World Civ Ancient India

Harappa

large ancient city of the Indus civilization located in present-day Pakistan

Mohenjo Daro

Ancient City of the Indus civilization, located in present-day Pakistan

Acculturation

the blending of two or more cultures.

Vedas

A collection of prayers,hymns, and other religious teachings developed in Ancient India beginning around 1500 B.C.

Rajahs

In Ancient India, the elected warrior chief of an Aryan Tribe.

Varna

In the Vedic society of Ancient India a personality trait that determined a person's occupation: later a category in India's caste system.

Brahmin

priests

kshatriya

leaders or exercised power

Vaishya

Those who sought to own land or engage in business.

Shudra

Those who worked with their hands.

Rig Veda

Describes how the universe was created from the body of a divine universal being referred to as purusha.

Sanskrit

the written language of the Aryans.

Brahman

In the belief system established in Vedic India , a single spiritual power that resides in all things.

Mystic

person who devotes his or her life to seeking direct communication with the divine.

mahabharata

India's greatest epic

bhagavad-gita

Sacred Song reflects important Hindu religious beliefs about the immortality of the soul and the value of performing one's duty.

Ramayana

Recounts the fantastic deeds of the daring hero Rama and his beautiful bride Sita.

What observations about the IRV civilization can you make by looking at the seals they left behind?

That it was a well planned city and organized government, they traded and exchanged with other countries, most of them were farmers, they were polytheistic and had a mysterious decline that was most likely caused by severe flooding.

What evidence suggests that the IRV had a strong central government?

Harappa & mohenjo-daro are designed almost the same and both have huge storage warehouses, they had a lot of surplus food and all laid out in a grid pattern, wide streets, houses built of clay bricks of a standard size, complex plumbing systems and lastly they had uniform system of measuring/weighting advanced irrigation systems

The Upanishads

a section of the Vedas that address mystical questions related to Hinduism.

Atman

To Hindus, every person has an essential self

Moksha

The ultimate goal of existence, Hindus believe in

reincarnation

the rebirth of the soul in another bodily form.

Karma

refers to both action and result.

Dharma

the religious and moral duties of an individual.

Ahimsa

nonviolence

Caste system

social groups into which people are born and which can rarely be changed

Untouchables

they had jobs such as digging graves,cleaning streets, or turning animal hides into leather and were so impure

Siddhartha Gautama

The guy who found Buddhism and whose teachings spread throughout Asia

Bodhi Tree

is a large sacred fig tree located in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India. Siddhartha Gautama, the spiritual teacher who became known as the Buddha, is said to have attained enlightenment or Bodhi circa 500 BCE under it.

The Buddha

Also known as Siddhartha Gautama was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.

4 Noble Truths

More simply put, suffering exists; it has a cause; it has an end; and it has a cause to bring about its end.

Eightfold Path

right view, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right samadhi

Nirvana

The final goal in Buddhism

Tripitaka

Buddha's teachings that are in a sacred texts

Missionary

People who spread Buddhism across India into many parts of Asia

sects

subgroups

Theravada Buddhism

Religion that closely followed Buddha's original teachings. It required a life devoted to hard spiritual work. Only the most dedicated seekers, such as monks and nuns could hope to reach nirvana

Mahayana Buddhism

easier for ordinary people to follow. Even though the Buddha had forbidden followers to worship him. Mahayana Buddhists pictured him and other holy beings as compassionate gods. People turned to these gods for help in solving daily problems as well as in achieving salvation.

Explain the roles of karma, dharma and reincarnation in the process of achieving moksha according to Hindu beliefs.

You have to have dharma so then you can achieve karma and get reincarnated and can achieve enlightenment or moksha.

How did Hinduism become a diverse religion with many gods and goddesses and many forms of worship?

through overlapping beliefs of different groups in India

How did the caste system provide a sense of order in Indian society?

gave people a sense of identity and independence, provide the social framework for an efficient/tightly controlled society, A citizen had a single role to fill and created stability

What is the relationship between the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path? How do the two concepts explain the most important principle of Buddhism?

The four noble truths help to understand the eightfold path and commit oneself to the eightfold path. These two very important concepts help to reach nirvana or enlightenment.

What sequence of events after Buddha's death caused Buddhism to spread beyond India?

After Buddha's death his followers gathered all of his teachings and put them into a sacred text called the " Tripitaka".

Chandragupta Maurya

Greek ambassador to the Mauryan court.

Dissent

ideas that opposed those of the government

Ashoka

The most honored Maurya emperor was Chandragupta’s grandson

Tamil Kingdoms

This kingdom left a rich and diverse literature. these poets described fierce wars, heroic deeds, and festive occasions, along with the ordinary routines of peasant and city life. These kingdoms were Cheras, Cholas, Pandyans and Pallavas

Golden Age

period of great cultural achievement.

Kalidasa

The greatest Gupta poet and playwright

Joint Family

in which several generations of parents and children shared a common dwelling.

Patriarchal

the father or oldest male headed the household. Because he was thought to have wisdom and experience, the head of the family enjoyed great authority.

Dowry

payment to the bridegroom, and financed the costly wedding festivities

shakti

the female divine, who is believed to be ruthless against evil.

How did the actions of Ashoka as emperor reflect Buddhist beliefs?

After he fought a bloody war he turned his back on further conquests and he converted to Buddhism by rejecting violence and resolved to rule by moral example. He also stopped eating meat and limited animal sacrifices and lastly sent missionaries to spread Buddhism throughout Asia.

Choose 3 achievements of the Gupta period and explain why they made the Gupta period a golden age.

• mathematical advances (invention of the decimal system)

• the golden age because of all the extensive developments and brilliant works

• rich literature (Kalidasa, folk tales/songs in Sanskrit)

• art and architecture

What characteristics of family and village life shaped Indian society?

A daughter would learn that as a wife she would serve and obey her husband and his family, a son learned the rituals to honor ancestors, and parents were arranging good marriages for their children based on the caste system

How did agriculture and trade help shape life in Indian Villages?

beyond the villages were farm land that grew wheat, rice, cotton sugar cane and more crops. Farming depended on if the summer brought monsoons. If there was two little rain then that meant famine and if there was too much rain that meant famine. And lastly they had to give the landowner a part of each harvest and the villages produced all their food and goods but they also traded for other manufactured goods.

How did the formation of the Maurya and Gupta empires contribute to the development of civilization in India?

• both civilizations focused on trade

• Gupta advances ( mathematics, astronomy arts/literature)

• religious beliefs ( Ashoka's edicts/pillars, caste system, and religious texts)