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Indian Civilizations
Paleolithic and Neolithic
Cultures
 Diverse Paleolithic Cultures on
Indian subcontinent
 Neolithic pottery and hunting
tools from c. 5500 bc. in presentday Pakistan
 Although a bit later than Near
East, cultures, Indian cultures are
generally considered of
independent origin on most, if not
all of Indian subcontinent.
Indus Valley Civilization
c. 2500-1750 bc
 Fertile
floodplains of
Indus River
 2 major cities:
Harappa and
Mohenjo Dara
 More are
currently being
found by
archaeologists
 Civilization
flourished for
about 500 years
Indus Valley Civilization
 Vast territory – up to 5 million people
united in homogeneous culture
suggests strong centralized
government, integrated economy and
good internal communications
City Layout in
Harappa and Mohenjo-daro
Egalitarianism: all houses had
access to water and drainage – a
vast middle-class society
 N-S, E-W grid of
avenues
 walled citadel on
western edge of city
 cemeteries on
periphery
 private houses built
around central
courtyard
 strong evidence of
urban planning
Building Construction of Burnt Brick
Harappa
 large granary for food storage
Mohenjo-daro
Private baths
Household wells
 Elaborate plumbing facilities unequalled until
Roman times
Standard Weights and
Measures
Writing
Indus inscriptions are found only on small objects, mostly
stone seals and on pottery.
 About 3700 inscriptions are presently known.
The inscriptions are all extremely brief, averaging not more
than about five signs in a text. Longer inscriptions might
have been written on palm leaves or cloth which have
perished.
Sanskrit or Dravidian language?
Seals
Unicorn Seal
most common motif on Indus seals
Seals
Bull
Bison
Material Culture
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Fine bronze and stone statues
Copper and bronze tools and vessels
Black-on-red painted pottery
Silver and gold vessels and jewelry
Dyed woven fabric
Flat stamp stone seals
Statue of Priest-King
Stone and Terra-cotta
Sculptures
Gold and Agate
Ornaments
Painted Burial Pottery
Cooking Pots and Vessels
Terra-cotta
Copper/bronze
Toys
Ox-carts
Whistles
Economy
 Thriving agriculture: wheat, barley,
peas, lentils, sesame, cotton
 Cattle, dogs, sheep, fowl, water
buffalo
 Cotton weaving, metalworking,
wheel-driven pottery
 Trade contacts in Mesopotamia,
central Asia, possibly Arabia and
prehistoric Greek cultures
Religion
 Elaborate bathing facilities
suggest ritual bathing and
purification rites
 Recurrent images:
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Pipal tree
Swastika
Humped bull -- animal
worship?
Tiger, snake, unicorn
“Lord of All Creatures” -merges with Shiva
Mother Goddess: pregnant
& madonna female figures
Elaborate
Public Baths
Libation Vessels
Three-headed Totemic Animal
Antelope
Unicorn
Bull
Male
Deity:
Shiva
figure
Gods and
Goddesses
Miniature mask from
Mohenjo-daro of bearded
horned deity
Religious Ritual
End of Indus
Civilization
 Began to decline during
early 2nd millenium bce
 Possible causes:
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abnormal flooding of
Indus River
ecological destruction -baked bricks of
construction led to
deforestation
no firm evidence that
invading Aryans
destroyed civilization
Dravidan Hero Stone
Aryan Invasions
c.2000 bce-1500 bce
myth or
misconception?
 19th c. European scholars claimed a migration by a lightskinned group they called ARYAS came from the
steppelands between Eastern Europe and Central Asia into
Europe, Greece, Anatolia, the Iranian plateau and India in
the 2nd and 1st millennia bc.
 Warlike peoples with horse-drawn chariots conquered the
darker-skinned Dravidians of central India
 “Aryan” -- 19th c. term used to describe language group now
called Indo-European.
Counter-evidence
 Sanskrit word Aryan refers to one who is
righteous and noble – it has nothing to do with
race.
 Horses had been domesticated and used for
battle by the Harappans.
 No evidence of a significant influx of migrants
into India during 4500-800 bce.
 Rig Vedas describe Aryans as urban dwellers
with hundreds of cities, numerous professions
and seafaring capabilities.
Discovery of the Sarasvati River
River Sarasvati is mentioned in the Rig Veda 60 times (Ganges
only mentioned once)
Now a dry river, the Sarasvati once flowed from the Himalayas to
the ocean across the desert of Rajasthan
 Over 2500 settlements have
been found.
