The Land of India

1. The Land of India • subcontinent – The country of India is a subcontinent separated from the rest of the continent of Asia by the Himalayas. • monsoon – The heavy summer rains called monsoons are an important part of India’s climate. • Archaeologists discovered ruins of ancient, well-planned cities of India that show many surprising conveniences. • The rich soil found in the river plains made the land suitable for farming.

2. The Aryans Invade • Sanskrit – The songs, poems, stories and prayers of the Aryans were written in Sanskrit, a language developed by the Aryans. • raja – The leader of Aryan tribes were rajas, or princes, who ruled over small kingdoms. • When the Aryans moved to India, they became farmers, no longer living as nomads who move from place to place. • The Aryans lived in organized family groups called tribes often fighting with one another over cattle and treasure. • The Aryans brought new weapons, improved farming, introduced a new religion, and organized India into small kingdoms.

3. Society in Ancient India • caste – The Aryans introduced a social class system called the caste system that dictates one’s status in society, job, and spouse. • guru – Families of higher classes hired gurus to educate their sons. • The five major groups in India’s society include: the Brahmans, or priests, the Kshatriyas, the warriors and rulers, the Vaisyas, the common people, the Sudras, the unskilled labor and servants, and finally the Pariahs, or untouchables. • The Himalayas, the river plains, and the monsoon rains influenced the rise of India’s first civilization. • The Aryans introduced new technology, language, religion, and a social caste system to India.

4. Hinduism • The religious beliefs introduced by the Aryans later became known as Hinduism and is one of the oldest religions today. • The ultimate goal of Hindus is to be reunited with Brahman, the universal spirit of the Hindu faith. • The idea of reincarnation, or the passing through many lives in order to reach the Brahman, affects the daily lives of Hindus. • Dharma is the divine law which states each person must perform the duties of his or her caste in order to reach a higher caste in the next life. • The consequences of one’s life is known as karma. Good karma is believed to move one closer to the Brahman in the next life.

5. QUICK FACT Ajanta Caves (ca. 500 AD) Jataka tales from the Ajanta caves The caves are in a wooded and rugged horseshoe-shaped ravine about 3½ km from the village of Ajantha. It is situated in the Aurangābād district of Maharashtra State in India (106 kilometers away from the city of Aurangabad). The nearest towns are Jalgaon (60 kilometers away) and Bhusawal (70 kilometers away). Along the bottom of the ravine runs the river Waghur, a mountain stream. There are 29 caves (as officially numbered by the Archaeological Survey of India), excavated in the south side of the precipitous scarp made by the cutting of the ravine. They vary from 35 to 110 ft. in elevation above the bed of the stream.

6. Hinduism • We know about the religious beliefs of the Aryans because they were written down in Sanskrit centuries ago. • The religious beliefs introduced by the Aryans changed as they conquered people in India and eventually became known as Hinduism.

7. Buddhism • Siddartha Gautama, an Indian prince, became known as Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. • Buddhists believe that by giving up all desires one can reach nirvana, or a state of wisdom. • The heart of Buddha’s teachings were found in the Four Noble Truths and following the Eightfold Path. • Theravada Buddhists believe Buddha was a great teacher, not a god. Mahayana Buddhists believe that Buddha was a god who came to save people. • The Dalai Lama was the leader of the government in Tibet.

8. Buddhism • Buddhism is the religion founded by Siddartha Gautama in the 500’s B.C. • Nirvana is a state of wisdom reached when one gives up all worldly desires. • Theocracy was the form of government in Tibet headed by the religious leader, the Dalai Lama. • After the death of Buddha, his disciples traveled throughout Asia spreading his message.

9. Buddhism • Hinduism is a religion founded by the Aryans that includes beliefs about karma, reincarnation, and dharma. • Buddhism was founded by Siddartha Gautama and includes beliefs about nirvana, the Four Noble Truths, and the Eightfold Path.

10. India’s First Empire • Chandragupta Maurya founded the Mauryan dynasty, a series of rulers from the same family, in 321 B.C. • Asoka had Buddhists temples, called stupas, built throughout India and Asia. • The capital of the Mauryan Empire was located in Pataliputra. • Chandragupta Maurya was the founder of India’s first empire. • Asoka was an important ruler because he was a strong military leader who was also dedicated to peace and the spread of Buddhism. He built roads and hospitals, and the empire prospered under his leadership.

11. Chandragupta While many Indian historians hold the view that Chandragupta was an illegitimate child of the Nanda Dynasty of Magadha in eastern India, born to a Nanda prince and a maid named "Mura",[9] other later literary traditions imply that Chandragupta may have been raised by peacock-tamers (Sanskrit: Mayura-Poshaka), which earned him the Mauryaepithet. Both the Buddhist as well as Jaina traditions testify to the supposed connection between the Moriya (Maurya) and Mora or Mayura (Peacock).[10] Yet there are other literary traditions according to which Chandragupta belonged to Moriyas, a Kshatriyaclan of a little ancient republic of Pippalivana located between Rummindei in the Nepali Terai and Kasia in the Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh. There are differing theories regarding Chandragupta Maurya’s origins. Some regard Chandragupta to have originated from Magadha, possibly as the son of a Nanda prince and a maid named "Mura".[9][11] A kshatriya people known as the "Mauryas" who had received the relics of the Gautama Buddha are also mentioned in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta of the Digha Nikaya: "Then the Moriyas of Pipphalivana came to know that at Kusinara the Blessed One had passed away. And they sent a message to the Mallas of Kusinara, saying: "The Blessed One was of the warrior caste, and we are too. We are worthy to receive a portion of the relics of the Blessed One. We will erect a stupa over the relics of the Blessed One and hold a festival in their honor.""

12. Ashoka While the early part of Ashoka's reign was apparently quite bloodthirsty, he became a follower of the Buddha's teaching after his conquest of Kalinga (India), on the east coast of India in the present-day state of Orissa. Kalinga was a state that prided itself on its sovereignty and democracy; with its monarchical parliamentary democracy, it was quite an exception in ancient Bharata, as there existed the concept of Rajdharma, meaning the duty of the rulers, which was intrinsically entwined with the concept of bravery and Kshatriya dharma. The pretext for the start of the Kalinga War (265 BC or 263 BC) is uncertain. One of Susima's brothers might have fled to Kalinga and found official refuge there. This enraged Ashoka immensely. He was advised by his ministers to attack Kalinga for this act of treachery. Ashoka then asked Kalinga's royalty to submit before his supremacy. When they defied this diktat, Ashoka sent one of his generals to Kalinga to make them submit.

13. India’s First Empire • Pilgrims would travel to the religious shrines over the trade routes throughout the Gupta Empire. • The Gupta Empire grew wealthy through trade and the pilgrims who traveled to visit the shrines. • Kalidasa was India’s best known author who wrote the poem The Cloud Messenger. • Advances in science were made in the areas of astronomy, mathematics, and medicine.

14. India’s First Empires • India’s first great empires were the Mauryan and Gupta empires. • These empires contributed great works of literature as well as advances in math and science, including the idea of zero, the concept of infinity, symbols 1-9, algorithms, and medicine.

15. Bibliography • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajanta_Caves • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandragupta_Maurya • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asoka

16. Thank you • Slides by Ian Platt