Transcript Chp3_India_PPT

Chapter 3
Ancient India and
the Rise of Buddhism
2600 B.C.E-100 C.E.
Agenda: Oct 2
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Attendance, scribe, gum, uniforms, phones
Wrap up Egypt: Book of the Dead
Main topics and concepts: Egypt
Rig Veda
Homework for Monday: China capture sheet.
Key Terms
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Indus and Ganges Rivers
Monsoon
Harappan Site
Ur
Sanskrit
Rig Veda
Nomads
Varna
Jati
More Terms
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Bhagavad Gita
Ramayana
Dharma
What evidence survives of social stratification at
the Indus Valley sites?
 What is known about the role and position of
women in Vedic society?
 What are some of the connections between
Sanskrit and modern English?
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p45a
p45b
The Origins of Complex Society in
South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
 The Story of Ashoka
 Ashoka ruled from 268–232 B.C.E.
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In 260 B.C.E., Ashoka won a major battle at
Kalinga.
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Appalled by the violence, he decides to embrace
Buddhism.
The Origins of Complex Society in
South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
 Ashoka had inscriptions carved on rocks and
pillars placed throughout realm.
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These rock edicts are some of the earliest
surviving texts from South Asia.
 Ashoka's dynasty, Mauryan, was one of the few
periods in which a large part of South Asia was
unified.
The Origins of Complex Society in
South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
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Complex Society in the Indus River Valley, 2600–1700
B.C.E.
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The Indian subcontinent is divided into three regions.
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Largely uninhabited Himalaya Mountains in the
north
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Densely populated plains of the Indus and
Ganges Rivers
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Southern peninsula, less populated than the
plains
The Indus and Ganges rivers both originate in the
Himalayas.
The Origins of Complex Society in
South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
 Earliest civilizations in the area were the Indus
Valley Society or the Harappan.
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The first farmers domesticated wheat and barley
c. 6500–5000 B.C.E.
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India's agriculture depends on the monsoon
season for water.
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Indus Valley residents learned to make pottery
and metallurgy.
The Origins of Complex Society in
South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
 The Harappan remains were discovered in the
1920s.
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Large mounds were excavated, revealing a large
urban center of mud brick.
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The Harappa site reached 380 acres and a
population of between 40,000 and 80,000.
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Another 1500 settlements have been
discovered.
The Origins of Complex Society in
South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
 Harappan society had a written language, using
between 400–450 different signs.
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Similar signs have been found throughout the
region, suggesting a common writing system and
unified culture if not politically unified.
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The signs have yet to be deciphered.
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Scholars do not know if the signs stand for words,
syllables, or sounds.
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An Indus seal was found in Ur, Mesopotamia,
revealing the extent of trade.
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Carnelian and lapis lazuli came from the
Indus, shells to Mesopotamia
The Origins of Complex Society in
South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
 Archeological evidence indicates that the
Harappan had social stratification
The Origins of Complex Society in
South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
 The Spread of Indo-European Languages
 Indo-European is a large language family that
includes English, French, Latin, Greek, Hittite,
and Sanskrit.
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Original homeland of the Indo-Europeans is
unknown
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Migrated out of that homeland thousands of years
ago
The Origins of Complex Society in
South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
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Migrations covered most of Europe, Russia,
Anatolia, Iran, and north India.
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Anatolians were speaking Hittite by 2000
B.C.E.
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Sanskrit reached north India by 1500–1000
B.C.E.
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Modern Hindi, in north India, is descended
from Sanskrit.
The Origins of Complex Society in
South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
 The Indo-European Migrations and Vedic
Culture, 1500–1000 B.C.E.
 The Indo-Europeans brought, into India, the Rig
Veda.
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The Rig Veda consists of 1028 hymns in Sanskrit.
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The Rig Veda was transmitted orally from 1500
B.C.E.–1000 C.E.
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First written down in 1000 C.E.
Hymns of the Rig Veda convey many details
about everyday life.