 More than 75% of these sites
are on the banks of the dried
up river Sarasvati.
 The catastrophic drying up of
the river led to a massive
exodus of people ca. 2000-1900
bce.
 Some went to Middle-eastern
countries such as Iran and
Mesopotamia.
 Dynasties and rulers with
Indian names appear and
disappear all over west Asia
confirming the migration of
people from East to West.
SindhuSarasvati
Civilization:
Vedic
Civilization
 Texts date from 1700 bc - 500 bc
 Veda means “Knowledge” -- the
eternal wisdom realized by
ancient seers and preserved over
thousands of years by
professional reciters in unbroken
oral transmission
 4 main texts:
 Rig Veda -- 1028 hymns -c.1700 bce-1000 bce
 Upanishads -- philosophical
poems -- c.700 bce

Valmiki’s Ramayana -- epic - 6th c. bc
 The Mahabharata -- epic -400 bc-400 ce
Vedic
Texts
Rama and Sita
Vedic
Society
 Patrilineal descent and
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inheritance
Patriarchal family -monogamous, widows could
remarry
Language: Vedic Sanskrit >
Sanskrit
Kinship groups -- tribes
ruled by rajas/ kings (cf.
Latin rex), warrior leader
Brahman -- chief priest.
Powers of priestly class
increased with those of king
Two classes -- noble and
common --evolved into four
castes
Vedic Caste System
 Four classes:
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Brahmans –
priests/scholars
Kshatriyas -warriors/nobles
Vaishyas --traders
Shudras -- servants
Caste is divinely ordained;
one cannot migrate from
one caste to another based
on talent or
accomplishment.
Vedic Material Culture
 Gray painted pottery
 Wood and thatch, mudwalled houses
 Measured wealth in cattle
 Gold ornamentation
 Wool
 Alcoholic drink and soma
 Highly developed music -singing and dancing
 Gambling -- especially dice
games
 Writing -- c. 700 bc-500 bc
-- scorned for sacred texts
Rama and his allies begin the attack on Lanka, by Sahib Din. From a manuscript of the
Ramayana, Udaipur, 1652
Vedic Deities
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Indra -- god of war
and storms:
atmospheric
Varuna -- guarded
cosmic order: oceanic
Agni -- god of fire -sacrifices, hearth,
home: terrestial
Vishnu or Surya -god of the sun:
celestial
Soma or Chandra -god of hallucinogenic
soma plant
Ushas -- goddess of
dawn -- one of few
female divinities
Evolution of Hinduism:
Indus Influences
 Mother goddess
 Bull figure: Nandi – still the symbol
of Congress Party
 Shiva cult:
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seals with Shiva figure
lingam stones -- emblem of Shiva
Shiva cult may be world’s oldest
surviving cult
Evolution of Hinduism:
Vedic Influences
 Vishnu – preserver god
 Sanskrit as language of religious learning
 Vedic hymns -- nucleus for more abstract
religious thought
 Notions of Hell (House of Clay) and Heaven
(World of the Fathers)
 Karma: action determines destiny
 Upanishads: through philosophical
interpretation -- inner meaning of
traditional truths, ascetic teachings
Mahabharata battle
Hinduism
Sanatana Dharma
“The Everlasting Way”
OM
that which hath no beginning or end
Hinduism:
all-embracing structure of thought
 All creation linked in huge web of
being
 Transmigration of souls through
various life forms
 Proper behavior linked to purgation
and renewal
 Dharma: the duty of the believer
Monotheism
 God is Infinite.
 Although one cannot divide or subtract from the
Infinite, the Infinite can be represented in different
ways.
 The Infinite also manifests in billions of ways.
 Hinduism believes not only in One God, but also in
His Supreme Personality. This personality is
manifested in different forms around us and within us
perpetually. Therefore, the Infinite manifests in
billions of ways to help mankind visualize the Divine
Being. This belief of Hinduism is often confused with
polytheism.
 That the Supreme can be worshipped in any form is a
unique concept in Hinduism.
 Hinduism worships multiple forms of the one God.
 The transcendence of time is the aim
of every Indian spiritual tradition.
 Time is often presented as an eternal
wheel that binds the soul to a mortal
existence of ignorance and suffering.
 "Release" from time's fateful wheel is
termed moksha.
 Hindus believe that the universe is
without a beginning (anadi=
beginning-less) or an end (ananta =
end-less).
