Final 2 Flashcards
When did the international trade merchants raise to a significant power factor in India?
Days of Pallavas
Which region of international trade was controlled by the Ayyavole?
west Asia
What was the regional base of the Manigramam trade guild?
Tamil Nadu
What evidence is there that the “negation of the world” philosophy was not as prevalent in the late Middle Ages as it was in the early period of India?
Passages by GUILD of Ayyavole merchants (lengthy inscription)
What effect did the constant raise and fall of dynasties in the Middle Ages have on the culture of India?
Different areas flourish at some time & developed their regional culture.
What difference in structure of the government is found in comparing Harsha’s Empire with the Gupta Empire?
- Harsha’s internal structure diff.
- organization decentralized
- diff. control w/in central core
- Mahasamanta at top NOT governor/prince
What was a distinctive structural feature on the Medieval realms?
Rise of Samanta’s
why was the Medieval political structure inherently weak?
as soon as power of central ruler declined, mahasamanta strives for independence (or dream stepping in centre of samatachakra)
What was the first stage of “development from below” in South India?
Tribal chief to local Hindu princeling
What role did the tributary princes play in administration of the nuclear areas of a realm in Medieval India?
NOT yet play any significant role but attended court of victorious king
What event would mark the beginning of the third phase in the “development from below” in South India?
Conquest & annexation of one kingdom and principalities (intermediate regions)
What was one type of development Orissa had before the decline of Kharavela’s realm?
Imposed from above or imported from other regions
When did the second phasae of development in Orissa began?
After Gupta empire decline (7th century) when Shailodbhava Dynasty Emerged
What areas were brought together by the Somavamshis?
Dakshina Koshala and Khinjali Mandala
Which group of government officials is not mentioned in the Mahanadi delta inscription?
No governors and district officers
Who can the mandala lords of the Bhaumakara dynasty’s realm be compared to?
Allodial lords (medieval Europe)
How was the king’s prestige measured in Medieval India?
Number of tributary princes attending court
What was Amoghavarsha’s cleaver way to control the tributary princes?
Sent 1000s of dancers/courtesans as spies to Samanta court. These ladies had to be maintained by the Samantas but reported to royal ambassador to Samanta court who would pass on to Amoghavarsha.
In the Gupta dynasty why did the king give land grants to Brahmins in distant lands?
- Brahmins instrumental for legitimacy of kinship (enhance king’s personal power)
- act as missionaries of Hindu culture
What was the name of the large temple build in Paramaras around 1059-80?
Udayeshvara temple
The close connecgtions between the king and the large temple allowed him do do what to unruly samantas?
Threaten w/ wrath of royal god
What is one religious factor that characterizes medieval India?
Brahaminsim to new popular Hinduism (TRANSFORMATION)
What was one non-religious factor that characterizes medieval India?
Regional kingdoms/languages/cultures
In medieval India why was infrastructure and agrarian extension under financed?
Brahmins and the temples (resources were diverted to)
What two contradictory tendencies when synthesized led to Hinduism of today?
1) ‘Brahmin counter-reformation’ (Bud-Jain constant debates) VS
2) popular Bhakti cult mvmt (rejected the Brahmin orthodoxy & monist philosophy; devotion to personal god
Which of the Hindu schools of philosophy is considered the “essence of Indian philosophy”?
Vedanta (anta of Vedas)
When did Shankara life?
788-820 AD
According to Shankara why do people believe the world is real?
From ignorance (avidya); prevents soul (atman) from realizing identity w/ divine spirit (Brahman).
How did Shankara accommodate popular Hinduism?
Allowed ‘lower truth’ (embodying manifold appearance of world & existence of divine creator (ishvara).
-He reflected similar ideas of the Upanishads and of Mahayana Buddhism and was able to combine popular Hinduism with orthodox Brahminism. Everyone could find his own level in this synthesis of lower or higher truth.
Bhakti emphasizes which of the following?
Love of god and child-like devotion to him
Where did the Bhakti movement begin?
Tamil Nadu
What was one group of Vaishnavite bhakti saints called?
alwars
What constitutes the “Tamil Veda”?
Sundaramurti, Mankkavasagar and Sambandar (saints) writings
What groups of people made up the early Shaivite bhakti movement?
Nayanar
What religious phenomenon helped increase bhakti’s appeal?
periye puranam story:
Brahmin priest becomes divine and included among the Nayanar saints.
He dreamt of shiva, who told him all towns people were his divine bodyguards.
Next day everyone appeared to the Brahmin divine.
What were two aspects of incorporating local gods into the greater Hindu pantheon?
1) great career by becoming identified w/ one of great gods and being served by Brahmin priests
2) anthropomorphisation & legends which justified transformation
What cult is centered at Chidambaram?
Cult of Shiva as King of dancers
Vyagrahapada came to Chidambaram for what reason?
To worship the Mulasthana lingam
How was the “fish-eyed” goddess incorporated into the Great Tradition of Hindusim?
Identify her with Parvati (Shiva’s wife) and making marriage of Shiva and Parvati central feature of fish-eyed goddess cult
According to the Great Tradition who is Jagannath?
