India Flashcards
Geographically, India is a what?
Subcontinent
Subcontinent
A large landmass that juts out from a continent; India is a subcontinent of Asia
India was relatively —— from the world
isolated
Pros and Cons of Indias relative isolation
Pros:
Harder to have conflicts
Hard to invade
Cons:
No knowledge from other civilizations/cultural diffusion
Less trade opportunities
Three regions of India
Northern Plain
The Deccan Plateau
Coastal Plains
Northern Plain
Well irrigated - very good water supply
Rivers give this area very fertile soil
Northern plain was often attacked due to their fertile soil
Three rivers give the Northern Region very fertile soil:
The Indus, The Ganges—which is extremely holy to hinduism, and The Brahmaputra
The rivers flood once a year
The Deccan Plateau
southern India
Dry and sparsely populated
Coastal Plains
Separated from the Deccan by the Ghats mountains
Soil good for farming
Fishing villages and trading posts established
Monsoons
seasonal wind
Shaped Indian life
Winter Monsoons
warm dry air blows → hurts crops, not good
Spring Monsoons
rains drenches the land
Extremely important for crops, people prayed for these
Quick summarization of the first Indian Civilization
Indus Valley Civilization
The first Indian civilization was very large but we have very few records of it;
These people were known as Dravidians
What were the two main cities in the Indus Valley Civilization?
Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro - twin cities
Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro - twin cities:
They were large and well planned cities
They had an advanced education system
With strong governments
Most common Indus Valley occupation
Farmer
Indus Valley trading and sailing
They were good traders and sailors
They even traded with people from Sumer
Coins were found from Sumer to China
Indus Valley Religion
They were polytheistic
They worshipped a mother goddess
They also worship spirits in animals and nature - (animists)
Animistic people deified what?
The worship ranged from primordial objects (sun/sky/moon) to natural forces (wind/animals/nature)
Decline and disappearance of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
Both cities’ disappearance is most likely attributed to natural disasters.
They may have also abused the natural resources
Then invaders and Aryans from the north came in and took control in 1500 BC
How did the Aryans infilitrate India?
They came through passes in the mountains known as the Bolan and Khyber pass
Aryans are modern day ——
Iranians
Early Aryans were nomads
True or False
True
How many records did early Aryans leave behind?
None
What was the result of the Aryans discovering writing?
They began to record past events
Most of our information about the Aryans come from their holy book-
Vedas
Vedas
First creation hymn is the called the Rig Veda
The earliest religious books of India
Tells a lot about early India in general
Knowledge passed down through epics written in Sanskrit
The Aryans were fierce warriors
True or False
True
What caused the Aryans to transtion away from their nomadic way of life?
They settled and eventually became good farmers - nomads to farmers
Aryan society was broken down into four basic groups
Brahmans (brɑ mən, brah-muhn)
Kshatriyas (kʃátrɪjə, ksha-tree-uh)
Vaisyas (vaɪs yə, vahys-yuh)
Sudras (su drə, soo-druh)
Brahman (brɑ mən, brah-muhn)
Priestly class, highest class
[associated with the head]
Kshatriyas (kʃátrɪjə, ksha-tree-uh)
Warriors, second highest class
[associated with the torso and arms]
Vaisyas (vaɪs yə, vahys-yuh)
herders, farmers, land owners, merchants, artisans, most other professions, penultimate (2nd to last) class
Sudras (su drə, soo-druh)
Conquered people—Dravidians, labourers, lowest class
[associated with feet]
The different groups in Aryan society lead to the development of what?
The Caste system - ranks people based on where they’re born (Bangladesh)
The leadership system of the Aryans followed as such:
The leaders, called Rajahs—local leaders—fought to control northern plains
Mahoragas ruled bigger areas consisting of many Rajahs
Rajahs
The leaders—local leaders—fought to control northern plains
Mahorajahs
ruled bigger areas consisting of many Rajahs
Aryan advancements and developments:
Eventually they settled down and formed villages
They also eventually mastered iron metallurgy
They eventually developed a system of writing called Sanskrit
They built walled cities
Aryan religious beliefs
Predecessors to Buddhism
They were polytheistic, believing in many animals as gods (similar to Greek myth, Scandinavians)
They worshipped the sky, sun, moon, etc
They offered sacrifices to the gods such as food and drink
Some religious thinkers believed that there was one single power called Brahman, that was in all things
Mystics also developed. They believed that in yoga, meditation and to communicate directly with forces of nature
Religious songs or chants were performed during sacrificial rituals.
