General Knowledge: Geography, Politics & Mythology

Varuna, the god of water and cosmic order, gifted the divine bow Gandiva to Arjuna. This bow was said to have unparalleled power and could only be wielded by a truly skilled warrior.

After the Kurukshetra war, Dhritarashtra invited Bhima for a hug but had placed an iron statue within the embrace to crush him. Krishna had sensed this and replaced Bhima with the iron statue, which Dhritarashtra crushed instead.

Dushasana shot the first arrow of the Kurukshetra war, targeting Arjuna's charioteter Krishna. This marked the official beginning of the 18-day battle between the Pandavas and Kauravas.

Laxman was Duryodhana's son who fought in the Kurukshetra war. He was a skilled warrior and was eventually killed by Abhimanyu's son, Parikshit, after the war ended.

Among these celebrities, Ranbir Kapoor did not appear on Dus ka Dum in 2009. The show featured Jackie Shroff, Dharmendra, and Mika Singh among its guests that season.

Stryde was a footwear brand owned by Tata International. The brand was positioned in the premium casual and outdoor footwear segment. Woodland, Bata, and Hindustan Lever are all in footwear or related businesses but did not own Stryde.

The Petronas Towers are twin skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They were the world's tallest buildings from 1998-2004 and remain an iconic landmark. Despite the typos in the question (Petronaz, Kualalumpur), Kuala Lumpur is the correct answer.

Iran is an Islamic theocratic republic where religious clerics hold ultimate political authority. The Supreme Leader, a religious figure, has more power than the elected president. This system combines elements of republicanism with religious governance based on Shia Islam.

Thailand is historically known as the Land of White Elephants. In Thai culture, white elephants are sacred and symbolize royal power and prosperity. The phrase 'white elephant' (a valuable but burdensome possession) in English originates from this Thai tradition.

Aung San Suu Kyi is Myanmar's most famous political leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner (1991). She led the nonviolent movement for democracy in Myanmar (formerly Burma) and spent 15 years under house arrest. Her father, Aung San, was Myanmar's independence hero.

I-flex Solutions was founded in 1990 as a division of Citicorp (now Citigroup) to develop banking software. Its flagship product Flexcube became a global core banking solution. Oracle acquired I-flex in 2005, rebranding it as Oracle Financial Services.

All three launched in 1994: Yahoo (founded by Jerry Yang and David Filo), Amazon (founded by Jeff Bezos), and Orange mobile service UK launch. This was a pivotal year for the internet and mobile telecom industries, marking the early web boom era.

Shaw Wallace owned these beer brands until its acquisition by United Breweries in 2008. Haywards 2000, Hi-Five, and Lal Toofan were popular Indian beer brands under Shaw Wallace's portfolio. The company was a major competitor to Kingfisher in the Indian market before the merger.

Operation Cactus was India's successful 1988 military intervention to thwart a coup attempt in the Maldives. When Tamil mercenaries from Sri Lanka attempted to overthrow the Maldivian government, India responded within hours and rescued President Gayoom. This demonstrated India's role as regional security guarantor.

Argentina's currency is the Argentine Peso (ARS), introduced in 1992 replacing the austral. The peso has undergone significant devaluations and multiple revaluations throughout Argentina's economic crises. Distractors: Lek (Albania), Manat (Azerbaijan), Marka (old Polish currency).

Taliban is derived from the Arabic word 'talib', meaning 'student' or 'seeker'. It originally referred to students of religious schools (madrasas) in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The movement emerged from these religious students in the early 1990s.

Ngultrum is the official currency of Bhutan, introduced in 1974. It's pegged to the Indian rupee at par. The other options are currencies of different countries: peso (Philippines/Mexico), kina (Papua New Guinea), and Pula (Botswana).

Yuan (CNY) is the official currency of the People's Republic of China. It's one of the world's major reserve currencies. The other options belong to different countries: Lev (Bulgaria), Kuna (Croatia), and Koruna (Czech Republic).

Peking (now Beijing) was known as the Forbidden City because ordinary citizens were barred from entering without special permission. It housed Chinese emperors and their courts for nearly 500 years during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Vatican City, Damascus, and Jerusalem were not called Forbidden City.