Origin and Development of Scriptures
17 Grade 10 Religious Education (HRE) questions on Origin and Development of Scriptures, with worked marking schemes. 17 questions are available on this topic in full.
Question 1
1 markWhich monk recited the Vinaya Pitaka at the First Buddhist Council?
A. Ananda
B. Mahakassapa
C. Moggaliputta Tissa
D. Upali
(1 mark)
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5 marks(a) State the group of disciples who first arranged the teachings of Mahavira into the Agams. (1 mark)
(b) Explain two challenges the Jain community faced in preserving the Agams. (4 marks)
(5 marks)
Marking scheme
(a) 1 mark: - The Ganadharas (the chief disciples of Mahavira, such as Indrabhuti Gautama and Sudharma Swami). (b) Any two of the following, 2 marks each (challenge identified 1 mark, explanation 1 mark) (4 marks): - Reliance on memory: the Agams were passed on orally for centuries, so parts were forgotten or lost as learned monks died. - Famine: a twelve-year famine in the time of Acharya Bhadrabahu scattered the monks; Bhadrabahu was the last to know all fourteen Purvas, and this knowledge was gradually lost after him. - Division in the community: Digambaras and Svetambaras disagreed over which texts were genuine; Digambaras hold that the original Agams were lost, while Svetambaras accept the texts fixed at Valabhi. - Reluctance to write: monks long avoided writing because owning books and using writing materials was seen as conflicting with non-possession (aparigraha) and non-violence (ahimsa), which delayed written records. - Need for repeated councils: councils at Pataliputra, Mathura and Valabhi had to be held to reconstruct and agree on the texts, and different versions (readings) arose. - Language and material problems: the texts were in Ardhamagadhi Prakrit, which became less widely understood, and palm-leaf manuscripts decayed easily.
Question 3
4 marks(a) Distinguish between Shruti and Smriti scriptures in Sanatan Dharma. (2 marks)
(b) Name any two of the four Vedas. (2 marks)
(4 marks)
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1 markIn 1604, with Bhai Gurdas as the scribe, a Sikh Guru compiled the Adi Granth and installed it at Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar. Which Guru carried out this compilation?
A. Guru Arjan Dev Ji
B. Guru Nanak Dev Ji
C. Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji
D. Guru Gobind Singh Ji
(1 mark)
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6 marksA school in Nairobi has learners from the Sanatan, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh faiths. After a class visit to a mandir, a derasar, a vihara and a gurdwara, the learners are asked how studying one another's scriptures can help them live together peacefully. Explain three ways in which studying the scriptures of the four faiths promotes harmonious coexistence. (6 marks)
(6 marks)
Marking scheme
Any three of the following, 2 marks each (point stated 1 mark, explanation 1 mark) (6 marks): - It reveals shared values, e.g. non-violence, truth, compassion and service, which are taught in the Vedas, the Agams, the Tipitaka and the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, so learners see what unites them. - It removes ignorance and prejudice, because learners understand the real meaning of other people's beliefs and practices instead of relying on rumours or stereotypes. - It builds respect for sacred places and objects, e.g. covering the head and removing shoes in a gurdwara, so learners behave appropriately when visiting. - It encourages tolerance of differences, e.g. the Jain teaching of anekantavada, which accepts that truth has many sides. - It promotes cooperation in joint activities such as festivals (Diwali, Vesak, Mahavir Jayanti, Vaisakhi) and community service. - It helps learners appreciate their common roots in the Indian subcontinent and their shared ideas, e.g. dharma and karma. - It reduces conflict, because the scriptures condemn hatred, anger and pride and teach forgiveness. (Accept any other well-explained, relevant point.)
Question 6
4 marksOutline four stages in the development of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, from the first collection of Guru Nanak Dev Ji's hymns to the year 1708. (4 marks)
(4 marks)
Marking scheme
Any four of the following, 1 mark each (4 marks): - Guru Nanak Dev Ji's hymns (bani) were written down in a pothi (book) and passed on to his successor, Guru Angad Dev Ji. - Guru Angad Dev Ji developed and popularised the Gurmukhi script in which the bani was recorded. - Under Guru Amar Das Ji, the hymns of the first Gurus were collected in the Goindwal Pothis. - Guru Arjan Dev Ji compiled the Adi Granth in 1604, with Bhai Gurdas as scribe, adding his own hymns and those of Bhagats such as Kabir, Namdev, Ravidas and Sheikh Farid. - The Adi Granth was installed at Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar, in 1604 with Baba Buddha Ji as the first granthi. - Guru Gobind Singh Ji added the hymns of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji at Damdama Sahib (Talwandi Sabo) around 1706, with Bhai Mani Singh as scribe. - In 1708 at Nanded, Guru Gobind Singh Ji ended the line of human Gurus and declared the Granth the eternal Guru, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. (Stages should be in a sensible order; accept equivalent wording.)