Brahman
Some religious thinkers believed that there was one single power called Brahman, that was in all things
Hinduism and Buddhism relation to the test
THE BULK
Hinduism Orgins
Hinduism came from the cultural diffusion of Aryans and Dravidians
No one founder—such as the Abrahamic Jesus, or one sacred text—like the Christian Bible or Jewish Torah
It grew from the various diverse groups that settled in the Indus Valley
Vedic and Epic Ages
Did Hinduism have many gods or one?
They believed there was one force in the world: Brahman.
This force took many forms → aka many gods
Important Hindi gods:
Indra, chief god of war [do not need to know]
Brahma, creator of life
Vishnu, preserver of life
Shiva, destroyer of life
Each Hindi gods could take-
many forms
In Hinduism, each person has a force in them called
Atman - similar to a soul or Ka
In Hinduism, the goal in life is-
Moksha - or union with Brahman
Moksha, cannot be done in a one lifetime, as a result-
they believe in reincarnation
In Hinduism, you could —- or —- rank or status until you achieved Moksha
“lose”
“gain”
Karma and dharma
Karma - everything that you do, which affects your fate in the next life
What you did
Dharma - Religious and moral duty of people, it varies from class to class
What you should do
Sacred Hindi Texts
Vedas - oldest
Bhagavad-Gita - fulfil your dharma
Upanishads - epic poems
Ramayana - fulfil your dharma
Mahabharata - longest epic poem ever written
an important Hindi principle of non violence-
Ahimsa
Who created an extreme form of Ahimsa?
Mahavira
Jainism
a religion centred around meditation. self-denial, and abstinence from killing others
Jains follow a culture of extreme non-violence, to a degree which they avoid any way they could potentially kill something.
Inequality of Hinduism
The Brahman class began to claim too much power
Some people wanted to reform/make changes
In the Himalayas, a reformer named Siddartha Guatama developed Buddhism
Siddhartha Gautama was from a wealthy family-
Kshatriya
There were predictions about Siddhartha Gautama’s life-
he was going to leave and become a wandering holy man
How were Siddhartha Gautama’s predictions formed?
His mother saw an elephant in her dream. The interpretation of this dream was that her son would become a wandering holy man.
Siddhartha Gautama’s parent’s reaction to his future
Not wanting this fate to befall him, his father kept him at home to keep him safe and spoiled him rotten.
A life changing event happened and Buddha changed the way he lived
He saw an old man
He saw a very sick man
Finally, he saw a dead man
Group of people that told Buddha to deny himself of all worldly pleasures, including food.
Ascetics
The Buddha’s o.g. name-
Siddhartha Gautama
Buddha’s realization of the Ascetics philosophy was that it was-
He realised this was wrong, sat under a Bodhi tree, became enlightened, and became Buddha.
Buddha sat under a — tree
Bodhi tree
Became enlightened
The Four Noble Truths
All life is suffering, pain, sorrow
Suffering is caused by desire for things such as riches, power, and long life
Only cure for suffering is to overcome desire
To overcome desire → follow the 8 fold path
Eightfold path
Right views
Right aspirations
Right speech
Right conduct
Right livelihood
Right effort
Right mindfulness
Right contemplation
The goal in Buddhism is what?
The goal of this was to achieve nirvana, union with the universe and release from the cycle of rebirth
nirvana
union with the universe and release from the cycle of rebirth
The Buddhist holy book is the
Tripitaka (three baskets of wisdom)
Hardcore Buddhism, follow Buddha exactly, leave friends and family-
Theravada Buddhism
Tolerant, keep some money, friends, family, deified Buddha-
Mahayana Buddhism
Similarities and Differences between Hinduism and Buddhism
Global Connections
no civilization more open to others
B. None more central to cultural exchanges
C. New civilizations
1. Trade influence grew
2. Religion, epics, art, architecture led to new civilizations – Angkor Wat/Majapahit
Topography of India
Routes or paths through the Himalayas allowed people and goods to travel between India and other areas.
Somewhat set apart
Political unity difficult
River civilizations –
Indus and Ganges
Mountainous north –
herding society
Separate regions contributed to:
economic diversity
racial differences
language differences
Vedic Age
The Vedic period, or the Vedic age, is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas, was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent
Aryans settled, made —— villages
tight-knit
Families were ——, and strong bonds existed between different ——-.
patriarchal
generations
Pariah
Untouchables
“Outcast/Untouchable”—street sweepers, latrine cleaners, grave diggers lowest class
Had to warn people of their approach by banging sticks
Your presence around a Pariah (if in higher caste) meant your status lowering
I.e. if a Brahmin’s shadow touches a Pariah’s, the Brahmin’s caste in their next life will instead be a Kshatriya.
