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Chapter 19 – History of Ancient India
Section Notes
Video
Early Indian Civilizations
Origins of Hinduism
Origins of Buddhism
Indian Empires
Indian Achievements
Impact of Buddhism as a World
Religion
Close-up
Life in Mohenjo Daro
Maps
Ancient India, 2300 BC-AD 500
Harappan Civilization, c. 2600-1900 BC
Aryan Migrations
Early Spread of Buddhism
Mauryan Empire, c. 320-185 BC
Gupta Empire, c. 400
India: Physical
Ancient India
Images
Quick Facts
Chapter 19 Visual Summary
Harappan Art
The Great Departure
Mauryan Troops
Gupta Art
Temple Architecture
Early Indian Civilizations
The Big Idea
Indian civilization developed on the Indus River.
Main Ideas
 Located on the Indus River, the Harappan civilization also
had contact with people far from India.
 Harappan achievements included a writing system, city
planning, and art.
• The Aryan invasion changed India’s civilization.
Main Idea 1:
Located on the Indus River, the Harappan
civilization also had contact with people far
from India.
• Archaeologists think that the Harappan civilization thrived
between 2300 and 1700 BC.
• The Harappan civilization controlled large areas on both
sides of the Indus River.
• The largest settlements were two cities: Harappa and
Mohenjo Daro.
• The Harappan civilization was dependent on agriculture
and grew a variety of crops—from wheat and barley to
dates and vegetables.
• The Harappans traded with people as far away as southern
India and Mesopotamia.
Main Idea 2:
Harappan achievements included a writing
system, city planning, and art.
•
Writing System •
City Planning
Artistic
Achievements
Developed India’s first writing system
Scholars cannot read this system.
•
Must rely on other clues to study Harappan society
•
Skilled engineers
•
Towering fortresses were built near each city.
•
•
Streets were lined with storehouses, workshops,
market stalls, and houses.
Built extensive sewer systems
•
Skilled artisans
•
Sturdy pottery vessels, jewelry, and ivory objects
The End of the Harappan Civilization
• Harappan civilization ended by the early 1700s
BC.
• No one is sure why their civilization ended.
• Perhaps invaders or natural disasters caused the
civilization to collapse.
Main Idea 3:
The Ayran invasion changed India’s
civilization.
Arrival and
Spread
• First arrived in
India in the 2000s
BC
• Originally from
the area around
the Caspian Sea
in Central Asia
• Spread east and
south into central
India
• Most of what we
know about Aryan
society comes
from the Vedas
Government
and Society
• Nomads who
eventually settled
in villages and
began to farm
• Lived in small
communities
based on family
ties
• Villages were
governed by
rajas.
• Groups often
fought each other
Language
• Did not read or
write
• Memorized poems
and hymns that
were important to
their culture
• Sanskrit was the
most important
language in
ancient India.
• Sanskrit is no
longer spoken
today.
Origins of Hinduism
The Big Idea
Hinduism, the largest religion in India, developed out of
ancient Indian beliefs and practices.
Main Ideas
• Indian society divided into distinct groups.
• The Aryans formed a religion known as Brahmanism.
• Hinduism developed out of Brahmanism and influences
from other cultures.
• The Jains reacted to Hinduism by breaking away.
Main Idea 1:
Indian society divided into distinct groups.
• These groups were largely organized by people’s
occupations.
• Strict rules developed about how people of
different groups could interact.
• Over time, these rules became stricter and
became central to Indian society.
Social Divisions in Aryan society
The Varnas
•
Brahmins –
priests
•
Kshatriyas –
rulers and
warriors
•
Vaisyas –
farmers,
craftspeople,
and traders
•
Sudras –
laborers and
non-Aryans
The Caste System
• Divided Indian
society into
groups based on
a person’s birth,
wealth, or
occupation
• Determined his or
her place in
society
• On rare
occasions, people
could change
caste.
• Untouchables
were considered
unclean and were
the outcasts of
society.
Caste Rules
• Aryans wanted to
keep the classes
distinct.
