India: Early History and Religious
Traditions
What did the early complex
societies of India and China
share in common?
What are some differences
between early Indian and
Chinese societies?
India - “gift of the Indus”
Northern India:
 Indus valley
Southern India:
 The Deccan
Indo-Gangetic
Plain
Geography and India


Semi –isolation: More open to
outside influences
Two main areas
• Indo –Gangetic Plain – soil most
fertile
• Deccan Plateau –higher and dryer

Climate: The Monsoon
Monsoons
Major Themes of Indian History
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Diversity—Language, Religion,
Custom
A “Nation of Shopkeepers” Major
success in manufacturing – especially
textiles like cotton
Constant invasion! Outsiders
attracted by trade and wealth
Not a tradition of political unity like
China
“Fabric” of Indian Society woven
together with Hinduism and caste
Chronology of Early Indian History

c. 2500 BCE:
Indus Valley civilization

c. 1900 BCE:
Harappan decline

c. 1500 BCE:
Beginning of Aryan migration

1500-500 BCE:
The “Vedic Age”

520 BCE:
Darius of Persia invades India

327 BCE:
Alexander the Great invades India

321-185 BCE:
Mauryan dynasty

320-550 CE:
Gupta dynasty
Harappan Civilization
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Est. 3000-2500 B.C.E.
Two major cities:
Harappa & Mohenjodaro
At least 70 other
smaller settlements
Settled by the
Dravidians
Mohenjo-daro in the ancient world
Mohenjo-daro
Other artifacts from Harappan sites
Priest-king?
Mohenjo-daro
Sandstone
The “Dancing Girl”
Mohenjo-daro
Bronze
Harappan seals
Mesopotamia
Egypt
Indus
China
Mediterranean
Central America
Fossil Fuel Civ.
Aryan arrival in India:
Conquest or Migration?

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
Nomadic Aryans
arrived over many
centuries
Rig Veda describes
conflict with
indigenous peoples
Over time, established
agricultural
communities, cities,
small kingdoms and
intermingled with
Dravidians
Aryan Migrations:
Four Consequences

New Language – Sanskrit

New Religious Ideas – Vedas

New Techniques of Warfare

New Social Organization - Caste
The Indo-European Migrations
Aryan migration into
Indian sub-continent:
1500 B.C.E. -
How do we know about the IndoEuropean migrations?
Sanskrit

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Aryan writing system brought with
them from Indo-European steppe
Oldest living language
Same origins as Greek and Latin
“raja” -> “rex” – king in Latin
“deva” -> “deus” – god in Latin
Unrelated to Dravidian languages
Linguistic evidence of I-E
Migrations
Similarities among some
Indo-European languages:
FATHER:

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English  father
German  vater
Spanish  padre
Greek  pater
Latin  pater
Sanscrit  pitar
Alexander the Great invades
327 bce

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Invasion of India
inspires political
unfication
Emergence of the
Mauryan Empire
Most Famous
Leader-Ashoka
“ideal leader”
Mauryan Empire
321-185 BCE
Ashoka –268 – 232 BCE
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Applied Buddhist
principles to
government “Ahimsa”nonviolence
Built roads, hospitals,
rest houses and
reduced animal
slaughter
Period of great
Ashoka’s Rock Pillars
Gupta “Golden Age” 320-550ce
Gupta “Golden Age”
Arts and Sciences Fully Developed
•
•
•
Math- zero, “Arabic numerals,
infinity”
Hindu classics refined- “Indian
Shakespeare”-Kalidasa; Buddism
also important
Nalanda University
Trade with Southeast Asiabeginning of
“Southernization”
40º North
The “Vedic Age”: 1500-500bce

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Named for sacred
texts, the “Vedas”
Period important
for:
• Assimilation of
Aryans
• Emergence of varna
distinctions
• Emergence of
The Rig Veda in Sanscrit
Caste / Varna

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System of social
distinctions probably
created by Aryans
Distinctions were
based on occupations
and roles in society
Varna = class or caste
Jati = sub-caste
What is Caste?
“A caste is a group of families whose members
can marry with each other and can eat in each
other’s company without believing themselves
polluted. . .Each of these has its place in a
hierarchy. . .above, or below, or equal to, every
one of the others; and in theory everybody
knows where each groups comes.”
RGH #32, p. 109
Traditional Varnas

Brahmin
Priests

Kshatriyas
Warriors and aristocrats
Vaishyas
merchants
Cultivators, artisans,

Shudras
Servants
___________________________________
 Outcastes
“Untouchables”

Why does caste emerge?
“cradle to grave security”
Village
Caste
Family
From the Rig Veda:
When they divided Purusha, how
many portions did they make?
What do they call his mouth, his
arms? What do they call his thighs
and feet?
The BRAHMIN was his mouth, of
both his arms was the KSHATRIYA
made.
His thighs became the VAISHYA, and from his feet
the SHUDRA was produced.
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Dharma of Women
From “Sacred Law of Dharma”
100bce-200ce
“Her father protects her in
childhood, her husband protects
(her) in youth, and her sons
protect (her) in older age; a
woman
is
never
fit
for
independence”
“Though destitute of virtue, or
seeking pleasure (elsewhere), or
devoid of good qualities, (yet) a
What is varna today?
See RGH #34-37
Varna ISN’T:

