Ch. 4 - India

ANCIENT WORLD HISTORY STUDY GUIDE

Chapter 4: Early Civilizations and Empires of India (2500 B.C. - A.D. 500)

Geography of Ancient India

1. Indus River

-fertile valley where one of the world’s first civilizations began

-water comes from the high mountain elevations

2. Hindu Kush

-part of the highest mountain range in the world

-isolated ancient India from outside influences and attacks

3. Kyber Pass

-natural passageway through the Hindu Kush

-located along the India-Pakistan border today

4. Monsoons

-strong winds which bring rain during half the year

-summer monsoons bring rain, winter monsoons bring clear skies

-important to have plenty of rain during winter time

Beginnings of Indian Civilization

5. Dravidians

-dark skinned people who developed an ancient civilization in the Indus Valley around 3000 B.C.

-although divided into several tribes, were united by a common language (still spoken in India)

-developed a sophisticated culture and nature-based religion

6. Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro-

-ancient cities in India which were carefully planned out

-used mud brick

-one of the largest ancient cities in the world (40,000 people)

7. Seals

-yet not understood way of communicating in ancient India

-approximately 2,000 seals exist from ancient Indian cities

8. Indo-Aryans

-light skinned invaders from central Asia who replaced the Dravidians in the Indus Valley around 1500 B.C.

-unclear if Dravidians were driven from their cities or simply occupied vacant cities

-changed religion to one that worshipped gods rather than nature (setting stage for Hinduism)

-preferred a more rural existence so vacated cities

9. Hinduism

-religion developed in Southeast Asia

-300 million gods

-probably the oldest religion still practiced in the world today

10. Vedas

-collection of thousands of prayers, hymns, and other religious teachings

-divided into four groups which became the basis for Hindu culture

-included government (controlled by the Rajah)

-the Rig Veda (last one thousand songs and most sacred) explained the Hindu religion

11. Sanskrit

-early language used in the oral traditions which eventually produced the Vedic holy texts

-language is used only for religion so only the priests (and a few others) knew the language

-Sanskrit was language of common people

12. Mahabharata

-epic story of ancient India

-mixture of history, mythology, and religion

-probably longest poem ever written, over 100,000 verses

13. Bhagavad-Gita

-section of the Mahabharata epic which describes the divisions of society

-the law of the religion

-spells out the ethical ideas which should be followed in Hinduism

14. Caste System

-separation of people by birth

-Brahmin= priests

-Kshatriyas= warrior, king, princes

-Vaisya= skilled workers such as herders/farmers, artisans, merchants

-Shudra= unskilled workers such as servants or laborers

-Harijan= untouchables, outcastes of society

15. Stages of Life

1. student- learn religion

2. family person- pass on religious knowledge

3. recluse- pray and worship

4. holy man- end all family ties, give up all possessions, own nothing, live by begging

16. Principal Gods of Hinduism

Brahmin-ultimate reality

Devi - Mother Goddess

Brahma - the creator

Vishnu - the preserver

Shiva - the destroyer

17. Atman

-Universal Soul

-Hindu belief that all life is important and significant no matter how insignificant the creature

-every living being possesses a soul

-”Ahisma” refers to Hindu belief of non-violence and no killing

18. Reincarnation

-called Samsara and represented as a wheel

-having ones soul reborn over and over

-necessary in Hinduism in order to worship all the many gods and goddesses

19. Maya

-the inability to see things in the proper way

-must rise above maya to acquire moksha, or the release from the cycle of reincarnation

20. Dharma

-the religious duties of an individual

-code of behavior which guide a person’s life

21. Karma

-actions in this life which affect caste in the next life

22. Nirvana

-place of release of the reincarnation cycle

-takes many lifetimes to attain

23. Yoga

-physical and mental meditation and concentration

24. Ganges River

-called the Mother Ganges by Hindus

-sacred river, considered the “giver of life” by making agriculture possible

-believers are expected to make pilgrimage and bathe in the Ganges (for purification) at least once

-greatest Hindu honor is to be cremated along it’s banks and ashes spread in the river

25. Suttee

-Sanskrit for “faithful wife”

-widows threw themselves onto their husband’s funeral pyre

-demonstrated the wife's devotion and desire to remain unified in the afterlife

-generally done within the upper castes of Hinduism

-abolished by the British in 1829

26. Buddhism

-Asian religion which believes in the teachings Buddha (the Enlightened One)

-similar to Hinduism, but does not include caste system

27. Siddhata Gautama

-born (ca. 563 B.C.) into a high-ranking family in early India

-he was not allowed to see the “four sights”, sickness, old age, death, monks

-once he experienced pain, sorrow and suffering he dedicated his life to finding the “noble

truths”

-found answers while meditating under Boa tree

28. Four Noble Truths

1. life is suffering

2. desire and greed cause more suffering

3. renouncing desire opens way to heaven

4. eightfold path is way to attain this

29. Eightfold Path

1. Right View

2. Right Intentions

3. Right Speech

4. Right Action

5. Right Living

6. Right Effort

7. Right Mindfulness

8. Right Concentration

30. Sangha

-communities of monks and nuns

-every Buddhist is expected to devote some portion of their life to live as a monk

31. Gupta Dynasty

-empire ruled by the Gupta family beginning with Chandragupta

-Golden Age of India of Ancient India

-replaced Buddhism with Hinduism as state religion

32. Asoka

-made Buddhism the state religion in India.

-responding to horrors of war in Kalinga (100,000 dead), converted and ruled empire in accordance with Buddhist principles of compassion

33. Gifts of Ancient India:

Gupta Empire credited with world’s first inoculations. Created zero, negative numbers, decimal numbers, and algebra. Added to advancements in astronomy, science, and philosophy. Invented concept of game like chess.