Chapter 19 – History of Ancient India

Section NotesEarly Indian CivilizationsOrigins of HinduismOrigins of BuddhismIndian EmpiresIndian Achievements

VideoImpact of Buddhism as a World Religion

ImagesHarappan ArtThe Great DepartureMauryan TroopsGupta ArtTemple Architecture

Quick FactsChapter 19 Visual Summary

MapsAncient India, 2300 BC-AD 500Harappan Civilization, c. 2600-1900 BCAryan MigrationsEarly Spread of BuddhismMauryan Empire, c. 320-185 BCGupta Empire, c. 400India: PhysicalAncient India

Close-upLife in Mohenjo Daro

Early Indian Civilizations

The Big Idea

Indian civilization developed on the Indus River.

Main Ideas

Located on the Indus River, the Harappan civilization also had contact with people far from India.

Harappan achievements included a writing system, city planning, and art.

• The Aryan invasion changed India’s civilization.

Main Idea 1:Located on the Indus River, the Harappan

civilization also had contact with people far from India.

• Archaeologists think that the Harappan civilization thrived between 2300 and 1700 BC.

• The Harappan civilization controlled large areas on both sides of the Indus River.

• The largest settlements were two cities: Harappa and Mohenjo Daro.

• The Harappan civilization was dependent on agriculture and grew a variety of crops—from wheat and barley to dates and vegetables.

• The Harappans traded with people as far away as southern India and Mesopotamia.

Main Idea 2:Harappan achievements included a writing

system, city planning, and art.

• Skilled engineers

• Towering fortresses were built near each city.

• Streets were lined with storehouses, workshops, market stalls, and houses.

• Built extensive sewer systems

Writing System

• Developed India’s first writing system

• Scholars cannot read this system.

• Must rely on other clues to study Harappan society

City Planning

• Skilled artisans

• Sturdy pottery vessels, jewelry, and ivory objectsArtistic

Achievements

The End of the Harappan Civilization

• Harappan civilization ended by the early 1700s BC.

• No one is sure why their civilization ended.

• Perhaps invaders or natural disasters caused the civilization to collapse.

Main Idea 3:The Ayran invasion changed India’s

civilization.

Arrival and Spread

• First arrived in India in the 2000s BC

• Originally from the area around the Caspian Sea in Central Asia

• Spread east and south into central India

• Most of what we know about Aryan society comes from the Vedas

Government and Society

• Nomads who

eventually settled in villages and began to farm

• Lived in small communities based on family ties

• Villages were governed by rajas.

• Groups often fought each other

Language

• Did not read or write

• Memorized poems and hymns that were important to their culture

• Sanskrit was the most important language in ancient India.

• Sanskrit is no longer spoken today.

Origins of Hinduism

The Big Idea

Hinduism, the largest religion in India, developed out of ancient Indian beliefs and practices.

Main Ideas

• Indian society divided into distinct groups.

• The Aryans formed a religion known as Brahmanism.

• Hinduism developed out of Brahmanism and influences from other cultures.

• The Jains reacted to Hinduism by breaking away.

Main Idea 1:Indian society divided into distinct groups.

• These groups were largely organized by people’s occupations.

• Strict rules developed about how people of different groups could interact.

• Over time, these rules became stricter and became central to Indian society.

Social Divisions in Aryan society

The Varnas

• Brahmins – priests

• Kshatriyas – rulers and warriors

• Vaisyas – farmers, craftspeople, and traders

• Sudras – laborers and non-Aryans

The Caste System

• Divided Indian society into groups based on a person’s birth, wealth, or occupation

• Determined his or her place in society

• On rare occasions, people could change caste.

• Untouchables were considered unclean and were the outcasts of society.

Caste Rules

• Aryans wanted to keep the classes distinct.

• Sutras, or guides, which listed the rules of the caste system

• People spent almost all of their time with others in their same class.

Main Idea 2:Aryans formed a religion known as

Brahmanism.

• Aryan priests were called Brahmins, and their religion is often called Brahmanism.

• Aryan religion was based on the Vedas.

• Aryans wrote down their thoughts about the Vedas in collections called Vedic texts.– One collection of Vedic texts describes Aryan religious rituals.– A second collection describes secret rituals that only certain people

could perform.– The final group of Vedic texts are the Upanishads. These writings are

reflections on the Vedas by religious students and teachers.

Main Idea 3:Hinduism developed out of Brahmanism and

influences from other cultures.

• The Vedas, the Upanishads, and other Vedic texts remained the basis of Indian religion for centuries.

• Eventually, the ideas began to blend with ideas from other cultures.

• This blending created a religion called Hinduism, the largest religion in India today.

