Transcript File

The emergence of
South Asian
Civilization.
September 26, 2013
Review
• What was the relationship of Han China to
Vietnam, and to Korea?
• Who were the Xiongnu? (What is a barbarian?)
• What was the Silk Road?
• Was Han China feudal?
• What was the governing ideology of the Han
dynasty?
India: Vedic Civilization
• Around 1,500 BCE to 600 BCE
• “Aryan culture” There probably was no Aryan
invasion.
• But the Aryans had superior military technology,
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and a language which was not Dravidian. Their
language was Sanskrit, one of the oldest identifiable
Indo-European languages
Worshipped fire (Agni), soma (an intoxicating drink),
Indra, and Varuna
Vishnu and Shiva were minor deities then
First references to varna (but not jati) --What are
varna and jati? (See the Key Terms page)
Trautmann refers to varna as castes, p. 46.
Vedic Religion
• A religion of ritual, which only later became a religion
of moksa (salvation), and later devotion.
• Polytheism evolved into henotheism (the beginning of
focus on particular deities)
• Dominated by brahmins, who alone knew how to
perform essential rituals
• Sanskrit is the sacred language
• Vedas are sacred texts
• Brahminism rather than Hinduism
• Produced the monistic philosophy of the Upanishads.
• Probably did not have “sacred cows.” Did not have
temples or images. which makes it different from
Hinduism.
The Vedas
• Sacred texts of the Vedic period.
• Includes the Rig Veda, a ritual guidebook
(Trautmann, 32-33)
• The last Vedic text is the Upanishads
(Trautmann, 43) It focuses on philosophy
rather than ritual.
• These texts are still revered in India today
The first Indian States
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States arise around the Ganges from about 600 BCE.
Why not earlier?
What kinds of states? Kingdoms and republics.
Primary and secondary state formation aided by iron
tools for cutting wood and for fighting
What is a state: mechanism for extracting revenue
from producers. Needs a monopoly on the legitimate
use of violence. Ritual hegemony adds stability and
legitimacy.
We have no real histories of this period. The
Mahabharata and the Ramayana are epics, not
histories
The appearance of epics
The Mahabharata and the Ramayana
Should these be read as history or as myths?
What do they tell us about South Asia 2,500
years ago? Should we trust them or trust
archaeology?
Represent a change toward more human-like gods.
(At the same time, more ascetic religiosity
appears-Buddhism and Jainism.
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The Epics and
Hinduism
The Mahabharata featured Krishna, an incarnation of
Vishnu. Krishna became a major deity in Hinduism.
The Bhagavad Gita, a part of the Mahabharata,
emphasized the need for people to play their proper roles
in society, even if they are warriors.
the Ramayana featured Rama, another incarnation of
Vishnu. He became another major deity in Hinduism, as
did Sita, his consort.
The Ramayana has many versions, and was very
influential in Southeast Asia as well as in India.
The Mauryan Empire
• The stimulus from Alexander the Great
• Founded by Chandragupta by 322 BCE with
a capital in Pataliputra
• How is an empire different from a kingdom?
(See the Key Terms page)
• Greatest ruler was Ashoka (269-231 BCE)
• Ashoka promoted Buddhism.
• See Trautmann, 56-61
Map of Mauryan
Empire
• See map at
• http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/mau
r/hd_maur.htm
• or
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:M
auryan_Empire_Map.gif
The Silk Road
• See map of Silk Road at
• http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/09
/06/2012-issyk-kul-expedition-search-for-asunken-palace/silkroadmap/
• or at
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road
The Silk Road (Davis, 7-16)
• Was more than one route.
• Carried much more than silk. Also carried cotton
and other South Asian goods to Rome, and
brought Roman glassware to Asia.
• The Silk Road also brought Buddhism to China,
and both Hinduism and Buddhism to Southeast
Asia.
• The Silk Road stimulated the rise of the first
states in Southeast Asia (outside of northern
Vietnam).
South Asian religions
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Assumptions shared by traditional South Asian religious
philosophies include:
only that which is uncaused and unchanging is truly real
diversity masks an underlying unity, which is more real
than diversity
the line between the human and the divine is not an
unbridgeable chasm
what we do and think affects what happens to us later.
(karma)
monism, monotheism, and polytheism are considered
complementary rather than contradictory positions.
Buddhism: 4 Noble Truths
• A Religion of Renunciation (Trautmann, 53-54, Davis,
18-22)
• To live is to suffer.
• Suffering is caused by desires and attachments,
resulting from ignorance of what is real and what is not.
• We can stop suffering by stopping our desires and
clearing up our ignorance.
• We can do this if we follow the Eight-fold path.
Basic Buddhist Terms
• Buddhists, like Hindus, believe in karma and in
reincarnation
• Nirvana: escape from rebirth; extinction (or paradise, in
some varieties of Buddhism)
• Sutras: the written records of the teachings of the Buddha
• The Three Jewels of Buddhism
• The Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha
• The Dharma: Buddhist teachings
• The Sangha: the monastic community.
• Buddhists “take refuge” in those three jewels.
Theravada Buddhism
• The Buddhism of Sri Lanka and (now) much of
mainland Southeast Asia
• Emphasis on salvation through our own efforts
(accumulating good karma)
• Is non-theistic (in theory). Buddha (Sakyamuni) is
seen as a teacher,not a god.
• Emphasis on insight meditation, and on
donations to monks and temples
• Claims to be the original Buddhism