India and Hinduism•Locate and label physical features and early river civilizations of the Indus River Valley

•Explain how India’s geography impacted the development of early settlements

•Discuss legacy of Indo-Europeanmigrations including Aryans

•Explain developmentand central beliefs of Hinduism

•Illustrate central beliefson a Mandala

•Describe characteristics of classical Indian empires

Indus River

Objectives

On what continent is India?

Asia

How would you describe the Geography of India? Take 30seconds and talk to your neighbor.

Mountains:•Himalayas•Hindu-Kush•Karakoram

Rivers:Indus Ganges

Other features:Deccan plateauEastern and Western GhatsKhyber pass

Important geographic features:

India is considered a subcontinent because:

•It is surrounded on three sides by water (it is a peninsula)•Mountains to the northwest and northeast separate it from the rest of Asia

What are monsoons?

Hindu Kush Himalayas

Winter and summer winds that blow across India

Karakoram

India in the summer

Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were the first civilizations of India and theydeveloped on the IndusRiver.

Why did they develop in this location?

Flooding along the Indus River wasunpredictable. It did leave behind nutrient-rich silt which made the soil fertile for farming.

Harappa andMohenjo-Daro developedaround 3200 BCE.

Historians know less about Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro becausethe writing system hasnever been decoded.

Evidence of planned cities and indoor plumbing (toilets!)

• Artifacts show links to modern Hindu Culture–Shiva- is a major

Hindu god• Worshipped

Cows

Cows are sacred todayin India

By 1750 BCE, The Indus River civilizations had declined. No one really knows why. Theories surrounding the decline:

•Sudden natural disaster•Over farming•Invasion, possibly by an Indo-European people called the Aryans.

The Ganges River in the east would become the center of later civilizations in India.

As the Indus River Valley civilizations declined, new civilizations formed along the Ganges River

Indus R.

GangesRiver

Aryans, an Indo-European people, had migratedinto India blending Aryan beliefs with the beliefs of the Indians (Dravidians).

These Aryan beliefs were hymns. They were later written down and called the Vedas. They became the foundation ofHinduism.

Aryan Migration

The Aryans sought to separate themselves from the darker skinned Indians (Dravidians). A structured and divided society developed known as the Caste System.

The Caste System

The Caste system was rigid.

It influenced all social interactions including marriage arrangements and occupations.

Social classes were divided by occupation.

Aryan Varnas

Dravidians

The Caste system was rooted in Hinduism. Each Varna represents a body part of the god, Purusha, from the Vedas and each Varna represents occupations in society.

Brahmin

Kshatriya

Vaisya

Sudra

Can you identify which Varna is which?

•India’s religion developed from the blended beliefs of the Aryans and Dravidians.

•No founder

•Belief in many forms of one god, Brahma, theCreator.

Brahma

Hinduism

Vishnu the Preserver

Shiva the Destroyer

Hinduism: Monotheistic or Polytheistic?

Talk to your neighbor

Indra

Hinduism is a way of life in India.

Hindus rise early and bathe in the sacred Ganges River

Hindus burn incense and offer prayer

Hindus practice Yoga.

Yoga is about meditationand mind control over body.

Spiritual Discipline

Can you do this?

The popularity of yoga in the west is an example of …….

Cultural Diffusion

Central Beliefs of Hinduism

•Belief in many forms of one god

•Reincarnation: Rebirth based upon karma

•Karma = deeds. Knowledge that all thoughts and actions result in future consequences.

•Vedas and Upanishads are sacred writings

Spread along major trade routes

Reincarnation means “Rebirth”. An individual spirit (ATMAN) is born again and again until Moksha is achieved.

The cycle of reincarnation is called “Samsara.”

A state of perfect understanding of all things and release from life in this world.

Moksha

Karma is the sum of your good deeds throughout your life. Good Karma results in reincarnation to a higher Varna in the Caste system until Moksha is achieved.

Dharma is the religious law or moral duty to follow Hinduscriptures.

Two sacred texts are important to Hindus:

The Vedas are sacred hymns.

Interpretations of the Vedas

Jainism also developed at this time in India. Jains believe that everything in the universe has a soul and should not be harmed. They practice non-violence even to insects.

Objectives

•Describe characteristicsof empires of Indiaduring the Classical period

•Sequence key eventsduring Mauryan and Guptan Empires

India’s political history during the classical period could be characterized as fragmented with intermittent empires. Around 600 BCE, the first empire united many small kingdoms. It was called the MauryanEmpire.

The classical empires were centered on the Ganges river.

Ganges River

The Mauryan Empire, led by Chandragupta Maurya,spanned more than 2,000 miles. Chandragupta Maurya built his empire by conquest.

He had an army of 600,000 and defeated Alexander the Great’s successor, Seleucus, near the Indus River valley in 303 BCE.

Under Chandragupta Maurya:

•His advisor, Kautilya wrote the Arthasastra, about how to keep a vast empire together

•Written in Sanskrit, one of the earliest written Indian languages, the book urged rulers to conquer neighboring kingdoms that are weak and maintain an army of spies.

In 301 BCE, Chandragupta’s grandson, Asoka assumed the throne. Under Asoka:

•Battled neighbors until battle of Kalinga, where he lost 100,000 soldiers.

•Asoka, deeply affected by the loss of life and suffering, he began to study Buddhism.

Asoka:

•Spread Buddhist teachings by constructing huge pillars inscribed with Buddhist teachings throughouthis empire. They were called Asoka’s Edicts.

•These pillars urged non-violence and acceptance of other religions

•Asoka improved roads, created public wells, built hospitals and veterinarny clinics built rest stops throughout his kingdom.

Asoka:

Appointed missionaries who spread Buddhism throughout India, China and S.E. Asia

After Asoka died in 232 BCE, the Mauryan empire fell apart.

A period of disunity and regional kingdoms followed Asoka’s death and lasted for500 years. Then, in 320 CE, Chandra Gupta united India into its second empire,the Gupta Empire.

Which empire was larger, geographically? Mauryan or Guptan?

The Gupta empire brought about the flowering of Indian and Hindu culture and advancements in math and science.

Cultural achievements:

• Literature flourished: Kalidasa wrote Shakuntala, a classic love story

•Drama and dancing became important elements of Indian culture

Scientific Achievements:

•Indian astronomers proved that the earth was round by observing a lunar eclipse

•Advanced mathematics: Indian numerals are the numbers we use today but the Arabic civilizations would get the credit.

• the number “Zero” and the decimal system

Scientific achievements continued

•Mathmetician Aryabhata calculated the length of the solar year very accurately

•Continued advancements in medicine and surgery-compiled medical texts

Commercial Achievements

Indian Merchants were the middlemen in the emerging Silk Road trade. Traders also brought goods such as spices, diamonds,sapphires, gold, pearls, sandalwood, ebony andteakwood.

Traders also spread religion eastward. Hinduism spread only as far as Nepal, Sri Lanka and parts of Indonesia, while Buddhism later spread throughout China andSoutheast Asia.

1900 BCE

Mohenjo Daro AndHarappathrived

1500 BCE

The Vedas composed

500 BCE

Sanskrit was first written

563-483

SiddharthaGautamaoriginated Buddhism

AlexanderInvadesand departsIndus RiverValley

326 BCE 321 BCE

Mauryan Empireunites India-Ashoka rules from269-232

320 CE

Guptan Empire rulesIndia

Ancient and Classical India Timeline

Aryan invasions

500 years ofdisunityand regional rule

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