Transcript Ancient India

Ancient India
Indus River Valley
Some of the earliest people in India
lived along the Indus River, for the
same reasons people in North Africa
and the Middle East settled around
the Nile and the Tigris and Euphrates
 By the Indus River communities
developed
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Social Structure of Ancient India
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Varnas is the system of four main social classes
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Brahmans: Priests, study and teach the Vedas,
perform religious ceremonies
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Kshatriyas: Warriors, Rulers, study the Vedas, lead
the gov’t and head the army
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Vaisyas: Common people, merchants, artisans,
farmers, tend the herds, sell products
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Sudras: Unskilled laborers, servants, serve other
Varnas
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Parihas: Slaves, perform unclean tasks
Early India’s Social System
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GROUPS OUTSIDE
VARNAS:
 Pariahs = orange
VARNAS:
 Brahmans = red
 Kshatriyas = purple
 Vaisyas = blue
 Sudras = green
Concept of Duty
Dharma is the duties of the males who belonged to
each varna
 The concept of dharma includes doing what is
proper for one’s age
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Mauryan Empire
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322 BC
Founder: Chandragupta
Asoka – after fierce wars of
conquest, became
“enlightened”
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Renounced war
Followed Buddhist teachings
Buddhism official religion, but
Hinduism tolerated
Spread Buddhism throughout
India and other parts of Asia
Asoka’s Rock Edicts
Laws carved on
rocks and pillars
throughout
empire
 Written in local
languages
 Laws stressed
concern for other
human beings
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Gupta Empire
320AD-535AD: after
Mauryan Empire
 India’s “Golden
Age” – arts &
sciences flourished
b/c low taxes
 Began to write down
rules for everything:
grammar, drama,
politics
 Sanskrit of Gupta
court became major
language of north
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Economy of Empires
 Agricultural
(agrarian)
 Coastal Rim –
trade in
cotton, gems,
spice, gold,
silk, cashmere
HINDUISM
Hinduism
Based on different beliefs and practices
 ***Differences from other religions:*** was not
founded on the teachings of one person and does
not have one holy book
 As a result, it became a complex religion of many
deities
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Hinduism (cont’d)
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Religious writings is the Upanishads
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They tell that all living things have souls and all souls
are part of one eternal spirit, the Brahman Nerguna
To experience true freedom a soul must be
separated from the material world and united
with the Brahman Nerguna
Hinduism Cycle of Rebirth
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Reincarnation  rebirth of the soul
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Karma  determines the cycle of rebirth
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A soul passes through many lifetimes before it achieves
union with the universal spirit
How a person lives their life will determine what form
they take on in the next life; failure to fulfill your
dharma means you might be reborn into a lower varna
(social class)
To move towards universal spirit you must have
good karma and fulfill your dharma
Hinduism Cycle of Rebirth (cont’d)
Ahimsa  practice that requires believers to
protect humans, animals, plants, insects
 Cycle of rebirth continues until a person reaches
spiritual perfection
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Ultimate aim of life is moksha, or release from the pain
and suffering of rebirth after rebirth
BUDDHISM
Buddhism
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Founded by Siddhartha Gautama
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A Kshatriya prince
Lived a sheltered life and one day was exposed to
scenes of misery
Wandered for 7 yrs as a hermit to seek the truth
through fasting and self-denial
Soon he began to share his insights with others and the
meaning of his “enlightenment”
Began to be called Buddha or “Enlightened One”
Four Noble Truths
1: all people suffer and know sorrow
 2: people suffer because their desires bind them to
the cycle of rebirth
 3: people could end their suffering by eliminating
their desires
 4: one cold eliminate desire by following the
Eightfold Path
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The Eightfold Path
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Urges his followers to do 8 things:
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Know the truth
Resist evil
Say nothing to hurt others
Respect life
Work for the good of others
Free their minds of evil
Control their thoughts
Practice meditation
The Eightfold Path (cont’d)
By following the path one could reach nirvana or a
state of freedom from the cycle of rebirth
 Buddha rejected the varna system
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Said your place in life depended on the person, not their
birth
Did not believe in caste system or Hindu deities
Spread of Buddhism
Buddha spent 40 years teaching
 After his death monks spread this belief to India,
Asia (China, Japan, Korea)
 Architecture honored Buddha through stupas or
large stone mounds over the bones of Buddhist
holy people
 Theravada: close to original teachings (SE Asia, S
Asia)
 Mahayana: encouraged worship of Buddha as
savior (China, Korea, Japan)
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