The Origins of Complex Society in
South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
 The Indo-Europeans called themselves Aryan, a
Sanskrit word for "noble.”
 The Indo-Aryan religion is called "Vedic" after the
Rig Veda.
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Some elements of the Vedic religion will descend
down into Hinduism.
The Origins of Complex Society in
South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
 Vedic rituals focused on the transition between
day and night or between seasons.
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Brahmin priests made offerings to deities to
ensure change of time or season.
Deities include gods of war, the sun, fire, death,
and minor deities.
Rituals were elaborate and could last days and
involved animal sacrifice.
The Origins of Complex Society in
South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
 The Rig Veda reveals a lot about Vedic social
customs and classes.
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Priests were commissioned by nobles to perform
rituals.
There was no single ruler; kings had small
territories and collected taxes.
Earliest Vedic peoples were nomadic, migrating
with seasons to feed herds.
 Most important animal was the horse
The Origins of Complex Society in
South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
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The Rig Veda reveals that the Vedic peoples had
diverse occupations.
Women in Vedic society were almost equal to
men, within the same class.
 Women could be educated, choose their own
husbands, inherit property, and widows could
remarry.
The Origins of Complex Society in
South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
 The Changes After 1000 B.C.E.
 After 1000 B.C.E., the Vedic peoples began to
settle down to agriculture.
 Four distinct social classes developed, called
varnas.
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Varnas were determined by birth.
Brahmin priests were the highest, followed by
warriors, farmers and merchants, and finally,
laborers.
Each varna is based on categories of religious
purity.
Varnas evolved, over time, into diverse social
classes, called caste or jati.
The Origins of Complex Society in
South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
 Iron was also introduced after 1000 B.C.E.
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Agriculture improved with the use of iron tools.
Population also increased, as did trade.
 Coins first appeared in India c. 500 B.C.E.
The Origins of Complex Society in
South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
 The religion also changed, moving from external
rituals to internal to morality.
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The Upanishad texts introduced the idea of
transmigration of souls.
Karma, or acts in this life, determine how a soul
will be reborn.
New gods, who took anthropomorphic forms,
were introduced.
The Origins of Complex Society in
South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
 The Mahabharata is a Sanskrit epic of 100,000
verses.
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It introduces dharma, or "right conduct.”
The Bhagavad Gita is often read separately.
 Krishna appears in the tale as a god, urging
the characters to devote themselves to
worshipping him.
 The Ramayana tells the story of a king whose
wife is captured by a demon; he does not trust
her loyalty to him until he tests her and the gods
defend her.
The Origins of Complex Society in
South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
 Jainism began c. 500 B.C.E., by Mahavira
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Mahavira, a wandering ascetic who renounced
food and clothing
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Jains believe in right faith, knowledge, and
conduct.
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Jains emphasize no harm to other living beings.
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Table 3-1 p50
Map 3-2 p51
The Rise of Buddhism
 The Rise of Buddhism
 Founder of Buddhism was Siddhartha Gautama
 "Buddha" means "the enlightened one or
awakened one."
 Buddhism spread to Sri Lanka, Central Asia,
China, Japan, and Southeast Asia.
 Sources for the Buddha date to several centuries
after his death.
The Rise of Buddhism
 The Life of the Buddha
 Scholarly consensus puts the death of the
Buddha at ca. 400 B.C.E.
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Born near Nepal, along the southern edge of the
Himalayas
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Lived to be about eighty years old
The Rise of Buddhism
 Legend says his mother dreamed of a white
elephant holding a lotus flower.
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Seers interpreted the dream to mean her son
would either be a great monarch or a great
teacher.
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Parents raised him in a walled palace, to prevent
him from seeing suffering
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Believed if he saw human problems, he would
become a teacher
Wanted him to grow up to be a monarch, not a
teacher
Buddha grew up, married, and fathered a child.
The Rise of Buddhism
 Buddha then had four encounters.
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Driving inside the palace park, he noticed an
elderly man.