 The universe is projected in cycles.
 Each cycle is divided into four yugas
(ages of the world).
 Time is conceived as a wheel turning
through vast cycles of creation and
destruction.
Hindu
Concept
of Time
Shiva dancing
Major Hindu
Manifestations
 BRAHMAN: divine
source of all being
 Brahma/Sarasvati, the
creator
 Vishnu/Lakshmi, the
preserver: benevolence,
forgiveness, love
 Shiva/Kali, the
destroyer: disease,
death, the dance
 Ganesha, god of
wisdom, writing,
elephant-headed
Brahma
The Creator
 His 4 heads represent
the four Yugas or cycles
of time.
 One of the earliest
iconographic
descriptions of Brahma
is that of the four-faced
god seated on a lotus.
 The Lord has in his four
hands a water-pot
(kamandalu), a
manuscript (Vedas), a
sacrificial implement
(sruva) and a rosary
(mala).
Sarasvati
 She presides over and
protects wisdom and the
arts, and she
invented writing.
Her four hands
represent four aspects of
human personality in
learning:
Mind
Intellect
Alertness
Ego
Vishnu
the Preserver
Protector of dharma
(righteousness) and
the guardian of
humanity.
His particular task
is the conservation or
preservation of the
Divine Order in the
world.
Vishnu has 10 avatars or
incarnations. He assumes these and
comes down to earth in order to
help humanity. He carries his
symbols of:
 a white conch shell with which
he is victor over the demons
a rotating disc, a weapon to
oppose every enemy of the Divine
order
a golden mace, symbol of his
royal power in the realm of gods
and men.
a lotus flower, symbol of purity
and original creation.
Lakshmi
The goddess of beauty, of good
luck and wealth. She is
generally depicted seated or
standing on a lotus flower.
Lakshmi sprang from the
primeval ocean.
Lakshmi always accompanies
Vishnu in his incarnations on
earth.
Shiva
the
Destroyer
Lord of the Dance
He performs the
dance of destruction
so that the world
can be recreated.
Shiva is the
acknowledgment that
everything that comes to
birth comes ultimately to
death and from death
comes new life.
He is cruel and yet tender,
wrathful and merciful,
unpredictable and yet ever
the same.
Parvathi-Uma
Parvathi is the very
expression of
femininity, the
woman par
excellence, daughter
of the Himalayas.
She is beautiful,
sweet, tender, and is
always portrayed as
Shiva's erotic partner.
The Great Goddess: Devi
 Parvathi and Uma are the benign aspects
of the goddess; the destroyer goddesses Kali
and Durga are in turn all aspects of the
Devi, or the Great Goddess.
 Kali is the negative aspect of the Goddess
and symbolizes death. In this form she is
sometimes considered the presiding deity of
famine and disease. This is the negative
aspect and symbolizes death. In this form
she is sometimes considered the presiding
deity of famine and disease.
Durga
Kali
Ganesha
 God of knowledge and
the remover of obstacles
 He has four hands,
elephant's head and a big
belly.
 His vehicle is a tiny
mouse.
 The combination of his
elephant-like head and a
quick moving tiny mouse
vehicle represents
tremendous wisdom,
intelligence, and
presence of mind.
Ganesha
In his hands he carries
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a rope -- to carry
devotees to the truth
an axe -- to cut
devotees'
attachments
a sweet dessert ball –
laddoo -- to reward
devotees for spiritual
activity
His fourth hand's
palm is always
extended to bless
people.
Rama and Sita
 Rama is the 7th avatar
of Vishnu.
 Lord Rama, the hero of
the Ramayana, is one
of the most adored
gods.
 He always holds a bow
and arrow indicating
his readiness to
destroy evils.
 More commonly he is
pictured in a family
style with his wife Sita,
his brother Lakshmana
and his devotee
Hanumana sitting near
Lord Rama's feet.
Ramayana
5th-4th c. bce
 First poem in
Sanskrit outside a
religious context
 Attributed to
Valmiki
 Society of small
villages and
republics
 Purpose is to
preserve the divine
order through the
practice of dharma
Battle of Lakmana from the Ramayana
Krishna
 Krishna is the 8th avatar of Vishnu.
 The mythology around Krishna is the most colorful and the
richest in lyricism, adventure and in love in all its forms,
from the sensuous to the worship of the divine.
 Krishna is central to the Mahabharata, the Sanskrit epic
that is eight times longer than the Iliad and the Odyssey
put together.
