the Atmavidya Sangham, whose principles he outlined in an Advaita treatise titled Atmavidya. Unlike the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP), which had been established by Narayana Guru and was significant around the same time, the Atmavidya Sangham comprised mostly professional and intellectual people and it had a more secular approach to reform. It was instrumental in advancing the development of class organisation among peasants of the region, spreading Marxist–Leninist ideas as a counter to the overbearing feudal and religiously orthodox establishment.

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