HinduismHindu Beliefs

• Believe in many gods

• Each god is part of a single universal spirit called Brahman.

• Brahman created the world and preserves it.

• Everything in the world is part of Brahman.

Life and Rebirth• Believe that everyone has

a soul • A person’s ultimate goal

should be to reunite that soul with Brahman, the universal spirit.

• People must try and see through the illusion of the world, which can take several lifetimes.

• Souls are born and reborn many times, each time into a new body. This process of rebirth is called reincarnation.

HinduismHinduism and the Caste

System• A person’s karma determines

what physical form person will be reborn into.

• Karma is the effects that good or bad actions have on a person’s soul.

• Hinduism teaches that one must obey one’s dharma.

• Hinduism was popular at all levels of Hindu society.

• Hinduism preserved the caste system in India by teaching people to accept their places in society.

Hinduism and Women

• Early Hinduism taught that both men and women could gain salvation, but that women were inferior to men.

• Over the centuries, Hindu women have gained more rights.

• Mohandas Gandhi was influential in helping women achieve more rights.

Main Idea 4:The Jains reacted to Hinduism by breaking

away.

• Mahariva did not like the control of religion by the Brahmins and founded a new religion called Jainism.– Jains try to live by four principals: injure no life, tell the truth,

do not steal, and own no property.– Jains practice nonviolence, or the avoidance of violent

action.– Jains believe that everything is alive and part of the cycle of

rebirth.– Jains are vegetarians. They do not eat any food that comes

from animals.

Origins of Buddhism

The Big Idea

Buddhism began in India and became a major religion.

Main Ideas

• Siddhartha Gautama searched for wisdom in many ways.

• The teachings of Buddhism deal with finding peace.

• Buddhism spread far from where it began in India.

Main Idea 1:Siddhartha Gautama searched for wisdom in

many ways.

• Siddhartha Gautama was born around 563 BC in northern India.

• He was a prince, a member of the Kshatriya (or warrior) class, who grew up in luxury.

• Siddhartha began to ask questions about the meaning of life.

• Before he was 30, Siddhartha left his home and family and began to travel around India, talking to priests and people known for their wisdom.

The Buddha Finds Enlightenment

• He discovered that human suffering comes from three things:– wanting what we like but do not have,– wanting to keep what we like and already have, and – not wanting what we dislike but have.

• Siddhartha spent six years wandering throughout India.

– He started fasting, or went without food.

– He spent time in meditation, the focusing of the mind on spiritual ideas.

• Siddhartha is said to have found “enlightenment” under the tree. From that point on, he would be called the Buddha, or “Enlightened One.”

• After seven weeks of deep meditation under a tree in the town of Gaya, Siddhartha suddenly had the answers that he had been looking for.

Main Idea 2:The teachings of Buddhism deal with finding

peace.

• At the heart of the Buddha’s teachings were four guiding principles, which became known as the Four Nobel Truths.

• The Eightfold Path was a middle way between human desires and denying oneself any pleasure.

• Some of Buddha’s teaching challenged traditional Hindu ideas.

The Four Noble Truths

People can overcome their desires and ignorance and reach nirvana, a state of perfect peace. Reaching nirvana would free a person’s soul from suffering and from the need for further reincarnation.

Suffering and unhappiness are a part of human life. No one can escape sorrow.

• People can overcome ignorance and desire by following an eightfold path that leads to wisdom, enlightenment, and salvation.

• Suffering comes from our desires for pleasure and material goods. People cause their own misery because they want things they cannot have.

The Eightfold Path

1. Right Thought2. Right Intent3. Right Speech4. Right Action5. Right Livelihood6. Right Effort7. Right Mindfulness8. Right Concentration

Buddhist Teachings Challenged Hindu Ideas

• The Buddha rejected many of the ideas contained in the Vedas and told people that they did not have to follow these texts.

• The Buddha challenged the authority of the Hindu priests, the Brahmins. He taught that each person was responsible for their own salvation.

• The Buddha was opposed to the caste system.

Main Idea 3:Buddhism spread far from where it began in

India.In India

• After his death, 500 of the Buddha’s followers spread his teachings throughout India after the Buddha died.

• Buddhist teachings were popular and easy to understand.

• Within 200 years of the Buddha’s death, Buddhism had spread throughout most of India.

Beyond India

• The Indian king Asoka helped to spread Buddhism both within India and outside of India.

• He built Buddhist temples and schools throughout India.

• Asoka sent missionaries to other kingdoms in Asia.

• Buddhism spread via the Silk Road into China, then Korea and Japan.

