Chapter 3 – Amarnath Solutions

Content Structure

1. About the author – Sister Nivedita
2. Summary of the Amarnath
3. Word meanings
4. Exercises solutions
5. Additional Multiple choice questions & answers (MCQs)

1. About the author – Sister Nivedita

Sister Nivedita’s original name was Margaret Elizabeth Noble. She was born in Ireland on 28 October 1867. She was a teacher, writer, and social worker. In 1898, she came to India and met Swami Vivekananda, who deeply inspired her and gave her the name “Nivedita,” which means “the dedicated one.” She opened a school for girls in Kolkata and worked hard during famines and plagues. She also wrote many books and essays about Indian history, spirituality, and nationalism, encouraging Indians to take pride in their culture. People still remember her hard work and love for India with great respect, even after her death on 13 October 1911.

2. Summary of the Amarnath

The story teaches us to respect all religions, trust God, and understand that real prayers come from a good heart and from seeing God in everything around us. In the story, the author describes the journey and feelings of Swami Vivekananda at a holy place called Amarnath in Kashmir. One day while Swami was having tea in the beautiful Mogul Gardens at Achhabal, he said he wanted to go to Amarnath with other holy travelers and his disciple. Everyone felt happy and excited when they heard Swami’s words, so they began preparing for the journey with help from local officers. During the journey they saw many holy travelers walking peacefully, carrying tents, and setting up small shops at each resting place. Swami’s tent was always placed near the tents of local officers and the Tehsildar. Many monks came to meet Swami out of respect and spoke with him about Lord Shiva. Swami shared his thoughts on loving and respecting all religions. Although some people found his ideas unusual he explained them with such kindness that people from all backgrounds, including many Muslim officers were drawn to him and became his followers. The group walked through beautiful valleys, forests, rivers, and snowy mountains, following all religious customs like fasting, praying, and bathing in cold rivers. Finally they reached the cave of Amarnath Inside the dark cave stood a large ice statue that looked like Lord Shiva, called the ice lingam. Swami was deeply moved, quietly prayed, bowed down, and felt as if he had seen God himself. Later, he said that Lord Shiva had blessed him with the power not to die until he wished. Swami also said that the cave felt free from greed and close to nature. The beautiful, memorable journey ended with the festival of Rakshabandhan where everyone tied red and yellow threads on each other’s wrists. The beauty of the cave touched Swami, inspiring him to imagine that shepherds who had lost their sheep might have discovered it long ago. He felt that this trip was one of the best moments of his life, where he truly felt close to God.

WB 11 all notes

3. Word meanings

Word	Meaning
Pilgrims	People who travel to a holy place to pray.
Obstacle	Problem
Fortunate member	A lucky person in the group
March of gathering hosts	A large group of people walking together
Picturesque	Very pretty
Pitching of tents	Setting up tents
Instinctive	Done without thinking
Remonstrated	Complained
Distinctions	Differences
Indistinguishable	Look same
Rival elements	Fighting groups
Drenched	Completely wet
Narrow orthodoxy	Strict belief
Vehemence	Strong feeling
Shrine	A holy place where people pray
Incongruous	Doesn’t match
Ravine floored	Flat valley
Dwellings	Homes
Boulder-strewn gorge	Rocky valley
Veil	Thin cover
Awestruck peasants	Shocked villagers
Sacrament	A holy action or prayer in religion.
Enwrapt	Fully focused

WB 11 all notes

4. Exercises solutions

Choose the correct answer from the alternatives given :

1. The soil of Punjab was flooded with the blood of the people who died for
a) Love
b) The land
c) The faith
d) Other people
Ans: c) The faith

2. The word ” other worldliness ” means
a) Animal world
b) An other world
c) Relating to a world other than the actual world
d) A new world
Ans: c) Relating to a world other than the actual world

5. Additional Multiple choice questions & answers (MCQs)

1. Where were final arrangements for the journey made?
(a) Delhi
(b) Amritsar
(c) Islamabad
(d) Srinagar

Ans: (c) Islamabad

2. What was made in the middle of the camp?
(a) A small stream
(b) A broad street
(c) A railway track
(d) A wall

Ans: (b) A broad street

3. Why did some monks disagree with Swami?
(a) He sang songs
(b) He spoke about the world
(c) He left the group
(d) He asked them to dance

Ans: (b) He spoke about the world

4. What topic did monks discuss with Swami?
(a) Cooking
(b) Shiva
(c) Farming
(d) Animals

Ans: (b) Shiva

5. What did people find surprising about the Cave entry?
(a) It was closed
(b) It was hot inside
(c) Muslims were also allowed
(d) It had no guard