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He then saw a man with fever, and his body
covered with growths.
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His third encounter was a glimpse of a corpse.
The Rise of Buddhism
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The fourth encounter was a wandering ascetic,
wearing a simple robe.
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The ascetic looked happy.
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The Buddha resolved to follow his example.
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Buddha starved and lived a life of extreme
asceticism.
The Rise of Buddhism
 After six years, the Buddha decided to stop
starving himself and meditate.
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Meditated for forty-nine days under a tree, later
known as the Tree of Wisdom
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From meditation, he gained enlightenment.
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Decided to share his enlightenment and explain
how he achieved it
The Rise of Buddhism
 The Teachings of the Buddha
 Tradition holds that his first sermon was in the
Deer Park in the Ganga Valley.
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Five first followers who were also seeking
enlightenment
 Identified two incorrect routes to enlightenment
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One was extreme self-mortification and the other
was extreme self-indulgence
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Told his followers to leave family life, live simply,
and avoid extremes
The Rise of Buddhism
 Identified a Noble Eightfold Path as means to
escape the endless cycle of rebirth
 First, he analyzed Four Noble Truths.
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First truth was suffering.
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Second truth was the origin of suffering.
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Third truth was that suffering could be ended.
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Fourth truth was the Eightfold Path to ending
suffering.
The Rise of Buddhism
 Eightfold path consists of right understanding,
resolve, speech, action, livelihood, effort,
mindfulness, and meditation.
 Following the Eightfold path leads one to
nirvana, an end to the cycle of rebirth.
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Nirvana means "extinction" but also means true
understanding.
 Both Buddhists and Jainists reject the authority
of the Brahmans, the Vedic hymns, animal
sacrifices, and Vedic rituals.
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Both focused instead on individual liberation
without regard to varna.
The Rise of Buddhism
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Buddha urged everyone to follow him, begging for
food and living in monastic groups that lived by
consensus.
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Buddha believed that only the monks like him
could achieve nirvana.
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At first, all his followers were men.
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Eventually allowed women to join, but only
as subordinate to men
The Rise of Buddhism
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People who did not become monks, but donated
food and money could still achieve merit.
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This could possibly improve their lives or
future lives.
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Unlike the Vedic religion, merchants and lower
classes could change their status.
The Rise of Buddhism
 Buddha forbade any worship of statues or
portraits of him.
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Did allow worship at four sites important to his life
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Where he was born, gained enlightenment,
preached first sermon, and died
The Rise of Buddhism
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Upon his death, the Buddha was cremated, and
his ashes divided up.
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His ashes were buried under a bell-shaped
monument over a burial mound, called a
stupa.
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At the stupas, his followers performed a ritual
circumambulation.
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Followers also left gifts of flowers, incense,
and clothing.
The Rise of Buddhism
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The first visual depictions of the Buddha date
from the first and second centuries C.E.
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These depictions vary a great deal by region
and style.
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The Mauryan Empire,
ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
 The Mauryan Empire, ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
 Buddhism was one of many religions in India
until Ashoka converted.
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Under Ashoka, Buddhism became the most
influential religion in India.
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Ashoka made Buddhism a state religion, which
allowed him to use it for social and political unity.
The Mauryan Empire,
ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
 Because of trade in Mauryan India, Buddhism
spread across Asia.
 Our major sources for this period are Ashoka’s
rock edicts, archeology, and the partial report of
Megasthenes, written after 288 B.C.E.
The Mauryan Empire,
ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
 Life and Society in the Mauryan Dynasty, c. 300
B.C.E.
 Mauryan dynasty began with Chandragupta
Maurya, grandfather to Ashoka
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Reigned c. 320–297 B.C.E.
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He was a general, who defeated another general
to gain control of the north.
The Mauryan Empire,
ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
 Established his capital at Pataliputra, on the
Ganges
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In 302, Selecus I (successor to Alexander the
Great) sent an ambassador to Pataliputra.
