Classical India

India Classical Age is when Indian society grew and thrived, setting the foundations in arts, science, politics, religion, philosophy, and economics that define Indian culture. This period lasted from about 320 to 550 CE, while the influential Gupta Empire governed India.

India Geography

Ancient India extended to the North West and West (consisting of parts of modern Pakistan and Afghanistan). The Himalayas lay to the north as they are today. The geography of India is one of the great extremes, encompassing desert, mountains, forest, and jungle. These environments are susceptible to unpredictable periods of flood, drought, and monsoon.

Although India may bear some of the most extreme geological and climatic features, these difficult conditions were also a great asset to the development of India's early civilizations. The Himalayas provided a great deal of protection from nomadic and military invasions from the north, and other mountain ranges provided similar protection in the west and east. The waterways of the Indus valley provided an excellent source for trade and commerce all through India's history.

Government

The Mauryan period of government, there existed both civil and military officials. They were paid a salary in cash. The highest official was paid the salary of 48000 panas (Unit of money) per year. The soldiers were paid 500 panas per year. Some officials maintained the records of population, income, and government expenditure. These officials and clerks collected income tax and customs duties. A spy system was an essential feature of the Mauryan administration.

The royal agents and the spies could contact the king at any time, and they reported to the king about various developments in his kingdom. Chandragupta was the first king to successfully unify India

. In the provinces, there were local officials called rajukas, who became more powerful during the reign of Ashoka. There were specific departments that decided certain vital matters of administration. There existed a standing army that certain committees again controlled.

During the Gupta period of government, the administrative structure was excellent despite a large empire. During the Gupta period, the administration was also more or less like the Mauryas. The most crucial difference between the Gupta and Mauryan administration was the centralization and decentralization of administration. In the Gupta administration, the governors of the provinces were more independent than the Mauryans, where the administration was highly centralized.

Hinduism

The predominant religion in ancient India was Hinduism. The roots of the Hindu religion can be traced back to the Vedic period. Hinduism is believed to be the oldest of major religions and originated in northern India. Early Aryan, or Vedic, culture was the early Hinduism whose interaction with non-Aryan cultures resulted in Classical Hinduism. It is interesting to note that Hindu thought has dramatically shaped much of ancient, classical, and modern Indian culture.

Caste System

The origins of the caste system in India is not fully known, but castes seem to have originated more than 2,000 years ago. Under this system, which is associated with Hinduism, people were categorized by their occupations.

Although originally caste depended upon a person's work, it soon became hereditary. Each person was born into an unalterable social status. The four primary castes are:

1. Brahmin, the priests

2. Kshatriya, warriors, and nobility

3. Vaisya, farmers, traders, artisans

4. Shudra, tenant farmers, and servants.

Some people were born outside of (and below) the caste system; they were called "untouchables" or Dalits—"the crushed ones."

Reincarnation / Karma

Hinduism is the belief in a supreme being that watches over an endless cycle of creation, preservation, and dissolution. Reincarnation, a central tenet of Hinduism, is when the soul, seen as eternal and part of a spiritual realm, returns to the physical realm in a new body. A soul will complete this cycle many times, learning new things and working through its Karma. This cycle of reincarnation is called samsara. Reincarnation in Hinduism is not limited to being born as a human. You may have had prior lives as animals, plants, or as divine beings who rule part of nature. If it has life, then it is part of the cycle.

In Indian religion and philosophy, Karma is the universal causal law by which good or wrong actions determine the future modes of an individual's existence. Karma represents the ethical dimension of the process of rebirth (samsara), a belief generally shared among India's religious traditions. Indians believe that future births and life situations will be conditioned by actions performed during one's present life.

Buddhism

Besides Hinduism, another main religion during ancient India was Buddhism. Buddhism originated in northern India in what is today the state of Bihar. It rapidly gained adherents during the Buddha's lifetime. Up to the 9th century, Indian followers numbered in the hundreds of millions.

Buddhism is one of the world's largest religions and originated 2,500 years ago in India. Buddhists believe that human life is one of suffering and that meditation, spiritual and physical labor, and good behavior are the ways to achieve Enlightenment or nirvana.

Central Beliefs of Buddhism

The Four Noble Truths comprise the essence of Buddha's teachings, though they leave much left unexplained. They are 1. the truth of suffering,

2. the truth of the cause of suffering,

3. the truth of the end of suffering,

4. the truth of the path leading to it.

Noble Eightfold Path

The steps of the Noble Eightfold Path are Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration. By following this path, a person will end their suffering.

Nirvana and Enlightenment - achieved by following the Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths

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