SSC · Police
The original name (childhood name) of Swami Dayananda Saraswati was:
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)View answer ▾Hide ▴
Answer: Option B — Mool Shankar
Detailed Solution
The original (childhood) name of Swami Dayananda Saraswati was Mool Shankar (Mul Shankar) Tiwari.
About his early life:
- He was born on 12 February 1824 at Tankara, in the Morbi district of Gujarat, in a Brahmin family.
- His father, Karshanji Lalji Tiwari, was a devotee of Shiva and a tax collector.
- He was brought up as a devout Shaivite, and learnt Sanskrit and the Vedas at an early age.
The turning point:
- At the age of 14, on the night of Shivaratri, while keeping a night-long vigil in a Shiva temple, he saw a mouse running over the idol of Shiva and eating the offerings.
- He wondered how a god who could not protect himself from a mouse could protect the world.
- This experience made him doubt idol worship.
- The death of his younger sister and his uncle made him think deeply about life and death.
Renunciation:
- To avoid an arranged marriage, he left home in 1846, at the age of 22, and became a wandering ascetic.
- He became a sannyasi and took the name "Dayananda Saraswati".
- For about 15 years, he travelled across India, studying with yogis and scholars.
His guru:
- In 1860, he became a disciple of Swami Virjananda, a blind scholar at Mathura, who taught him the Vedas and Sanskrit grammar.
- Virjananda asked him, as guru dakshina, to spread the true knowledge of the Vedas and to fight against superstitions.
His later life:
- He travelled and preached across India, debating with scholars of different religions.
- He founded a reform society in 1875, which spread especially in Punjab.
- He wrote his most famous book in Hindi, which set out his ideas.
- He died at Ajmer on 30 October 1883.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Karshanji was the name of his father; Virjananda was his guru; Shiv Prasad is not connected with him.
Quick tip
Remember: Dayananda Saraswati's original name = Mool Shankar (born Tankara, Gujarat, 1824; Shivaratri mouse incident; guru Virjananda of Mathura; died Ajmer 1883).
💬 Discussions on this question
Ask a doubt ›Still stuck on this question? Ask our faculty and fellow students — answers appear here.
Ask a doubtMore Socio-Religious Reform Movements Questions
View all ›More General Knowledge Questions
- Q1.The techniques of Rasa and Bhava used in Indian classical dance trace their origin to which ancient text?Indian Dance Forms
- Q2.Lavani, Powada, Koli, Waghya Murali and Dhangari Gaja are folk dances of which state?Indian Dance Forms
- Q3.The one-act play associated with the Sattriya tradition of Assam is called:Indian Dance Forms
- Q4.Which dance form of Goa is known as the 'Warrior Dance'?Indian Dance Forms
- Q5.Manipuri dance is based on the Rasleela themes of:Indian Dance Forms
Socio-Religious Reform Movements — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Socio-Religious Reform Movements, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
In the 19th century, reformers worked to remove social evils and revive Indian society. This topic covers organisations such as the Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, Prarthana Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission, Theosophical Society, Satyashodhak Samaj and the Aligarh Movement, along with their founders and the social reforms they achieved. Questions usually ask who founded an organisation and when, or which reformer is linked to a reform. For example, Raja Ram Mohan Roy founded the Brahmo Samaj and campaigned against sati, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar championed widow remarriage, and Jyotiba Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj. A table of organisation, founder, year and place covers most questions. Practise the socio-religious reform movements questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.