Question

Swami Dayanand Saraswati was against the ______________.
a.Vedas
b.Upanishads
c.Idol worship
d.Brahman supremacy

Answer 1

Hint: Swami Dayanand Saraswati founded the Arya Samaj that brought reformation in the Indian society. He was against man-made rules like women cannot read Vedas and others. He believed in the Nirankari Brahma, that is formless God as depicted in the Vedas.

Complete answer: The teachings of Swami Dayanand Saraswati are mostly depicted in his book Go back to the Vedas. We shall take a look at the options one by one.
a.Vedas: Vedas are a large body of religious texts that originated in ancient India. Swami Dayanand Saraswati was not against Vedas and he himself urged the people to return to the Vedic traditions. So, it is an incorrect option.
b.Upanishads: Upanishads are Vedic Sanskrit texts of religious teaching. Swami Dayanand Saraswati propagated Vedic teachings and since Upanishads are a commentary on the Vedic teachings, it cannot be the correct answer. So, it is an incorrect option.
c.Idol worship: Idol worship means that to worship an idol or cult image, being a physical image or a person as a form of God. Since Swami Dayanand Saraswati was a believer in the formless entity of God, he opposed idol worship. So, it is the correct option.
d.Brahman supremacy: Swami Dayanand Saraswati was a pioneer of Vedic traditions and since the Vedic teachings did not mean for only a handful of people, there was no commentary from Swami Dayanand Saraswati in this regard. So, it is an incorrect option.
So, the correct answer is option c.

Note: Swami Dayanand Saraswati was a philosopher who advocated the authority of Vedas and put them supreme over everything. To emphasise his thoughts with reasons, he wrote multiple books such as Satyarth Prakash and Tattvabodah.