State, Society, and the Quest for Salvation in India
Won Kim
Binita Tiwari
Meridith Wailes
India
• Megasthenes wrote about India in his book Indika, and portrayed it as a wealthy land that supported a distinctive society with well-established cultural traditions.
• India fell under the sway of regionalized kingdoms
Mauryan Dynasty
The Mauryan Dynasty 520 BCE Persian emperor Darius made the kingdom of
Ghandara (N Punjab). Alexander of Macedon created a political vacuum in NW India.
Maghada (center Ganges plain) most important state in NE India-500 BCE
Ashoka Maurya- Son of Ch. Maurya, 268-232 BCE conquerer. Only kingdom of Kalinga remained independent. Pataliputra- his capital.
Decline of the Mauryan Empire- died 232 BCE. 185 BCE the
empire disappeared.
Other Empires
Bactrian Rule in Northwestern India- Greek speaking conquerors invaded & promoted cross-cultural interaction. N Ghandara popular.
Kushan Empire- Nomadic Conquerors. Kanishka leader.
The Gupta Dynasty
• The Gupta Dynasty- based state in Magadha. Chandra Gupta leader. Successors Samudra Gupta & Chandra Gupta II. Smaller than Mauryan. Faxian, Buddhist monk, felt safe in India.
• Gupta Decline- White Huns- end of 5th century established kingdoms in India.
Indian Life
• Towns & Manufacturing- productive agricultural society. Iron Metallurgy. Sadalaputta owned 500 workshops, & Roads encouraged trade.
• Long Distance Trade- Persia traded w/ India. 2 directions: Hindu Kush Silk & Rd
Family Life and the Caste System
Gender Relations• Women were largely subordinate to men• They were supposed to concern themselves with family matters instead of
public ones• Child marriage was prominent during the Gupta era Social Order and Caste System• Indians recognized four castes
– Brahmins-priests– Kshatriyas- warriors and aristocrats– Vaishyas- peasants and merchants– Shudras- serfs
• People doing the same job formed a guild; a corporate body that supervised prices and wages of a given industry and provided for the welfare of members
• Guilds functioned like the jati• Brahmins and kshatriyas got special respect, because of lives they’d led in
past incarnations
Religions of Salvation in Classical India
• Brahmins got special privileges, like tax exemption, due to the important services they preformed
• Charvakas believed the gods were imaginary and the Brahmins were just getting prestige by lying the people
Janism • Jainism became popular in the sixth century B.C.E. when
Vardhamana Mahavira started following it• Jains believed that everything in the universe, even inatimate
objects, had a soul that could feel physical pain• Ahism-nonviolence to other living things, was a form of purification• Lower castes gravitated towards Janism because they did not
recognize the caste system
Buddhism•Siddhartha gautama-founder of buddhism•Became Buddha, “the enlightened one” after 49 days of meditation •Docterine of buddhism is the dharma, which combines Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path.
•Four noble truths-all life involves suffering, desire is the cause of suffering, elimination of desire eliminates suffering, and following the Eightfold Path eliminates desire •Eightfold path- calls for individuals to lead balanced, moderate lives
•By following the Eightfold Path, people could achieve nirvana and end the cycle of reincarnation and have a perfect spiritual independence
•Nirvana-when one escapes the cycle of incarnation•Did not recognize social hierarchies based on cast or jati.•Used easy language(appealed to public.)•Had organized buddhist movements.•Ashoka(a ruler) supported it while he ruled.
Mahayana buddhism•Saw buddah as a god.
•Buddhisatva-individual who had reached spritual perfection and merited
the reward of nirvana•Started accepting gifts from the wealthy(wealthy could enjoy the comfort of the world, and still be
saved)•Mahayana buddhism spread to China,
japan, central asia, Korea•Nalanda-gupta dynasty in the ganges river, educational center as well as a
temple
Hindusim•Hindu ethical techings made life much easier for the lay classes by holding out the promise of salvation to those who participated actively in the world and met their caste responsibilities•Darma, artha, moksha, kama
Timeline• 563-483 B.C.E.~ Life of Siddartha Gautama, the Buddha• 540-468 B.C.E.~ Life of Vardhamana Mahavira• 520 B.C.E.~ Invasion of India by Darius of Persia• 327 B.C.E. ~ Invasion of India by Alexander of Macedon• 321-185 B.C.E.~ Mauryan Dynasty• 321-297 B.C.E~ Reign of Chandragupta Maurya• 268-232 B.C.E.~ Reign of Ashoka Maurya• 182 B.C.E-1 C.E~ Bactrian Rule in N. India• 1-300 C.E.~ Kushan Empire in N. India and central Asia• 78-103 C.E.~ Reign of Kushan Emperor Kanishka• 320-550 C.E.~ Gupta Dynasty
THEMES• Social- The societies were patriarchal and viewed women as weak-
willed. They also had a caste system• Political- The emperor of the Mauryan empire, Ashoka,
communicated his policies by inscribing them on stone formations encouraged them to observe Buddhist values and said he wanted to be a fair ruler.
• Religious- Religions such as Buddhism became popular with lower castes because they did not follow the caste system
• Intellectual- Many structures and religious figurines created during this time; Epics such as the Mahabharata & Ramayana; Bhagavad Gita
• Technological- Many manufactured goods produced; Aryans iron metallurgy
• Economical- Roads encouraged trade