Class

Color

Aryan vs. non-Aryan

Occupation-
Varna IS:
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“A group of families whose
members can marry each
other and can eat in each
other’s company without
believing themselves
polluted.” Taya Zinkin
“ranked, named,
endogamous [inmarrying], with
membership achieved by
birth”
TE: Throughout Indian
history, caste has
promoted “social stability”
Since 1949
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Untouchability is
illegal
India’s constitution
forbids discrimination
based on caste
India has caste-based
“positive
discrimination”
programs
Yet caste remains
important in social
life: who one can
marry, or eat and
socialize with
Mohandas Gandhi
What Brings Happiness?

pleasure and enjoyment

work and fame

duty and service

being, awareness, joy
Hinduism

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Oldest religion that
is still widely
practiced
A fusion of Aryan
and Dravidian
beliefs-very diverse
Unique among world
religions:
• No founder
• No centralized
authority
Indra
Emergence of Hinduism

The Vedas 1400-900
BCE:
• Ritual and sacrifice
solely by priestly class

The Upanishads 800400 BCE:
• Individual is responsible
for his/her own
salvation

The Bhagavad Gita
300 BCE-300 CE:
• Salvation possible
through a balanced life
and by fulfilling one’s
Hanuman
Concepts introduced in the Upanishads
and the Bhagavad Gita (Song of God):
Brahman: “the universal soul”
 Everyone and everything is part of Brahman
 Each person possesses an atman, part of
Brahman
“I am the beginning, middle, the end of creation”
Samsara: reincarnation
 The cycle of death and rebirth
Karma: Law of “as you sow, so shall you reap”
 One’s present situation is the product of deeds
done in a previous life
 For every action there is a consequence
Dharma – moral and caste duty
Moksha: release from reincarnation
Artha:
•Pursuit of economic well-being and honest
prosperity
Kama:
•Enjoyment of social, physical, sexual
pleasure
Yoga:
•Union with Brahman
Moksha:
•Attainable through proper balance of these.
Namaste
Yoga: Union
with Brahman
Sannyasin – Holy Men
Puja Table Worship
Hindu pantheon: combination of
Vedic and indigenous gods:
Avatars:
incarnations of
god
Brahma – Creator God
Vishnu –
Preserver
God
Shiva
Vishnu’s Avatar:
Krishna
Shiva –
Destroyer
God
Ganesh: Vishnu’s Avatar
Hindu Wheel of Life
Varna and Hinduism

Varna is legitimized in Rig Veda

Hindu concepts uphold and reinforce varna

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Samsara explains one’s present caste and offers
hope of better incarnation in next life
“Fulfilling one’s duties” = fulfilling the duties of
one’s caste
“Do your dharma and you’ll get good
karma”
Jainism

Mahavira is the founder

rejected caste

ahimsa = nonviolence
Buddhism

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Founded by
Siddhartha
Gautama [b. 563
B.C.E.]
Shared many
concepts with
Hinduism
But also reacted
against many
Hindu ideas,
including caste
Principles of Buddhism
Four Noble Truths:
 All life is suffering
(dukkha)

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Suffering is caused by
desire
To stop suffering, stop
desiring
Stop desiring by
following the Eight-Fold
Path
Nirvana – “extinction of
desire”
BUDDHA UNDER THE BODHI TREE
Principles of Buddhism

Nirvana – “the extinction of Desire”

Two Major Sects of Buddhism
• Hinayana “Lesser Vehicle” –
monasticism-retreat from the world
• Mahayana “Greater Vehicle” –
bodhisattva

Buddhism as a World Religion
The Spread of Buddhism and
Hinduism
The many shapes and
faces of the
Buddha
Five Stages of Buddhism


“Old” Buddhism – 500100 bce
philosophy emphasized
Hinayana – “Lesser
Vehicle”
 monasticism
 “save yourself
through intense selfBOUDHANATH WITH MONKS,
effort”
NEPAL
 Popular in Tibet, Sri
Five Stages of Buddhism

Mahayana – “Greater
Vehicle”100bce-500ce
• bodhisattva – emphasis on compassion
(See RGH #44, p. 131) and “saving
others”
• blending of Buddhism with Greek
philosophy
• Buddha begins to be worshipped like a
god
• Education – Nalanda U. – center of
learning
• Popular in Japan, China, the world.
The many shapes and
faces of the
Buddha
Why was (is?) Buddhism
attractive?
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message appealed to
lower castes and
women.
used common
language, not
Sanskrit.
pilgrimage and holy
sites emphasized.
wealthy patrons, like
Ashoka.
“Buddhism
ZEN BUDDHISTS
MEDITATING IN KENTUCKY
(1997)
The Dalai Lama in conversation with
U.S. President George W. Bush at
the White House
Great Stupa of Dharmakaya in Colorado
"American Buddhist with Thai Buddha",
Living Enrichment Center, Wilsonville,
Oregon, 1998.
40º North
Main Themes in South Asia
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Islam comes to India: Role of
merchants, missionaries (Sufis), and
the military.
Kingdoms in South Asia: Chola
Cross-cultural trade in the Indian
Ocean: India the “Workshop of the
World.”
Indianized states in Southeast Asia:
Funan, Srivijiva, Angkor
Islam in Southeast Asia: Melaka
Trading world of Indian Ocean
Basin, 600-1600 CE
Fine Spice Trade

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Nutmeg
Mace
Cloves
Trading world of Indian Ocean
Basin, 600-1600 CE
Malaysia
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Malay sailors
Balanced lug sails
Monsoon winds
Prototype for Arab
lateen sail and
European boats