Chapter 5 Empires Ancient India
Section 1: Early Times in India
Land of the Monsoon
Kalidasa: India’s greatest playwright wrote of India’s monsoon seasons
April-May: Dry/hot
June-Sept: Rainy
Winter: Dry/Hot
Indian Subcontinent: triangular peninsula of land
Contains India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh
Half the size of U.S.
Separated from Asia by Himalayas and Hindu Kush Mountains
Tropical in south
Plateau makes up central area (Deccan Plateau)
Arabian Sea on West
Bay of Bengal on East
Indus River—northwest
Ganges River—northeast
Brahmaputra River—northwest—flows into Bay of Bengal
A Lost Civilization
Earliest civilization was established 4, 500 years ago
Major cities were: Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
Accomplishments: bronze tools, mud bricks, cotton cloth, written language
Traded with other nations: jewelry, gold armbands, cooking utensils,
statues, and dice games
The First City Planners
Rectangular Grid Streets
Houses the same
Indoor wells/plumbing
Sewer system
Clay toys
City Abandoned or Destroyed by natural disaster
Newcomers from the NW
Aryans: new group to the Indus Valley
Used horses to pull chariots
Dominated in warfare
Domesticated animals and farmed
Ist to use sugar cane
Religious beliefs influenced Asia
Vedas— “knowledge” religious book that contained poems and
Hymns
1/3 of book addresses chief god Indras
A Priestly Class
Priests became powerful rulers
4 mythical classes of Rig-Veda
Belief that groups of people came from parts of a body split to create
the world
Brahmans—priests—mouth
Kshatriya—warriors—shoulder
Vaishya—trader/landowner—thigh
Shudra—peasant—feet
Castes: social class a person was born into that affected how he or she was
able to relate to others
Untouchable castes: low in status and discriminated against
Some rejected religious beliefs and searched for “enlightenment”
Siddhartha Gautama: became known as Buddha and founded
Buddhism
Mahavira: founded Jainism
Southern India
Not invaded by the Aryans
Traded with Greece and Rome
Known for seaport and powerful women
A Mighty Expanision—The Mauryan Empire
Maurya, Gupta, and Chola: three great empires of Ancient India
Chandragupa Maurya—united India and created Maurya dynasty
Reign: period of authority
During his son Asoka’s reign the empire was at its greatest
After Asoka’s death the empire broke apart due to his son’s fighting
184 BC last Mauryan king assassinated by his own army
The Empire’s capital: Multistoried houses, Gold bowls, Gold Clothes
Made of 50 million people with different religions, customs, and
Languages
A High Point—The Gupta Empire
Chandra Gupta (AD 320) united empire
200 year reign and the high point of Indian culture
Mahabharata and Ramayana writing during this time
Pancatantra—wrote animal fables
Religious art created
Excelled in medicine and science during this time
Created math with a decimal point (Arabic #s =India’s #s)
A Dynasty of Tigers—The Chola
Ruled southern part of India (AD 100)
Karikalan Chola—claimed tiger as symbol of his dynasty
Rajaraja (AD 985) contolled all of southern India
Rajendra (Rajaraja’s son) lands grew to greatest
Chola kings were Hindus and built many temples
Dynasty wealthy and had leisure activities including games (invented chess)
Section 2: Religion of Ancient India
The Hindu Religion
Hindu: oldest major religion of India
“an inhabitant of India”
Began with the Aryans
Worship god in many forms
Brahma—creator
Wishna—preserver
Shiva—destroyer
Parvati—wife of Shiva and mother goddess
Rig-Veda (holy book) says there is one god but has many names
Believe in reincarnation
Reincarnation: soul has lived since the beginning of time and
transfers from body of human or animal at death
Karma—actions of life that affect the next life (placement of soul)
Goal to end cycle of rebirth and to achieve perfection and blend with
the universe
Each family chooses a god to worship
The Teaching of Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama (500 BC)—prince who sought “enlightenment”
Became Buddha “enlightened one”
Teachings include: listening is a path to knowledge, difficult to see own
faults
The Four Nobel Truths
1.
2.
3.
4.
Everyone suffers
Cause of suffering is due to desire
End suffering by ending the desire
End suffering by follow 8-fold path
8-Fold Path
Stress good behavior
Don’t take life
Don’t steal
Don’t lie
Don’t Cloud Mind
Buddhism spread to Tibet, China, Japan, Mongolia, and Korea
Jainism—A Religion of Nonviolence
Mahavira—founder of Jainism
Age of 30 sought enlightenment and self-denied for 12 years
Foundation of Jainims: right knowledge, right conduct, right purity
Cycle of Rebirth due to misdeeds of previous life
Jain “to conquer”
--to conquer the chains of reincarnation
Non-violence
Don’t harm people or animals
No farming
Carry whisk broom to sweep before step
Mohandas Gandhi—was a Hindu inspired by Jainism
Section 3: Worship, Work, and Play
Your Family
 Gupta era
 Many generations inside the same house
 Lived with father’s parents
 Money turned over to grandparents
Day Begins
 Work: start early to avoid heat
 Food: buttermilk, bread, rice, lentils, and vegetables
 Cow: not eaten—considered sacred
Your Village
 Religion: worship god/ worship statue/bring gifts to temple
 Work: possible work would be planting in fields
 Animals: lions and tigers in countryside
Seasonal Festivals
 Describe: include flags, banners, color parasols
 Epic poem: Ramayona
Rama and Sita
 Rama: hero—exiled by his father the king
 Sita: Rama’s wife
 Half brother learns of exile—says he will only rule until Rama’s return
 Ravana seizes Sita
 Lakshman and animals help Rama rescue Sita
A Happy Ending
 Ravana : evil king killed
 Sita: rescued and reunited with Rama
 Bharata: half-brother of Rama returned the thrown to Rama
Section 4: Outstanding Leaders
Making a Choice
Siddhartha Gautama’s mother dreamt of elephants and said it meant her
son would be king or a holy man.
Gautama saw beggars and sought meaning of life
Became Buddha
Ruling with Kindness
Asoka was India’s most beloved leader
Sought peace in Buddhism
Sent teachers to other lands to teach about Buddha
Governed with kindness and sent “overseers of the law” to promote the
welfare of all
Learning Thrives
Chandra Gupta II—greatest king of Gupta dynasty
Expanded empire and arts flourished
Kalidasa—India’s great playwright wrote during this time
Extending the Empire
Rajendra-greatest ruler of Chola dynasty
Expanded Empire
Built a powerful navy
Established important trade routes
Section 5: Tales of Travelers
A Visitor From Greece
Megasthenes—ambassador to Chandragupta Maurya’s kingdom
Quotes from lost book indicate that people ate mostly rice, simple in
manners, frugal, eat alone
Two Chinese Pilgrims
Fa Xian –Chinese Buddhist that travelled to India to study at University of
Nalanda
Wrote that kings rule without corporal punishment
People of India ate no meat
Xuan Zang—Chinese Buddhist monk—commented on the cleanliness of
India’s people
A North African Visitor
Ibn Battuta—1330 African visitor to India that served as a judge
Wrote of small catapults on backs of elephants
Spoke of hundreds of people being killed daily