Lord of the World, tribal god transform to great deity and identified w/ Vishnu
Why do people go on pilgrimage to Gaya?
sacrifice for ancestors
Who was the most important representative of the Vaishnavite school of philosophy?
Ramanuja
The Vaishnavite philosophy of 1,100 CE is classified as which of the following?
Shri Vaishnavas Doctrine = Shankara’s Advaita philsophy + Vaishnava Pancharatra theology
What is the content of the Gitagovinda?
Poems (emotional & erotic)= love of Radha and Krishna.
When did Chaitanya live?
1485-1533
What was one factor that helped northern India emerge from being eclipsed by the south?
Mathura chosen as centre of Krishna cult and rapid development of Hinduism in south and central
The most prominent school of Shaivism in the north was which of the following?
kashmir shaivism
Who was the greatest exponent of Shaivism who lived in the 11th century?
Abhinavagupta
What was one of the advantages that Shaiva Siddhanta?
- Shaivites matched overpowering influence of Ramanuja’s Vaishnavite philosophy
- Reconciled earlier orthodoxy w/ ideas of Bhakti movement
What is one of the significant characteristics of the Lingayats?
Arose as RADICAL movement against CASTE & Brahmin orthodoxy; retained radicalism for centuries; believe in Vedas, bury the dead, vegetarians, no child marriage but remarriage allowed.
What was one contributing factor in the development of regional literature?
emergence of :
1) great regional kingdoms
2) various sects & religious movements
3) sanskrit texts translated to regional language
What helped promote pilgrimage sites in the period 1000-1300 CE?
Pilgrimage sites:
1) Produced Sanskrit collection of mahatmyas legends
2) Translated into vernacular language=recited by pilgrims everywhere
Which of the three theories of spreading Indian culture to SE Asia has been rejected by scholars?
Kshastriya (theory that Indian warriors colonized SE Asia)
Why was J.C. van Leur important?
- Criticized Indianisation/Europeanisation concept (SE Asia)
- Highlighted the great skill & courage of Indonesia seafarers emphasized Indonesian rulers themselves
- Had invited Indian Brahmins (active role cultural borrowing)
Who sent the first Buddhist monks to Burma?
Ashoka
Which South Indian Buddhist master spent five months in Suvarnadvipa on his way to China?
Vajrabodhi
Which area of India deserves the greatest credit for spreading Indian influences in SE Asia?
Tamil Nadu (South India)
When did direct Indian influence recede in SE Asia/
13th century
Which dynasty is considered a Golden Age in India/
Gupta
Who was the last great Gupta ruler in the 5th century?
skandagupta
Which areas of study advanced under the Gupta rule?
Math (pi to the 4th decimal place and numbers 1-9), Astronomy (round earth, gravity, planetary positions)
Medical advancements (operations), architecture, sculpture, Paintings, writings of epics, classic form of Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism
Sanskrit literature
Who were the great Mahayana philosophers and co-founders during the Gupta period?
Asanga
Maitreya
Nagarjuna
Vasubandhu
What was different about the Gupta military in comparison to previous native Indian militaries?
- Mounted warriors (no chariots)
- Infantry archers: steel bows & fire arrows
- elephants
- shields
- javelin swords (long or dagger)
The God Shiva is often depicted as a lingam what is the goddess depicted as?
yoni
The period of Shakyamuni’s life that Mahayana took as a model was which of the following?
Bodhisattva path (enlightment)
The future earthly Buddha will be named which of the following?
Maitreya
When did the Vajrayana originate?
6th century
Kriya, Carya, Yoga and Anuyoga tantras are based on what fundamental Buddhist concept?
Darshana
Which is a feature of Tantric Hinduism?
World embracing vision
- positive expression of divine consciousness in male (shiva) and female (shakti) forms
- Identify microcosm with macrocosm
- 4 part agamas (knowledge, yoga, kriya regulations, carya injunctions)
One of the unique techniques used in Hindu tantra is which of the following?
sex yoga, mantra, rituals, asanas, pranayama, (geometric) yantra and (simplified) mandalas
In what century did Harsh come to power?
7th century (606 CE)
How old was Harsha when he was crowned king?
16
Which play did Harsha write?
Nagananda, Priyadarshika and Ratnavali
When was the Pala empire begin?
750
Which Pala king ruled in 1170 CE?
Govindapala
The earliest (proto-)Bengala literary work is which of the following?
Buddhist Charyapada
When was the Chera Dynasty founded?
3rd century BCE
Who established the Medieval Cholas?
King Vijayalaya
In what year was Rajadhiraja Chola II ruling?
1163-1178
In what centuries did the Chalukya rule?
6th - 12th centuries
Which religious group did the Chalukya support?
Jainism and Shavism
Who was the founder of the Badami Chulukya royal dynasty?
Pulakeshi I
In the Vedic Mahajanapada period, what was the name of Andhra?
Assaka/Asmaka
According to the powerpoint, who was the last of the “Later Pallava” rulers?
Aparajitha Varman
Who brought Buddhism to Sri Lanka?
Mahinda (Ashoka’s son)
In which centuries did the Licchavis rule Kathmandu valley?
3rd century CE
