Hinduism
Hinduism items test core vocabulary, the shift from Vedic sacrifice to Upanishadic introspection, the goals and stages of life, the paths to liberation, and the six darshanas. Accuracy on Sanskrit terms matters more than breadth.
Scripture
Sruti, heard revelation: the four Vedas (Rig, Sama, Yajur, Atharva), Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads. Smriti, remembered tradition: the epics (Mahabharata, including the Bhagavad Gita, and Ramayana), Puranas, and Dharmashastras such as the Laws of Manu. The Rig Veda is oldest; its Purusha-sukta and Nasadiya hymn are frequently cited.
Core concepts
Brahman is ultimate reality, described as sat-chit-ananda; atman is the self. Samsara is the round of rebirth driven by karma, and moksha is release. The four aims (purusharthas) are dharma, artha, kama and moksha. The four stages (ashramas) are brahmacharya, grihastha, vanaprastha and sannyasa. Varna is the fourfold textual ideal; jati is the far more numerous birth group.
Paths and schools
The three paths are karma yoga (action), jnana yoga (knowledge) and bhakti yoga (devotion), with raja yoga, Patanjali's eight-limbed meditation, often added. The six darshanas are Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa and Vedanta. Vedanta divides into Advaita (Shankara, non-dual), Vishishtadvaita (Ramanuja, qualified non-dualism) and Dvaita (Madhva, dualism).
Deities
Brahma creates, Vishnu preserves, Shiva destroys; this trimurti is a relatively narrow framing, since Vaishnava and Shaiva traditions are often devotional monotheisms. Vishnu's avatars include Rama, Krishna and the future Kalki. Devi, Lakshmi and Ganesha are widely worshipped.
Worked example
A man performs ancestral rites, runs a business, and says liberation comes from offering all his actions to Krishna. Reasoning: the offering is bhakti, joined to karma yoga, acting without attachment to results as the Gita teaches. His stage is grihastha, the householder, where artha and kama are legitimate within dharma. The goal named is moksha, the fourth aim, not dharma.
Traps that cost marks
- Confusing moksha, karma and dharma, which are release, action-consequence and duty.
- Treating varna, the fourfold ideal, as identical to jati.
- Assuming Vedanta is all of Hinduism; it is one darshana.
- Forgetting that Buddhism rejected Vedic authority and the atman, while Hindu schools affirm a self.