Lesson 2 - India’s Vedic Age Flashcards
What is a Veda?
- a collection of hundreds, and even thousands of hymns.
What is a caste?
- a fixed social class into which a person is born.
What is a varna?
- groupings based on one’s skill.
What is a jati?
- an occupation based caste.
What does migrate mean?
- to move from one region to another in order to live there.
What is a status?
- a position in society.
What region did the Indo-Aryans live?
The Indus Saraswati region.
What language did they speak?
Sanskrit.
What is the first theory about the Indo-Aryans?
They were nomadic warriors who crossed the mountains into India. They used horse-drawn chariots and iron weapons to defeat the local people.
What is the second theory about the Indo-Aryans?
They were India’s original inhabitants. They say if the Indo-Aryans came from a region outside of India, the Vedas would refer to it.
What is the third theory about the Indo-Aryans?
The Indo-Aryans were originally from what is now Afghanistan and Central Asia. Over many centuries they migrated into India with their livestock, mixed with local people and adopted local beliefs.
What did people do to celebrate the Vedas?
Ancient Indians, usually priests, memorized and sang or chanted Veda verses during ceremonies.
What might typical offerings be to the gods?
Barley, butter, or milk.
Sanskrit is a distant relative of _____________
English
Choose a Veda and describe it.
The Rig Veda is the oldest of the Vedas and it includes about 10,000 hymns. One passage states, “The truth is one; the wise call it by many names,”.
What tells us about life of the Indo-Aryans?
The Rig Veda and other sacred texts provide a record, not only for of the Vedic religion but about the people themselves. Most information we know comes from the Vedas.
What animals did they raise?
Cattle, horses, goats, and sheep.
How did they practice agriculture?
They grew several different crops including barley, wheat, and lentils. They dug water channels from the banks of the Saraswati and other rivers to irrigate crops.
What shows the Indo-Aryans loved their life?
The Vedas show they found joy in their day to day lives. They loved music and dancing. They held chariot races and enjoyed gambling. They also questioned the meaning of life and existence.
Describe the growth of the Vedic civilization.
Over many hundreds of years , the Vedic civilization slowly spread eastward across the humid and fertile Ganges Plain. Some villages grew into towns and cities.
At first, what were communities divided into?
Clans, or groups of people who believe that they share a common ancestor. Each clan had a chief.
Later, what did clans do?
Clans joined together and formed republics. Leaders made a decision in an assembly, but over time powerful leaders gained control and made themselves kings.
Tamil was very similar to Sanskrit.
True or False?
False
Tamil had no similarity to Sanskrit.
How did the caste system develop?
Scholars are not sure how the caste system developed. They aren’t sure whether the status-based varnas or the occupation based jatis developed first.
What are Brahmins in the caste system?
Priests
What are Kshatriyas in the caste system?
Rulers and warriors
What are Vaishyas in the caste system?
Landowners, bankers, and merchants
What are Sudras in the caste system?
Farmers, laborers, and servants
What are Dalits in the caste system?
People who did all the civilizations dirty jobs
Explain why the Vedas are important.
The Vedas are important because they include all about the Indo-Aryans. They tell us about their life and they include important hymns which include very important life lessons.
What are the similarities and differences between varna and jati?
The varna and jati are both types of groupins but the varna is based on ones skill, focusing more on what they are capable of. The jati is based on ones occupation, focusing on someone’s family business or something like that.
