India Flashcards
Describe the geographic location and topography of the Indian subcontinent.
Geographic location: encompasses the modern nations of Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, and the adjacent island of Sri Lanka.
Topography: 3 zones… (Zone 1) the mountainous northern zone takes in the heavily forested foothills and high meadows. (Zone 2) Next come the great basins of the Indus Ganges Rivers. (Zone 3) the peninsula proper, an arid, rocky plateau that brings to mind parts of the American southwest.
Describe the monsoon cycle
The temperature difference between the water and the land acts like a bellows, producing a great wind in this and adjoining parts of the globe.
How does the monsoon cycle affect agricultural production?
It lets some places have three harvests a year.
Explain the origins of the Indian class system during the Vedic Age. Include brief descriptions of the major class divisions.
The Indian class system began because of the Aryans after the Indus Valley Civilization fell. One: Brahmin (the group comprising priests and scholars). Two: Kshatriyas (warriors and officials) Three: Vaisya (merchants, artisans, and landowners) Four: Shudra (peasants and laborers) Five: Untouchables
Define reincarnation, jati, dharma, and karma.
reincarnation- the rebirth of a soul in a new body.
jati- a Hindu caste or distinctive social group of which there are thousands throughout India; a special characteristic is often the exclusive occupation of its male members.
dharma- the principle of cosmic order
karma- the sum of a person’s actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences.
Describe the basic beliefs of Jainism.
Emphasizes the holiness of the life force that animates all living creatures. Wore masks to prevent themselves from accidentally inhaling small insects, and they carefully brushed off a seat before sitting down. Practiced extreme asceticism and nudity, ate only what they were given by others, and eventually starved themselves to death.
Describe the life of Siddhartha Guatama.
Born in 563, was a prince, and led an extremely sheltered life in the royal compound. At the age 25, he left the walls of the palace and saw four men: old man, sick man, dead man, and a poor man. For the first time he saw suffering.
Describe the Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path.
Four Noble Truths: Life is suffering, suffering is caused by the desire for material goods, to get rid of suffering you must get rid of desire, to get rid of desire, follow the eightfold path.
Eightfold Path: right view, right speech, right livelihood, right mindfulness, right intention, right action, right effort, right concentration.
What are the differences between Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism?
Malayan Buddhism embraced the popular new features. Theravada Buddhism followed most of the original teachings of the founder.
How does Buddhism differ from Hinduism?
Hinduism doesn’t believe in the caste system and Buddhism does.
Traditionally, what are the duties of a young Indian man through the ideal life cycle?
- the young man becomes a student and studies the sacred texts.
- he then becomes a householder, married, has children, and acquires material wealth.
- when his grandchildren are born, he gives up home and family and becomes a forest dweller, meditating on the nature and meaning of existence
- he abandons his personal identity altogether and becomes a wandering ascetic awaiting death.
Has India traditionally been a unified country?
Political unity in India, on those rare occasions when it has been achieved, has not lasted long.
On what was the wealth of the Magadhi kingdom (later the Maurya Empire) based?
based on agriculture, iron mines, and its strategic location astride the trade routes of the eastern Ganges Basin.
Who was Chandragupta Maurya?
was a young man who may have belonged to the Vaishya or Sudra class, gained control of the kingdom of Magadha and expanded it into the Mauryan Empire.
What was the Arthashastra?
a surviving treatise on government. This coldly pragmatic guide to political succeed and survival advocates the so-called circle theory of foreign policy: “My enemy’s enemy is my friend”.