Ans: (c) Muslims were also allowed

6. What did pilgrims do at Pahlgam?
(a) Played games
(b) Ekadasi
(c) Danced
(d) Went boating

Ans: (b) Ekadasi

7. Where was the Cave of Amarnath located?
(a) In a boulder-strewn gorge
(b) In a crowded city
(c) In a flat field
(d) Behind a temple

Ans: (a) In a boulder-strewn gorge

8. What covered the snow peaks?
(a) Trees
(b) Smoke
(c) A white veil
(d) Lights

Ans: (c) A white veil

9. What festival marked the end of the journey?
(a) Diwali
(b) Holi
(c) Rakshabandhan
(d) Dussehra

Ans: (c) Rakshabandhan

10. Whom did Swamiji plan to take with him?
(a) His daughter
(b) His disciples
(c) His sister
(d) Only his European followers

Ans: (a) His daughter

11. In the bazar one could buy –
(a) Fruit and milk
(b) Only dried fruits
(c) Dried fruit, milk, rice and dahls
(d) Rice and dahls

Ans: (c) Dried fruit, milk, rice and dahls

12. Who wanted to take his daughter with him?
(a) Gandhiji
(b) Mother Teresa
(c) Sri Ramakrishna
(d) Swami Vivekananda

Ans: (d) Swami Vivekananda

13. What did the pilgrims carry with them for camping?
(a) Bazaar
(b) Lamp
(c) A tent
(d) Stick

Ans: (c) A tent

14. What is Pahalgam known as?
(a) The village of the monks
(b) The village of the shepherds
(c) The village of the pilgrims
(d) The village of the river

Ans: (b) The village of the shepherds

15. Swamiji felt great pity for whom?
(a) The monks
(b) The Europeans
(c) Mohammedanism
(d) The pilgrims

Ans: (d) The pilgrims

16. “An anachronism of the future” describes someone who is what?
(a) Neutral
(b) Not fit to his time
(c) Ahead of his time
(d) Neutral

Ans: (c) Ahead of his time

17. Which place is called “the village of the shepherds”?
(a) Pawan
(b) Achhabal
(c) Islamabad
(d) Pahlgam

Ans: (d) Pahlgam

18. What was the colour of the monks’ tents?
(a) Green
(b) Yellow
(c) White
(d) Gerrua

Ans: (d) Gerrua

19. Who was described as an “anachronism of the future”?
(a) Jesus Christ
(b) Sri Ramakrishna
(c) Lord Shiva
(d) Swami Vivekananda

Ans: (b) Sri Ramakrishna

20. How many monks were there on the Amarnath journey?
(a) Thousand of monks
(b) Thousand of nuns
(c) Hundred of monks
(d) Hundred of nuns

Ans: (a) Thousand of monks

21. What does the word “other-worldliness” mean?
(a) Relating to a world other than the actual world
(b) Animal world
(c) An other world
(d) New world

Ans: (a) Relating to a world other than the actual world

22. What colour was the water in the tank?
(a) Clear black
(b) Clear green
(c) Clean blue
(d) Clear silver

Ans: (d) Clear silver

23. Who laughed hearing Swamiji’s heated discussion?
(a) The disciples of Swamiji
(b) The Tehsilder
(c) The monks
(d) The foreigners

Ans: (c) The monks

24. The water of the five streams was how?
(a) Ice-cold
(b) Sandy
(c) Dark
(d) Crystal clear

Ans: (d) Crystal clear

25. In the cave, who made the loud buzzing noise?
(a) Pigeons
(b) Crowd of pilgrims
(c) Bees
(d) Monks

Ans: (b) Crowd of pilgrims

26. What is a “saeter-hut”?
(a) Unstable huts
(b) The summer
(c) A hut high in the mountain where herds are kept for the summer
(d) Mud huts

Ans: (c) A hut high in the mountain where herds are kept for the summer

27. What covered the snow peaks?
(a) Flowers
(b) White vell
(c) Pine trees
(d) Clouds

Ans: (b) White vell

28. How many pilgrims finally marched toward Amarnath?
(a) One thousand
(b) Two or three thousand
(c) Four thousand
(d) Three thousand

Ans: (d) Three thousand

29. At Pahalgam, how did the moon appear in the sky?
(a) Not yet full
(b) Crescent
(c) Full in size
(d) Dim

Ans: (a) Not yet full

30. Swamiji said Lord Shiva gave him the gift of what?
(a) Voluntary death
(b) Being omniscient
(c) Wealth
(d) Being sacrifice

