Test Flashcards
the Vedic god of fire; god of religious sacrifices and divine knowledge
agni
prosperity and wealth; one of the guiding ideals of hinduism
artha
indo-eurpoean steppe peoples who conquered india
aryans
a means of seeking divine truth via self-mutiliation or deprivation; yoga helps train the body to seek religious truce in this practice
ascetism
its final destination is to be absorbed into the “world soul”; the part of people that is eternal
atman
the creator manifestation; the “cosmic architect”
brahma
the highest cast; priests and teachers were in this caste
brahmins
they were once called the “untouchables”
dalit/pariahs
each caste had its certain job; their____ was to do this job well; sacred duty
dharma
Shiva’s son; had an elephant’s head on a human body; god of wealth
ganesh
monkey-hero in the ramayana
hanuman
the Vedic god of war; rides an elephant mount; god of thunder
indra
pleasure, emotional fulfillment, desire; one of the guiding ideals of hinduism
kama
my destiny; the result of my actions
karma
kings had to be in this caste; the warrior caste
kshatriya
epic poem about a war for the throne between cousins and their families; poem that discusses duty, religion, society, and politics
Mahabharata
great prince; Sanskrit word for kings
maharaja
release from the cycle of rebirth
moksha
the four guiding ideals of hinduism
purusartha
cosmic man who was sacrificed to create the world and caste system
purusha
Sanskrit word for prince
raja
the hero of the Ramayana; went off to capture the golden deer
rama
epic poem about a hero rescuing his wife; epic poem about adventure, religion, mythology and duty (dharma)
ramayana
the evil demon-king who kidnaps sita
ravana
the cycle of reincarnation
samsara
written language of ancient india
sanskrit
custom of a widow throwing herself into husband’s funeral pyre
sati
the destroyer manifestation
shiva
the wife of Rama in the ramayana
sita
most people in ancient india were this caste; caste that included peasants, farmers laborers
sudras
the three forms of reality personified by brahma, vishnu and shiva
trimurti
caste that included merchants and artisans; lowest caste occupied by aryans and their descendants
vaisya
literally means “color”; the word for the concept of castes
varna
the Vedic god of water; god of justice and law
varuna
religious instructions that included hymns and craters; men were expected to learn funeral rites from these texts
vedas
the preserver/protector manifestation
vishnu
ultimate reality; the macrocosmic force operating in the universe
brahman
pre-hinduism Vedic religion
brahmanism
indigenous peoples of india conquered by the aryans; became the. sutras and Dalit
dhravidians
divisions of labor within the caste system; guild-like organizations of workers and their families that offered social stability
jati
3102 BCE
civilization appears in india, china
1500 BCE
aryans became established in india
480 BCE
death of the buddha
100 BCE
Mahabharata and ramayana written
169-232 CE
reign of Ashoka
Which mountain range surrounds india
Himalayan
subcontinent
a distinguished part of a continent
_____ flows through the Himalayan Mountains into the ______
Indus River, Arabian Sea
Punjab
five rivers flowing into Indus
_____ flows into the Bay of _____
Ganges, Bengals
Deccan Plateau
divides north from south
major archeological sites and details - Indias earliest civilizations
Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were ancient cities with strong administrative, urban, and religious centers.
Indias earliest civilizations
Indus Valley civilizations
reasons for decline of earliest civilizations
natural causes, social decay, neglect of public services
pastoralists
nomads who follow herds of animals
citadel
fortress
big export in india
cotton
role of father in the family
responsible for leading the ceremonies, possessed legal authority over entire family
how were women considered inferior
couldn’t become a priest and can’t divorce husband. Sati ceremony and provide dowery to husband.
upanishads
meditation philosophies, spiritual knowledge, commentaries of vedas
caste system
Brahmin - priests
kshatryia - warriors and kings
vaisya - merchants and landowners
sudra - commoners, peasants, servants
untouchables - outcasts
evidence of respect for women
they were respected in home
aryans
pure
aranyakas
rituals, ceremonies, and sacrifices
the cosmic man
class systems were created out of the parts of the body of a single cosmic man
reincarnation
reborn in a different form after death and progresses through several existences on the wheel of life until it reaches its final destination in a union with the great world soul
ascetism
sensual pleasures, modern practice of body training, self-discipline
the soul’s final destination
great world soul
3 great gods
brahma the creator, vishnu the preserver, and shiva the destroyer
dharma
code for living one’s life
artha
wealth and prosperity
kama
desire, fulfillment of pleasure desire
moksha
ultimate goal, release of the soul (atman), spiritual knowledge
karma
positively or negatively affects your souls reincarnation
avatar
character, a manifestation of gods
krishna
Vishnu, secretly a god
3 arguments Krishna used to convince Arjuna he should lead troops in battle
your atman will continue, your dharma is to be a warrior, karma has decided if they will die or not
how does purusartha reinforce the varna
be the best you can be so you are rewarded to a higher caste when reincarnated
Siddhartha Gautama
born son of a ruling kshatriya family contemporary of mahavira
what did SG discover at age 29
old age, pain of illness, death, ascetic lifestyle
two extremes to avoid
total materialism and total asceticism
four noble truths
- life is suffering
- suffereing is caused by desire
- the way to end suffering is to end desire
- the way to end desire is to avoid the extremes of a life
what should you follow
the middle path
what tree is significant to Siddhartha and why
He meditated under the Bodhi Tree. Bodhi means wisdom
what became Siddhartha’s new name
Buddha - enlightened one
eightfold path
all start with word right, idea of right
nirvana
elightment, knowledge of truth caused by nothing, dependent on nothing leads to nothing
boddhisatva
teacher, stays on planet to teach truth after death
offshoots from hinduism
jainism
Mahavira
the great hero
elements buddha kept
reincarnation, karma, nonviolence, simplicity, chastity, escetics
elements buddha rejected
castes, deites, creator (Brahman), individual atman (the self)
ashima
nonviolence
jainism
the path to enlightenment is through nonviolence
ashoka
considered greatest ruler in history of india, paragon of buddhist kingship
early reign of ashoka
conquering, pillaging, and killing
Ashoka ordered the erction of _____ to remind people of the _______
stone pillars, “proper way”
belief system that influenced Ashokas later reign
buddhism
architecture and sculpture
stone began to be used after the destruction of the Persian empire
3 religious structures
pillar, stupa, rock chamber
stupa
buddhist shrine (place for worship and devotion)
how is the stupa antithetical to the buddhas teachings
they’re not supposed to worship, materialism
lotus
emerges from muddy water each day clean and renewed
everyday a new start, rebirth
mandala
symbols of universe in its ideal form, used for meditation
