Pre-classical and Classical
INDIA
The Vedic Age
The foundations for
Hinduism were
established!
Aryan Migration
 pastoral  depended on their cattle.
 warriors  horse-drawn chariots.
Sanskrit
writing
The Vedas
 Series of books
 written in
SANSKRIT.
 Religious text is the
Hindu core of beliefs
Upanishads =
establishes relationship
of soul to Brahman
Rig Veda  oldest work.
Varna (Social
Hierarchy)
What is a JATI?
Brahmins
Kshatriyas
Vaishyas
Shudras
Those with no caste: Untouchables
The
Caste
SOCIAL
System Kshatriyas
Brahmins
CLASSES=
 Purusha’s mouth
 arms
Vaishyas
 legs
 feet
Shudras
The Maurya Empire
321 BCE – 185 BCE
CHANDRAGUPTA
 Chandragupta Maurya unified northern
India. Extremely centralized!
 Divided empire into
provinces & districts
for tax assessments and law
enforcement.
 Feared assassination  food tasters, slept
in different rooms, etc.
 301 BCE  gave up his throne & became
a Jain.
Kautilya
 Chandragupta’s advisor.
 Wrote the Arthashastra:
 A guide for the king and his ministers

Supports royal power.

The great evil in society is anarchy.

Therefore, a single authority is
needed to employ force when
necessary!
Ashoka 304-232 BCE
 Ashoka = most important
ruler of Maurya
Religious conversion
after gruesome
battle of Kalinga
 religiously tolerant
 Patronized Buddhism
 Conflict  how to balance Kautilya’s
methods of keeping power
and Buddha’s demands to
become a selfless person?
Mauryan
Empire
under
Ashoka –
HUGE!
Ashoka’s law code
 Written mostly in
Sanskrit, but one was in
Greek and Aramaic –
Cosmopolitan (diverse)
empire!
 Buddhist principles dominate his laws.
 Focus on: nonviolence, morality, &
religious toleration
Note the pillar on the left!
Turmoil & a power Vacuum:
220 BCE – 320 CE
The Mauryan Empire gets divided into many
kingdoms
Gupta Empire: 320 CE – 647 CE
Gupta Rulers
 Chandra Gupta I

r. 320 – 335 CE
 Chandra Gupta II

r. 375 - 415 CE
Profitable trade of cotton
& pepper

Guptas were Hindu, not
Buddhists
 Less centralized &
smaller than Mauryan
Theater State
Xuanzang: Life in Gupta
India
§ Chinese Buddhist monk traveled along the
Silk Roads and visited India in the 5c.
§ He was following the path
of the Buddha.
§ He reported the people to
be happy, relatively free of
government oppression, and
inclined towards courtesy and
charity. Other references in
the journal, however, indicate
that the caste system was
rapidly assuming its basic features, including
"untouchability," the social isolation of a lowest
class that is doomed to menial labor.
Empire under Chandra
Gupta II
International Trade Routes
during the Guptas
Extensive Trade
spices
Gupta
Art
Greatly influenced
Southeast Asian art &
architecture.
1000 diseases
classified
500 healing
plants identified
Gupta
Achievements
Printed
medicinal guides
Plastic
Surgery
Medicine
Inoculations
Gupta
India
C-sections
performed
Decimal
System
Mathematics
Concept
of Zero
PI = 3.1416
Solar
Calendar
Astronomy
The earth
is round
The Decline of the
Guptas
 Invasion by White
Huns in the 500s =
end of the Gupta Golden Age
decline of Gupta empire - north India
broke into many separate Hindu
kingdoms ruled by rajputs
Indian History: Unity v. Disunity