Lesson 2 - India’s Vedic Age

Question 1

What is a Veda?

Answer 1

• a collection of hundreds, and even thousands of hymns.

Question 2

What is a caste?

Answer 2

• a fixed social class into which a person is born.

Question 3

What is a varna?

Answer 3

• groupings based on one’s skill.

Question 4

What is a jati?

Answer 4

• an occupation based caste.

Question 5

What does migrate mean?

Answer 5

• to move from one region to another in order to live there.

Question 6

What is a status?

Answer 6

• a position in society.

Question 7

What region did the Indo-Aryans live?

Answer 7

The Indus Saraswati region.

Question 8

What language did they speak?

Answer 8

Sanskrit.

Question 9

What is the first theory about the Indo-Aryans?

Answer 9

They were nomadic warriors who crossed the mountains into India. They used horse-drawn chariots and iron weapons to defeat the local people.

Question 10

What is the second theory about the Indo-Aryans?

Answer 10

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.

Question 11

What is the third theory about the Indo-Aryans?

Answer 11

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.

Question 12

What did people do to celebrate the Vedas?

Answer 12

Ancient Indians, usually priests, memorized and sang or chanted Veda verses during ceremonies.

Question 13

What might typical offerings be to the gods?

Answer 13

Barley, butter, or milk.

Question 14

Sanskrit is a distant relative of _____________

Answer 14

English

Question 15

Choose a Veda and describe it.

Answer 15

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,”.

Question 16

What tells us about life of the Indo-Aryans?

Answer 16

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.

Question 17

What animals did they raise?

Answer 17

Cattle, horses, goats, and sheep.

Question 18

How did they practice agriculture?

Answer 18

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.

Question 19

What shows the Indo-Aryans loved their life?

Answer 19

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.

Question 20

Describe the growth of the Vedic civilization.

Answer 20

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.

Question 21

At first, what were communities divided into?

Answer 21

Clans, or groups of people who believe that they share a common ancestor. Each clan had a chief.

Question 22

Later, what did clans do?

Answer 22

Clans joined together and formed republics. Leaders made a decision in an assembly, but over time powerful leaders gained control and made themselves kings.

Question 23

Tamil was very similar to Sanskrit.
True or False?

Answer 23

False
Tamil had no similarity to Sanskrit.

Question 24

How did the caste system develop?

Answer 24

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.

Question 25

What are Brahmins in the caste system?

Answer 25

Priests

Question 26

What are Kshatriyas in the caste system?

Answer 26

Rulers and warriors

Question 27

What are Vaishyas in the caste system?

Answer 27

Landowners, bankers, and merchants

Question 28

What are Sudras in the caste system?

Answer 28

Farmers, laborers, and servants

Question 29

What are Dalits in the caste system?

Answer 29

People who did all the civilizations dirty jobs

Question 30

Explain why the Vedas are important.

Answer 30

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.

Question 31

What are the similarities and differences between varna and jati?

Answer 31

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.