In Aryan society, social groups became ——-
hereditary (your social status, role, and duties are passed down from your parents to you.)
If one marries between castes, it is-
punishable by death
Castes were broken into smaller ——
subgroups (gets more complex over time)
Aryan polytheism was one of the-
few polytheistic religions to survive
At the end of the formative phase, many major states existed –
some monarchies, some republics
dominated by warriors/priests
Eras often created as reaction to invaders
Mauryan Dynasty style of government
autocratic – based on ruler’s personal/military power
Kushans
came from outside regions
were violent in their conquests
adopted Buddhism
this association with outsiders and violence negatively affected Buddhism’s image.
How were the Kushans bad for Buddhism
The connection of Buddhism with foreign invaders led some people to view the religion as less authentic or traditional, which may have caused divisions or mistrust among local practitioners.
Gupta Political Institutions
Regionalism – diversity
There was significant regional diversity, with occasional autocratic kings and aristocratic assemblies.
How did they maintain power?
Mauryan & Gupta
Mauryan: The Mauryan Empire relied on military strength to maintain power.
Gupta:
The Gupta Empire maintained power through negotiation.
They claimed their rulers were appointed by the gods.
The Guptas allowed local rulers autonomy, promoting Sanskrit without imposing a single language.
During their Golden Age, they spread laws and supported universities, arts, and literature.
Gupta did not have an elaborate political culture-
There was limited political theory, especially compared to the Greeks.
Kautilya wrote the Arthashastra, which outlined how to maintain power.
Political service was not highly valued.
Buddhist leaders showed little interest in political affairs.
Why were there limitations on the Gupta Empire’s government?
Local governments had significant authority.
The caste system already regulated life, making political laws unnecessary.
Subcastes were hereditary, and marrying outside one’s caste could result in losing status, though marrying below was sometimes accepted.
Economic success rarely led to upward mobility in caste.
The caste system was the most rigid social structure among classic civilizations, allowing conquerors and the conquered to coexist peacefully.
Cultural blending was not essential, and tolerance was promoted.
Slavery was avoided, as untouchables were not owned.
Qualities of civilization based on cultural values
Civilizations showed a remarkable ability to survive.
The concept of civilization means different things to different people and can evolve.
Indian children were encouraged to indulge their imaginations, fostering imaginative links with a higher power.
There was a clear continuity in Indian civilization, even though it rarely existed under a single political power.
Hinduism developed—-, often in—–
gradually over time
response to other religions like Buddhism and Islam.
Hinduism encouraged-
political and economic goals (artha) and worldly pleasures (karma).
What helped Hinduism regain followers after Buddhism?
fluidity and adaptability
There is a distinction between ritualistic practices and mystical pursuits, where mystics (gurus and Brahmans) agree on:
The existence of a divine essence with multiple gods, aiming for union with this essence.
Key deities include Vishnu (the preserver) and Shiva (the destroyer).
Reincarnation involves multiple lifetimes; the soul’s next destination depends on past actions.
Hinduism options for a good life-
Meditation and self-discipline through yoga.
Rituals like cremation, prayers, and the sacredness of cows while refraining from eating beef.
Belief in lesser nature gods.
Symbolic sacrifices to assist in reincarnation.
Hindi life obligations
Responsibilities include serving family, earning money, and military service when necessary.
Bhagavad Gita
classic hymn
The Bhagavad Gita discusses the duty to act, even in difficult situations like killing family members, emphasizing reincarnation.
Hinduism spread due to:
Satisfying rules of conduct for life.
Incorporation of elements from previous religions.
The caste system, which offered hope for better future lives.
Hinduism still attractive due to ——-
mysticism
Buddhism Literature
Political theory sparse, but wrote about human life
While political theory was limited, literature focused on human experiences.
Recorded epics – lively stories
Epic narratives were written down, showcasing vibrant tales.
Romantic adventure – separated/returned
Stories often included themes of romantic adventures, including separation and reunion.
Guptan Science
Ancient India supported universities like Nalanda, focusing on astronomy and medicine.
Religion limited practices like dissection.
Advances included bone setting, plastic surgery, and sterilization, which reached the West much later.