Question 7
1 markThe Pali word Tipitaka (Sanskrit: Tripitaka), the name for the Buddhist scriptures, literally means
A. Three jewels
B. Three paths
C. Three councils
D. Three baskets
(1 mark)
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4 marksOutline four features of the Puranas as scriptures of Sanatan Dharma. (4 marks)
(4 marks)
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1 markA Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka wants a single 5th-century manual that arranges the whole Buddhist path under three headings: morality (sila), concentration (samadhi) and wisdom (panna). Which text should he study?
A. Dhammapada
B. Visuddhimagga
C. Abhidhammattha Sangaha
D. Milindapanha
(1 mark)
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4 marks(a) Name the sage traditionally regarded as the composer of each of the following epics:
(i) Ramayan (ii) Mahabharat. (2 marks)
(b) Outline two ways in which these epics have been passed down from generation to generation. (2 marks)
(4 marks)
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1 markWhile reading the Katha Upanishad, a learner finds a dialogue in which the young Nachiketa asks Yama, the lord of death, about the eternal Self (Atman). This passage best shows that the Upanishads are
A. law codes setting out the duties of rulers
B. hymns chanted only during fire sacrifices
C. the philosophical texts closing the Vedas
D. Smriti stories retelling the two great epics
(1 mark)
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8 marksDiscuss four challenges that were encountered during the development of the scriptures of the Sanatan, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh faiths. Illustrate each challenge with an example from any of the four faiths. (8 marks)
(8 marks)
Marking scheme
Any four challenges, 2 marks each (challenge explained 1 mark, relevant example 1 mark) (8 marks): - Dependence on oral transmission: texts could be forgotten or altered; e.g. the Vedas were memorised for centuries, and Jain monks lost parts of the Agams. - Famine and natural disasters: these scattered or killed the people who memorised the texts; e.g. the twelve-year famine in Bhadrabahu's time (Jain) and famine in 1st-century BCE Sri Lanka, which led to the Tipitaka being written down. - Disagreements and divisions: different groups disputed which texts or rules were genuine; e.g. the Second Buddhist Council at Vesali over monastic rules, and the Digambara-Svetambara split over the Agams. - Persecution and wars: these destroyed people, places and manuscripts; e.g. the martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev Ji in 1606 soon after compiling the Adi Granth, and the destruction of Buddhist centres such as Nalanda. - False or rival compositions: some people circulated writings under the Gurus' names; e.g. Prithi Chand's group, which made Guru Arjan Dev Ji compile an authentic collection. - Perishable writing materials: palm leaves and birch bark decayed and had to be copied repeatedly, introducing errors. - Language change: texts in Vedic Sanskrit, Ardhamagadhi Prakrit and Pali became hard for ordinary people to understand and needed commentaries and translations, e.g. Buddhaghosa's commentaries. - Questions of authorship: e.g. scholarly debate over which parts of the Dasam Granth were written by Guru Gobind Singh Ji himself, and the difficulty of dating the epics, which grew over centuries. (Credit any other well-explained, accurate challenge.)
Question 13
4 marksDescribe how the teachings of the Buddha were preserved from the time of his death until they were first written down. (4 marks)
(4 marks)
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4 marks(a) State the Jain acharya traditionally credited with composing the Kalpasutra. (1 mark)
(b) Outline three main parts of the content of the Kalpasutra. (3 marks)
(4 marks)
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3 marksThe Buddhist Tipitaka is made up of the Vinaya Pitaka, the Sutta Pitaka and the Abhidhamma Pitaka. State what each of these divisions contains. (3 marks)
(3 marks)
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1 markIn the 5th century CE, a Jain council at Valabhi led by Devarddhi Gani Kshamashramana wrote down the Agams, which had been passed on by memory for centuries. What was the main reason for writing them down at this time?
A. Monks feared memorised texts were being lost
B. Paper had just been brought into western India
C. Mahavira had commanded that they be written
D. A king ordered all their scriptures to be burnt
(1 mark)
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4 marks(a) State the Sikh Guru to whom the compositions of the Dasam Granth are attributed. (1 mark)
(b) Name three compositions found in the Dasam Granth. (3 marks)
(4 marks)
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