History 381: Asian Experience

History 381: Asian Experience Ancient India

Harappa Aryans Raja/Maharaja Dharma Arthasastra Mauryan empire Vedas Varna Jati Caste system Hindu Sidhartha Gautama Nirvana Bodhi Asoka Stupa Key terms

Indus River Valley • Supported agricultural settlements as much as 6,000 years ago • River runs through modern Pakistan • In ancient times was a lush and fertile plain with abundant rainfall, today it is mostly arid • Harappan name given to civilization in this ancient area

©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license. The Early Inhabitants • Dravidians are descendents of Indus River valley culture • Hill peoples were probably the original inhabitants of much of the subcontinent

©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license. Harappa and Mohenjo-daro • No evidence for political system • Language probably belonged to the Dravidian family related to the modern tongues of southern India • Each city had a fortified citadel and a large granary • Broad streets, marketplaces, temples, public buildings • Standardized weights, measures, architectural styles, and brick sizes

Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro • Two great walled cities that dominated Harappan civilization • Harappa surrounded by a brick wall 40 feet thick • Laid out in a grid pattern with wide streets • Maybe 80,000 inhabitants • Contained advanced drainage and water systems

Narrow mud brick streets Harappan site

THE “ARYAN INVASION” • From about 1500–1000 BCE, “Aryan” peoples from southern Russia enter Indus region • Aryan society • Pastoral • Nomadic • Equestrian • Patriarchal • Aryan religion • Warrior • Polytheistic • Aryan language was ancestral to Sanskrit, oldest known in Indo-European family

Aryan Invasions • Aryan culture had long been subdivided into distinct classes with warriors at the top, and this system was superimposed upon Indian society. • The warrior and priestly caste (or kshatriya and Brahmins respectively) dominated, and there existed a small class of commoners or vaisya. • The vast majority of the Indian population, however, fell into the bottom of society • the sudras and pariahs or untouchables.

INDO-ARYAN SOCIETY • Divided into 4 hereditary occupational divisions or castes (varņas = colors): • Brāhman (priest) • Kşatriya(warrior) • Vaiśya (merchant/artisan) • Śūdra (peasant) • On margins of society are Dalits (so-called “untouchables”), who perform menial and polluting tasks: • Corpse handlers • Executioners • Hunters and fishermen • Butchers • Leatherworkers

Caste System • Aryan system of castes superimposed upon Indian subcontinent • Based on warrior class as head • Allows for keeping indigenous peoples subjugated • Color part of division as Aryans were lighter skinned than native Indians • Not permitted to eat or marry outside of caste • Basic social organization by which Indian society was divided even today

Role of women • Women were subordinate to men—father, husband, sons • Men did most of the work in fields agricultural societies • Women seen as an economic burden since did not have much roles outside of the home • Parents must provide dowry to obtain husband • Female children joined families of husband once married, so provided no real advantage to having daughters • Still, Hindu code of behavior ordered women to be treated with respect • Women viewed as very sexual beings who could use sexuality to dominate men

The Vedas • Concerned with orthopraxy (proper action) in ritual • Brāhman authors edit oral liturgical traditions, producing Vedas (“knowledges”), c. 1200-600 BCE • By 600 BCE, sūtras (“threads,” commentaries), or summaries of Vedas, become popular • 4 collections (samhitās) of Vedas: • Ŗigveda were praise stanzas sung by priests in ritual • Sāmaveda were songs sung by priestly entourage • Yajurveda were the short incantations uttered by priests’ assistants in ritual • Atharvaveda were the therapeutic spells and hymns used by atharvans = healers

The Rig veda • Ancient Sanskrit work of early Aryans • One of several collections of “verses of knowledge” • Collection of Aryan traditions that had previously been passed down through oral storytelling

The Upanishads A set of commentaries (explanations and elaborations) on the Vedas compiled in the sixth century B.C.E.

dharma Set of societal laws that set standards of behavior and obligations for each caste in Indian society

karma • The key element in reincarnation • Dictates that one’s rebirth in a next life is determined by one’s actions in this life • Governed by the dharma, which imposes different requirements depending on a person’s social status

Reincarnation The individual soul is reborn in a different form after death • The soul progresses through these lives until it reaches union with the Great Soul, or Brahman, the final objective of all living souls • Reflects the social caste system with the brahmins closest to ultimate release and the untouchables furthest away • Provides hope to lowest classes that they can achieve a higher class through good actions

Pantheon of gods • Originally based on the idea of gods and goddesses representing forces of nature • Most of the gods adopted human characteristics and frailties • Centered around the most powerful gods: • Brahman the Creator • Vishnu the Protector • Shiva the Destroyer

History 381: Asian Experience