Transcript History 103: World History I

History 381:
Asian Experience
Ancient India
Key terms
Harappa
 Aryans
 Raja/Maharaja
 Dharma
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Arthasastra
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Mauryan empire
 Vedas
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Varna
Jati
Caste system
Hindu
Sidhartha Gautama
Nirvana
Bodhi
Asoka
Stupa
The Indian Subcontinent
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Indus River Valley
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Supported agricultural
settlements as much as
6,000 years ago
River runs through
modern Pakistan
In ancient times was a
lush and fertile plain
with abundant rainfall,
today it is mostly arid
Harappan name given to
civilization in this
ancient area
The Harappan Civilization
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Dravidians are
descendents of Indus
River valley culture
Hill peoples were
probably the original
inhabitants of much
of the subcontinent
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The Early Inhabitants
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No evidence for political
system
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Language probably belonged
to the Dravidian family
related to the modern
tongues of southern India
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Each city had a fortified
citadel and a large granary
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Broad streets, marketplaces,
temples, public buildings
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Standardized weights,
measures, architectural
styles, and brick sizes
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Harappa and Mohenjo-daro
Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
Two great walled
cities that dominated
Harappan
civilization
 Harappa surrounded
by a brick wall 40
feet thick
 Laid out in a grid
pattern with wide
streets
 Maybe 80,000
inhabitants
 Contained advanced
drainage and water
systems
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Narrow mud brick streets
Harappan site
THE “ARYAN INVASION”
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From about 1500–1000 BCE,
“Aryan” peoples from southern
Russia enter Indus region
Aryan society
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Aryan religion
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Pastoral
Nomadic
Equestrian
Patriarchal
Warrior
Polytheistic
Aryan language was ancestral
to Sanskrit, oldest known in
Indo-European family
Aryan Invasions
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Aryan culture had long been subdivided into distinct
classes with warriors at the top, and this system was
superimposed upon Indian society.
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The warrior and priestly caste (or kshatriya and
Brahmins respectively) dominated, and there existed
a small class of commoners or vaisya.
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The vast majority of the Indian population, however,
fell into the bottom of society
– the sudras and pariahs or untouchables.
INDO-ARYAN SOCIETY
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Divided into 4 hereditary
occupational divisions or castes
(varņas = colors):
– Brāhman (priest)
– Kşatriya (warrior)
– Vaiśya (merchant/artisan)
– Śūdra (peasant)
On margins of society are Dalits
(so-called “untouchables”), who
perform menial and polluting tasks:
– Corpse handlers
– Executioners
– Hunters and fishermen
– Butchers
– Leatherworkers
Caste System
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Aryan system of castes
superimposed upon Indian
subcontinent
Based on warrior class as head
Allows for keeping indigenous
peoples subjugated
Color part of division as Aryans were
lighter skinned than native Indians
Not permitted to eat or marry
outside of caste
Basic social organization by which
Indian society was divided even
today
Role of women
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Women were subordinate to men—
father, husband, sons
Men did most of the work in fields
agricultural societies
Women seen as an economic burden
since did not have much roles outside
of the home
Parents must provide dowry to obtain
husband
Female children joined families of
husband once married, so provided no
real advantage to having daughters
Still, Hindu code of behavior ordered
women to be treated with respect
Women viewed as very sexual beings
who could use sexuality to dominate
men
The Vedas
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Concerned with orthopraxy
(proper action) in ritual
Brāhman authors edit oral
liturgical traditions, producing
Vedas (“knowledges”), c. 1200-600
BCE
By 600 BCE, sūtras (“threads,”
commentaries), or summaries of
Vedas, become popular
4 collections (samhitās) of Vedas:
Ŗigveda were praise stanzas sung
by priests in ritual
Sāmaveda were songs sung by
priestly entourage
Yajurveda were the short
incantations uttered by
priests’ assistants in ritual
Atharvaveda were the therapeutic
spells and hymns used by
atharvans = healers
The Rig veda
Ancient Sanskrit work of early Aryans
 One of several collections of “verses of
knowledge”
 Collection of Aryan traditions that had
previously been passed down through
oral storytelling
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The Upanishads
A set of commentaries
(explanations and
elaborations) on the
Vedas compiled in the
sixth century B.C.E.
dharma
Set of societal laws
that set standards of
behavior and
obligations for each
caste in Indian
society
karma
The key element in reincarnation
 Dictates that one’s rebirth in a next life is
determined by one’s actions in this life
 Governed by the dharma, which imposes
different requirements depending on a
person’s social status
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Reincarnation
The individual soul is reborn in a different form after
death
– The soul progresses through these lives until it
reaches union with the Great Soul, or Brahman,
the final objective of all living souls
– Reflects the social caste system with the brahmins
closest to ultimate release and the untouchables
furthest away
– Provides hope to lowest classes that they can
achieve a higher class through good actions
Pantheon of gods
Originally based on the idea of gods and
goddesses representing forces of nature
 Most of the gods adopted human
characteristics and frailties
 Centered around the most powerful gods:
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– Brahman the Creator
– Vishnu the Protector
– Shiva the Destroyer
The Empire of Asoka
©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning ™ is a trademark used herein under license.
©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning ™ is a trademark used herein under license.
Stupa at Sarnath, where Siddhartha Gautama
preached his first sermon