Buddhism Splits• As Buddhism

spread, not all Buddhists could agree on their beliefs and practices.

• Buddhism split into two major branches: Theravada and Mahayana.

• Both branches have millions of followers today, but Mahayana is by far the larger branch.

Indian Empires

The Big Idea

The Mauryas and the Guptas built great empires in India.

Main Ideas

• The Mauryan Empire unified most of India.

• Gupta rulers promoted Hinduism in their empire.

Main Idea 1:The Mauryan Empire unified most of India.

Starting around 320 BC Candragupta Maurya founded the Maurya Empire.

Candragupta Maurya used an army of mercenaries, or hired soldiers, to seize control of the entire northern part of India.

The strongest of all the Mauryan emperors was Candragupta’s grandson, Asoka.

The Mauryan Empire lasted for about 150 years. In 184 BC the last Mauryan king was killed and India divided into small states again.

The Mauryan Empire

• Candragupta Maurya ruled his empire by means of a complex government.

• In 301 BC Candragupta decided to become a Jainist monk and gave the throne to his son.

• His son continued to expand the empire, and before long the Mauryas ruled all of northern India and much of central India as well.

Asoka

Military Ruler

• Asoka, Candragupta’s grandson, became king in 270 BC.

• He was the strongest of all the Mauryan rulers.

• He extended Mauryan rule over most of India.

Buddhist

• When he converted to Buddhism, Asoka swore to stop the wars of conquest.

• He began to work to improve the lives of his people.

• He encouraged the spread of Buddhism.

• For example, he raised large stone pillars carved with Buddhist edicts, or laws.

A New Hindu Empire

Gupta Society

• The Gupta dynasty took over India around AD 320.

• Under the Guptas, India was again united and it prospered.

• Hinduism became India’s dominant religion. However, the Gupta rulers also supported the religious beliefs of Buddhism and Jainism.

• Gupta society reached its high point around 375, during the rule of Candra Gupta II.

• The empire had a strong economy, its people prospered, and fine works of art and literature were created.

• The Gupta kings believed in the strict social order of the Hindu caste system and women’s roles were limited.

Main Idea 2:Gupta rulers promoted Hinduism in their

empire.

Indian Achievements

The Big Idea

The people of ancient India made great contributions to the arts and sciences.

Main Ideas

• Indian artists created great works of religious art.

• Sanskrit literature flourished during the Gupta period.

• The Indians made scientific advances in metalworking, medicine, and other sciences.

Main Idea 1:Indian artists created great works of

religious art.

The Indians of the Mauryan and Gupta periods created great works of art, many of which were religious in nature.

Many of their artistic endeavors illustrated either Hindu or Buddhist teachings.

Hindu and Buddhist temples were built throughout India.

Buddhist and Hindu Temples during the Mauryan and Gupta Periods

Hindu Temples

• During the Mauryan period, temples were small, stone structures with one or two rooms and flat roofs.

• During the Gupta period, the temples were more complex, with huge towers and intricate carvings.

Buddhist Temples

• Some Buddhists carved entire temples out of mountainsides.

• The temples at Ajanta and Ellora are two of the most famous of this type of Buddhist temple.

• Another type of Buddhist temple was the stupa.

Painting and Sculpture

The Gupta period saw the creation of countless works of art.

Most Indian paintings of the Gupta period are clear and colorful.

Many of the finest paintings of ancient India are found in Hindu and Buddhist temples.

Indian sculptors created intricately carved columns, statues of kings and the Buddha for Buddhist cave temples, and impressive statues of the Hindu gods for the Hindu temples.

Religious Epics

Other Works

• During the Mauryan and Gupta period, many works of Sanskrit literature were created.

• The greatest of these Sanskrit writings are two religious epics: the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.

• Writers in the Gupta period also created plays, poetry, and other types of literature.

• Kalidasa was a famous writer during this time.

• Indian writers produced a book of stories called the Panchatantra. This collection of moral stories spread throughout the world.

Main Idea 2:Sanskrit literature flourished during the

Gupta period.

Metalworking

• Pioneers of metallurgy, the science of working with metals

• Knew processes for mixing metals to produce alloys, mixtures of two or more metals

• Metalworkers made their strongest products out of iron.

Mathematics

• The most skilled mathematicians of their day

• Hindu-Arabic numerals were created by Indian scholars and brought to Europe by Arabs.

• The first people to create the zero

Main Idea 3: The Indians made scientific advances in

metalworking, medicine, and other sciences.

Other Sciences • Began writing

medical textbooks as early as the AD 100s

• Doctors knew about disease prevention and used inoculation.

• Doctors could perform surgery.

• Interested in astronomy, the study of stars and planets

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