 Krishna, the most accessible of the major Hindu deities, is a
loyal ally of humans and always helps his friends. His
worship is popular all over India and there are many sacred
shines to him.
 Bhakti is the emotional attachment and love of a devotee
for his or her personal god. This is common in the worship
of Krishna.
Krishna
Mahābhārata
c. 4th c. bce- 4th c. ce
 Epic narrative of
the Kurukshetra War and
the fates of the Kauravas
and the Pandava princes
 Attributed to Vyasa
 Reflects events of
9th-8th c. bce
 Society of powerful
monarchs and kingdoms
 Explores polygamy
 Complex views on
interaction of karma and
dharma
Draupadi after the Game of Dice
The
BhagavadGita
in The
Mahabharata
Krishna and
Arjuna
Challenges to Hinduism
 The strongest criticism and rejection of
Hindu theology of Brahman and atman
came from two near contemporaries of
Valmiki:
 Mahavira, the last of Janism’s founders
 Siddhartha-Guatama Buddha, who
launched Buddhism.
Siddhartha Gautama Sakya: Buddha
ca. 563-483 bce
 Prophesied to be king or
world redeemer at birth
 A prince who gave up his
wealth to find escape from
human suffering
 Studied with Hindu
masters
 Became an ascetic
 Meditated under Bo tree for
49 days and nights until he
experienced enlightenment
 Became a wandering
preacher and teacher
dedicated to help others
achieve Nirvana
 A religion without a god
 Each individual must
find his/her own way to
enlightenment
 Four Noble Truths:
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Life consists of suffering,
impermanence,
imperfection,
incompleteness
The cause of suffering is
selfishness
Suffering and selfishness
can be brought to an end
The answer to the problem
of suffering is the Eightfold Path
Buddhism
Mahavira
(540 BC - 467 BC)
 Vardhamana Mahavira
was born in a village
near Vaishali in north
Bihar.
 His father was a ruler of
that area and his mother
a princess.
 At the age of thirty. he
left home and started
practicing penances in
search of knowledge.
 After twelve years, he
attained the state called
Nirvana
(enlightenment).
Jainism
 Jainism does not recognize caste, deities or
sacrifices and is pledged to the non-taking of life.
 All Jains are strict vegetarians.
 Jainism stresses that there was no need for any
Vedic ceremonies and invoking the gods for help.
 Deeds should be based on the three jewels
(Ratnas) - Right faith, Right knowledge, and Right
action.
 The five vows of Jainism are:
 non-violence
 truthfulness
 non-stealing
 non- possession
 chastity
Invasion of Alexander the Great
327-325 bce
 Spring of 327 bce, Alexander and his army marched into India
 His goal was to reach the Ocean on the southern edge of the world
 Alexander sought out, the Brahmins, and debated them on philosophical
issues.
Maurya Empire
332-185 bce
Response to powervacuum created by
Alexander the Great’s
conquest of northern
India c. 326 bce
 First emperor
Chandragupta Maurya
(r.324-301 bce) – defeated
the satraps left by
Alexander and encouraged
the spread of Jainism
 One of the world’s largest
empires in its time and the
largest ever on the Indian
peninsula.

Maurya Dynasty 332-185 bce
 Central administration
 Diplomatic and trade
links with Greece,
Rome, Egypt, Syria and
Central Asia
 Emperor Aśoka (269–
232 B.C.E.) –the king
turns the “wheel of
dharma”
 Standardized Brahmin
script used in rock
inscriptions
 Multilingual pluralism
 Buddhism and ahimsa
(non-violence) as state
policy
Asoka Maurya
273-232
 Renounced violence
after the devastating
battle for Kalinga in
which over 100,000
were killed
 Built thousands of
stupas and viharas
(monasteries)
 Sponsored 3rd Buddhist
Council in 250 bce
 Sent forth of monks,
well versed in the
Buddhist teachings, to
teach in nine different
countries
 A collection of 33
inscriptions on the
Pillars of Ashoka, as well
as boulders and cave
 The edicts describe the
first wide expansion of
Buddhism.
 Buddhist proselytism
during this period
reached as far as the
Mediterranean
 The inscriptions revolve
around a few themes:
Asoka's conversion to
Buddhism, his efforts to
spread Buddhism, his
moral and religious
precepts, and his social
and animal welfare
program.
Pillar of Asoka at Vaishali, Bihar, India