Indian Mathematics
imported through Arabs but Indian
Indian mathematicians developed the concept of zero and the decimal system.
Negative numbers- They also worked with negative numbers.
Square roots- Techniques for calculating square roots were developed.
Pi- The mathematical constant pi was recognized and used.
Family life based on hierarchy
wife worship husband as god
women lost power as male power expanded – common of agricultural societies
Social status is significant; being in a higher caste is considered more advantageous than being in a lower caste.
Marriages are often arranged to strengthen economic ties between families.
Children may be spoiled during their early years but are later expected to contribute diligently to the family and society.
Women who exhibit intelligence and strong will are often revered and compared to goddesses in cultural narratives
Inequality was the Social Norm
Indian Trading Network
Traded mostly in Asia
Coveted cotton textiles and bronze statuaries
Epic literature
Each caste was a different-
“species of being”
Rules dictated how each caste acted/interacted
True or False
True
Fill in each number with the correct answer
- Himalayas
- Deccan Plateau
- Western and Eastern Ghats
- Indus River
- Ganges River
- Hindu Kush
- Thar Desert
- Aravalli Range
Effects of the Caste System
This system kept an ordered society
Castes were inescapable in a current life
With good karma, you could regress into a higher one.
However, if you received bad Karma—as the last in a caste, you regress into animals, then inanimate objects.
Each class cooperated and depended upon each other (each had specific role)
It allowed diverse people to live in relative harmony
India is regionalized -
was still a bunch of decentralised autonomous states at this point
The village was the ——- in India
“heart of life”
Villages and Taxes
They paid taxes to the king, but were basically left on their own; without support or protection
People in villages ——– to survive
cooperated
Joint family
Was the basic unit of life
Parents, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles all lived in the same dwelling
Usually only the rich could do this in the same house
Patriarchal Home Life
The oldest—competent and capable—male was the head of the family
He was the main decision maker
Children/parents
The joint family helped children learn family duties
Children respected their parents and learned skills from family members
Parents arranged marriages for their children
A dowry was paid to the family of the groom
Women
Lost some status as time passed
Shakti - a creative force that women had
Must cover themselves from head to toe if they left the house
They did not want women to remarry
Sati - “widow burning” (literally means virtuous woman)
What were some components of Pataliputra?
Which has schools, libraries, parks, temples
Chandragupta
Ruled harshly
Took control of the Ganges river valley
Kautilya was his advisor
Kautilya wrote a document called the Arthashastra that told the king to rule by an iron fist
Maintained order with a well organised bureaucracy.
Brutal secret police enforced his Machiavellian cruelty
Chandragupta abdicated and gave his power to his son, Bindusara, who ruled poorly
Kautilya wrote a document called the ———– that told the king to rule by an iron fist
Arthashastra
Bureaucracy
a government run with different departments
Asoka/Ashoka up to enlightment
Ashoka was originally a strict king
Fought a long war to win the Deccan Plateau
He fought a large battle, and was horrified by the number of dead - 100,000+
He converted to Buddhism and rejected all violence and stopped further conquest
Converted to Mahayana—less strict—Buddhism
By then, Buddha was a deified
Asoka/Ashoka past enlightment
He wanted to lead by example and not through harsh methods
He helped spread Buddhism into Asia
Responsible for most of the Buddhism in Oriental asia
Started a monastic movement (movement of monks)
Placed rock edicts—large rocks with the teachings of Buddhism on them—throughout the land
The country fragmented after his death
Disunity and Division after Asoka/Ashoka
Local princes fought for control of India
Geography made it hard to unite the people
India was divided for 500 years
The Guptas & the Golden Age (320 AD - 550 AD)
Guptan Society
Guptas weren’t as strict as the Mauryas
Local villages governed themselves
People were free to come & go as they pleased
Artisans produced excellent wares
Farmers produced large amounts of crops
Guptan Learning
Religious schools were set up for children
Maths - They set up the number system we use today, the concept of zero, and a base 10 system
Medicine - surgeons, vaccines (smallpox)
Guptan Society
Guptas weren’t as strict as the Mauryas
Local villages governed themselves
People were free to come & go as they pleased
Artisans produced excellent wares
Farmers produced large amounts of crops
Guptan Architecture
Temples called Stupas were built
They were Buddhist shrines with large domes
Guptan Paintings, Carvings, Literature
ALL flourished under the Guptas → that is why it is called a GOLDEN AGE
