All quizzes / Chapter 17 / Concept quiz 17.1-17.6
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Question 1
What specific question does Arjuna ask at the start of Chapter 17? A He asks how to understand people who worship with faith while disregarding scriptural rules: are they sattvik, rajasik, or tamasik? B He asks whether desire, anger, and greed should be kept as tools for spiritual discipline. C He asks Krishna to describe the cosmic form again so he can overcome fear. D He asks whether the perishable body or the imperishable soul should be called Purushottama.
Arjuna is not asking about faith in general. He asks about faith that is sincere but not guided by Shastra, and whether such faith belongs to sattva, rajas, or tamas.
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Question 2
How does Krishna answer Arjuna’s question in verse 17.2? A He says embodied beings have three kinds of faith, born from their nature: sattvik, rajasik, and tamasik. B He says faith has only one form, so all worship produces the same inner result. C He says faith is irrelevant because only the external ritual determines spiritual worth. D He says faith is always sattvik whenever a person feels strongly about a belief.
Krishna connects faith to svabhava, one’s formed inner nature. Faith is not automatically pure; it takes the color of the gunas operating in the person.
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Question 3
What does verse 17.3 mean when it says a person is made of faith? A A person’s deepest faith expresses their inner nature and shapes what they become. B A person’s faith has no effect on conduct, character, or future direction. C A person becomes pure simply by claiming to have faith, regardless of what that faith seeks. D A person should ignore faith and rely only on forceful austerity.
Krishna treats faith as formative. The object and quality of faith reveal the heart’s direction and gradually shape character.
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Question 4
How does verse 17.4 show the guna behind a person’s worship? A Sattvik people worship divine beings, rajasik people turn toward yakshas and rakshasas, and tamasik people worship spirits and lower forces. B Sattvik people worship wealth, rajasik people worship scripture, and tamasik people worship the Supreme with clarity. C All three gunas worship the same object in the same way, so worship cannot reveal inner quality. D Tamasik worship is described as the highest because it is detached from scriptural guidance.
The object of devotion reveals the quality of the mind: upward and clarifying, power-seeking and restless, or darkened and confused.
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Question 5
Why does Krishna condemn the severe austerity described in verses 17.5-17.6? A It is not authorized by scripture, is driven by hypocrisy, ego, desire, and attachment, and harms both the body and the Divine dwelling within. B It is condemned only because it is too easy and does not require enough physical hardship. C It is rejected because all discipline is tamasik, even when it is guided by Dharma and humility. D It is praised as sattvik because pain itself is always a sign of spiritual progress.
Krishna distinguishes true discipline from violent self-display. Austerity ruled by ego and craving injures the body and disrespects the Lord within.
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Question 6
How should a learner evaluate faith, worship, and austerity in Bhagavad Gita 17.1-17.6? A Faith must be examined by its guna, object, motive, and alignment with scripture; sincerity alone does not make worship or austerity pure. B Faith outside scripture is always pure as long as the person feels intense emotion. C The body should be harmed to prove devotion because Krishna is separate from the body. D The gunas affect food and charity but have no connection with faith or worship.
This opening section sets up the chapter: faith, worship, and discipline are judged by their inner quality, not by intensity or outward appearance alone.
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Previous concept quiz Chapter 16: Shlokas 21-24 Next concept quiz Chapter 17: Shlokas 7-22
Return to Bhagavad Gita Chapter 17 , review shlokas 1-6 , or take the Sanskrit vocabulary quiz for 17.1-17.6 .