• Sutras, or guides,
which listed the
rules of the caste
system
• People spent
almost all of their
time with others
in their same
class.
Main Idea 2:
Aryans formed a religion known as
Brahmanism.
• Aryan priests were called Brahmins, and their religion is often
called Brahmanism.
• Aryan religion was based on the Vedas.
• Aryans wrote down their thoughts about the Vedas in collections
called Vedic texts.
– One collection of Vedic texts describes Aryan religious rituals.
– A second collection describes secret rituals that only certain people
could perform.
– The final group of Vedic texts are the Upanishads. These writings are
reflections on the Vedas by religious students and teachers.
Main Idea 3:
Hinduism developed out of Brahmanism and
influences from other cultures.
• The Vedas, the Upanishads, and other Vedic texts
remained the basis of Indian religion for centuries.
• Eventually, the ideas began to blend with ideas from other
cultures.
• This blending created a religion called Hinduism, the
largest religion in India today.
Hinduism
Hindu Beliefs
• Believe in many gods
• Each god is part of a single
universal spirit called
Brahman.
• Brahman created the world
and preserves it.
• Everything in the world is
part of Brahman.
Life and Rebirth
• Believe that everyone has
a soul
• A person’s ultimate goal
should be to reunite that
soul with Brahman, the
universal spirit.
• People must try and see
through the illusion of the
world, which can take
several lifetimes.
• Souls are born and reborn
many times, each time into
a new body. This process
of rebirth is called
reincarnation.
Hinduism
•
•
•
•
•
Hinduism and the Caste
System
A person’s karma determines
what physical form person
will be reborn into.
Karma is the effects that
good or bad actions have on
a person’s soul.
Hinduism teaches that one
must obey one’s dharma.
Hinduism was popular at all
levels of Hindu society.
Hinduism preserved the
caste system in India by
teaching people to accept
their places in society.
Hinduism and Women
• Early Hinduism taught that
both men and women could
gain salvation, but that
women were inferior to men.
• Over the centuries, Hindu
women have gained more
rights.
• Mohandas Gandhi was
influential in helping women
achieve more rights.
Main Idea 4:
The Jains reacted to Hinduism by breaking
away.
• Mahariva did not like the control of religion by the
Brahmins and founded a new religion called Jainism.
– Jains try to live by four principals: injure no life, tell the
truth, do not steal, and own no property.
– Jains practice nonviolence, or the avoidance of violent
action.
– Jains believe that everything is alive and part of the cycle of
rebirth.
– Jains are vegetarians. They do not eat any food that comes
from animals.
Origins of Buddhism
The Big Idea
Buddhism began in India and became a major religion.
Main Ideas
• Siddhartha Gautama searched for wisdom in many ways.
• The teachings of Buddhism deal with finding peace.
• Buddhism spread far from where it began in India.
Main Idea 1:
Siddhartha Gautama searched for wisdom in
many ways.
• Siddhartha Gautama was born around 563 BC in northern India.
• He was a prince, a member of the Kshatriya (or warrior) class,
who grew up in luxury.
• Siddhartha began to ask questions about the meaning of life.
• Before he was 30, Siddhartha left his home and family and
began to travel around India, talking to priests and people
known for their wisdom.
The Buddha Finds Enlightenment
•
Siddhartha spent six years wandering throughout India.
– He started fasting, or went without food.
– He spent time in meditation, the focusing of the mind on
spiritual ideas.
•
After seven weeks of deep meditation under a tree in the town of
Gaya, Siddhartha suddenly had the answers that he had been
looking for.
•
He
–
–
–
•
Siddhartha is said to have found “enlightenment” under the tree.
From that point on, he would be called the Buddha, or “Enlightened
One.”
discovered that human suffering comes from three things:
wanting what we like but do not have,
wanting to keep what we like and already have, and
not wanting what we dislike but have.
Main Idea 2:
The teachings of Buddhism deal with finding
peace.
• At the heart of the Buddha’s teachings were four guiding
principles, which became known as the Four Nobel Truths.