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Megasthenes stayed in Pataliputra for fourteen
years.
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Wrote a description of the Mauryan called Indika
c. 300 B.C.E.
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Describes a large and fortified capital city
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Also describes how carefully the Mauryans
watched over foreigners living in the city
The Mauryan Empire,
ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
 Within Pataliputra, Mauryans had tight control
over commerce and trade.
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Also allowed Mauryans to collect taxes from trade
 Megasthenes also described the large military
section of the Mauryans.
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Particularly fascinated by the training of elephants
The Mauryan Empire,
ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
 Megasthenes also describes Mauryan society,
which had seven ranks.
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These ranks do not correspond completely with
the varnas of the Vedas.
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The seven ranks are: councilors, philosophers,
farmers, herdsmen, artisans, soldiers, and spies.
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Among the philosophers were Brahmins,
Jains, and Buddhists.
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By 300 B.C.E., many Buddhists revered the
Buddha as a god.
Megesthenes notes that no one is allowed to
marry outside their caste.
The Mauryan Empire,
ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
 Mauryan Control Outside of the Capital
 The Mauryan Empire was decentralized.
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Megesthenes describes three types of territory:
those ruled directly by the Mauryan, conquered
regions with kings, and local republics.
The Mauryan Empire,
ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
 Local peoples continued to speak their own
languages.
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Ashoka's rock edicts were written in local
languages.
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The rock edicts were also written in different
lengths, which allowed local officials to tailor them
to their cultures and peoples.
The Mauryan Empire,
ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
 Ashoka sent officials to inspect outlying regions
every three to five years.
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Also built roads, planted trees, and dug wells
 Mauryan rulers did not mint their own coins; local
rulers did.
The Mauryan Empire,
ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
 Ruling by Example: The Ceremonial State
 Ashoka was the first Indian ruler to embrace
Buddhism.
 Became a chakravartin, an ideal ruler who
supports Buddhism by following its teachings
and making donations, but not becoming a monk
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A chakravartin rules by dharma and hopes his
subjects will follow his example.
The Mauryan Empire,
ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
 Known as a ceremonial state because he does
not enforce his rule, but hopes his subjects will
accept his rule for his generosity and right living
 Following the battle of Kalinga, Ashoka decided
to accept five precepts.
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Not to kill, steal, commit adultery, lie, and drink
alcohol
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This made him a lay Buddhist, rather than a
monk.
The Mauryan Empire,
ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
 In 258 B.C.E., Ashoka increased his devotion
even further.
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He convened a meeting of ascetics from various
religions.
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Ashoka attempted to convert them to Buddhism.
The Mauryan Empire,
ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
 Ashoka claimed that his influence stretched into
Egypt, Greece, and Ceylon.
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No external evidence of this influence
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It is possible that Ashoka sent Buddhist
missionaries into these regions.
The Mauryan Empire,
ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
 Problem with the Ashoka's inscriptions is that
they are only his viewpoint and not corroborated
by external evidence
 Mauryan Empire began to collapse after
Ashoka's death in 232 B.C.E.
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South Asia's External Trade
 South Asia's External Trade.
 India was accessible to outside cultures via a
land route through the Hindu Kush.
 Sea trade was the most important contact
between South Asia and other places.
South Asia's External Trade
 Archeologists trace trade routes by following
commodities.
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Lapis lazuli is only found in northern Afghanistan.
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The presence of lapis lazuli in Sumer and
elsewhere reveals where trade with Afghanistan
reached.
South Asia's External Trade
 Sea trade followed the monsoon winds, which
blew west in the summer and east in the winter.
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Indian Ocean merchants used dhows, small teak
boats that were flexible.
South Asia's External Trade
 A first century C.E. text, called the Periplus,
describes the Indian Ocean trade.
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Periplus was written by a Greek merchant from
Egypt.
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It is a guidebook that describes the various ports
of the Indian Ocean.
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It lists the goods that could be found in various
regions in East Africa, Arabia, and India and
makes a reference to China.