Post on 06-May-2015
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India
Early Indus River Civilizations – Harappan Civilization
Harappa—An Artist’s Reconstruction of the Gateway & Drain
Harappa--Granary
Harappa
Mohenjo-Daro—Entrance to City
The Aryans – “The Noble People”
Sanskrit
The Vedas
The Vedas
• A collection of poems and sacred hymns (c. 1,500 B.C.) describing Aryan beliefs and daily life
• “Veda” means knowledge• 1,500 – 1,000 B.C. – Vedic Period
Government
• Raja (“Prince”)
•Maharajas (“Major Princes”)
Chandragupta Maurya
Chandragupta’s Conquests
The Caste System
• Brahmins (Upper class—scholars & priests)• Kshatriyas (Aristocratic warriors)• Vaishyas (Merchant class)• Shudras (Mass of common peasants,
laborers & servants)
• Untouchables
The Caste System
The Upanishads (6th century B.C.)
• Commentaries on the Vedas• Rejected Brahmin rituals &
inspired people to reach spiritual truth and peace through meditation & an ascetic lifestyle
Hinduism
• Emerged from the ideas in the Upanishads• Karma & Reincarnation (the rebirth of
the soul in a different form after death, determined by actions in the previous life according to the dharma, a law regulating human behavior)
Three Major Hindu Gods
• Brahman the Creator
• Vishnu the Preserver
• Shiva the Destroyer
• Plus thousands of lesser deities
Another Name for Hinduism
• Sanatana dharma
• Sanatana—”that which has no beginning or end and that which is there always”
• Dharma—refers to the right way or living or proper conduct