Ans: (a) Voluntary death

31. From where did the final march to Amarnath begin?
(a) Pawan
(b) Pahlgam
(c) The sandy islands
(d) Achhabal

Ans: (b) Pahlgam

32. Swamiji bathed in what one after another?
(a) Spring
(b) Tank
(c) River
(d) Five streams

Ans: (d) Five streams

33. Where did they see the last human homes?
(a) Switzerland
(b) The islands
(c) Pahlgam
(d) Norway

Ans: (b) The islands

34. What fear troubled Swamiji during the journey?
(a) He would meet death in a Siva temple amongst the mountains
(b) He would meet Lord Siva
(c) He would die before Lord Siva
(d) He would meet death in mountain

Ans: (a) He would meet death in a Siva temple amongst the mountains

35. On the first day they pitched their tent in which place?
(a) Valley
(b) Field
(c) Pine-wood
(d) River side

Ans: (c) Pine-wood

36. Who saw the ice-lingam first?
(a) Swamiji
(b) The pilgrims
(c) The monks
(d) Peasants

Ans: (a) Swamiji

37. What is the scenery of Norway or Switzerland like?
(a) Gentle
(b) Rough
(c) Lovely
(d) Both Gentle and lovely

Ans: (b) Rough

38. At the end of the path, what did they find to walk on?
(a) Ravine
(b) Slope
(c) Valley
(d) Goat-path

Ans: (d) Goat-path

39. Where was the Amarnath cave located?
(a) Sandy islands
(b) A river bed
(c) A pind wood
(d) A ravine full of scattered stones

Ans: (d) A ravine full of scattered stones

40. On the second day they camped in which place?
(a) Beside a frozen river
(b) On a knoll
(c) Beside a stream
(d) In a pine-wood

Ans: (d) In a pine-wood

41. During sunset, where was the moon seen?
(a) Horizon
(b) Mountain head
(c) Sandy islands
(d) Valley

Ans: (b) Mountain head

42. On the second day, which line did they cross?
(a) river
(b) Snow-line
(c) Spring
(d) Mountain

Ans: (b) Snow-line

43. What were the colours of the sacred threads tied on wrists?
(a) Blue and black
(b) Green and saffron
(c) White and red
(d) Red and yellow

Ans: (d) Red and yellow

78. The ice-pillar looked how?
(a) Pure and white
(b) Large and big
(c) Dark and mossy
(d) Yellow and large

Ans: (a) Pure and white

44. The Amarnath pilgrimage ends on which day?
(a) Poila Shravan
(b) Rakhibandhan
(c) Poila Chaitra
(d) Janmashtami

Ans: (b) Rakhibandhan

45. There were hundreds of what during the journey?
(a) Disciples
(b) Tents
(c) Monks
(d) Streets

Ans: (c) Monks

46. The shepherds were searching for what?
(a) Spring water
(b) Deer
(c) Fuel wood
(d) Flocks

Ans: (d) Flocks

47. The servants walked miles looking for what?
(a) Pine-wood
(b) Juniper
(c) Water
(d) Snow-line

Ans: (c) Water

48. The cave showed Swamiji the secret of what?
(a) Himalaya
(b) Snow peak
(c) Kailas
(d) Ice-lingam

Ans: (d) Ice-lingam

49. Swamiji planned to take whom with him?
(a) followers
(b) monks
(c) His daughter
(d) Tehsilder

Ans: (a) followers

50. Who first discovered the cave, according to Swamiji?
(a) A monk
(b) A sheperd boy
(c) A party of shepherds
(d) A pilgrim

Ans: (c) A party of shepherds

51. Swamiji kept the memory of Amarnath for how long?
(a) Some years
(b) Whole life
(c) Student life
(d) Rest of his life

Ans: (b) Whole life

52. They camped at which place famous for a holy spring?
(a) Pahlgam
(b) Pawan
(c) Achhabal
(d) Islamabad

Ans: (b) Pawan

53. The narrator’s tent was beside whose tent?
(a) To the opposite of Swami’s tent
(b) Beside the tent of Tehsilder
(c) Beside the tent of Swami
(d) At the middle of the field

Ans: (c) Beside the tent of Swami

54. Where did the shepherds live?
(a) Islands
(b) Woods
(c) Hills
(d) Valleys

Ans: (c) Hills

55. On what kind of day was the cave first found?
(a) One winter day
(b) One summer day
(c) One rainy day
(d) One spring day

Ans: (b) One summer day