• The Eightfold Path was a middle way between human
desires and denying oneself any pleasure.
• Some of Buddha’s teaching challenged traditional Hindu
ideas.
The Four Noble Truths
 Suffering and unhappiness are a part of human life.
No one can escape sorrow.
• Suffering comes from our desires for pleasure and
material goods. People cause their own misery
because they want things they cannot have.
 People can overcome their desires and ignorance and
reach nirvana, a state of perfect peace. Reaching
nirvana would free a person’s soul from suffering and
from the need for further reincarnation.
• People can overcome ignorance and desire by
following an eightfold path that leads to wisdom,
enlightenment, and salvation.
The Eightfold Path
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Right
Right
Right
Right
Right
Right
Right
Right
Thought
Intent
Speech
Action
Livelihood
Effort
Mindfulness
Concentration
Buddhist Teachings Challenged Hindu Ideas
• The Buddha rejected many of the ideas contained in the
Vedas and told people that they did not have to follow
these texts.
• The Buddha challenged the authority of the Hindu priests,
the Brahmins. He taught that each person was
responsible for their own salvation.
• The Buddha was opposed to the caste system.
Main Idea 3:
Buddhism spread far from where it began in
India.
In India
•
•
•
After his death,
500 of the
Buddha’s followers
spread his
teachings
throughout India
after the Buddha
died.
Buddhist teachings
were popular and
easy to
understand.
Within 200 years
of the Buddha’s
death, Buddhism
had spread
throughout most
of India.
Beyond India
Buddhism Splits
• The Indian king
Asoka helped to
spread Buddhism
both within India
and outside of
India.
• As Buddhism
spread, not all
Buddhists could
agree on their
beliefs and
practices.
• He built Buddhist
temples and
schools throughout
India.
• Buddhism split into
two major
branches:
Theravada and
Mahayana.
• Asoka sent
missionaries to
other kingdoms in
Asia.
• Buddhism spread
via the Silk Road
into China, then
Korea and Japan.
• Both branches have
millions of followers
today, but
Mahayana is by far
the larger branch.
Indian Empires
The Big Idea
The Mauryas and the Guptas built great empires in India.
Main Ideas
• The Mauryan Empire unified most of India.
• Gupta rulers promoted Hinduism in their empire.
Main Idea 1:
The Mauryan Empire unified most of India.
Starting around 320 BC Candragupta Maurya founded the
Maurya Empire.
Candragupta Maurya used an army of mercenaries, or hired
soldiers, to seize control of the entire northern part of India.
The strongest of all the Mauryan emperors was Candragupta’s
grandson, Asoka.
The Mauryan Empire lasted for about 150 years. In 184 BC the
last Mauryan king was killed and India divided into small states
again.
The Mauryan Empire
• Candragupta Maurya ruled his empire by means of a
complex government.
• In 301 BC Candragupta decided to become a Jainist monk
and gave the throne to his son.
• His son continued to expand the empire, and before long
the Mauryas ruled all of northern India and much of
central India as well.
Asoka
Military Ruler
• Asoka, Candragupta’s
grandson, became king
in 270 BC.
• He was the strongest of
all the Mauryan rulers.
• He extended Mauryan
rule over most of India.
Buddhist
• When he converted to
Buddhism, Asoka swore
to stop the wars of
conquest.
• He began to work to
improve the lives of his
people.
• He encouraged the
spread of Buddhism.
• For example, he raised
large stone pillars
carved with Buddhist
edicts, or laws.
Main Idea 2:
Gupta rulers promoted Hinduism in their
empire.
A New Hindu Empire
• The Gupta dynasty took over India around AD 320.
• Under the Guptas, India was again united and it prospered.
• Hinduism became India’s dominant religion. However, the Gupta
rulers also supported the religious beliefs of Buddhism and Jainism.
Gupta Society
• Gupta society reached its high point around 375, during the rule of
Candra Gupta II.
• The empire had a strong economy, its people prospered, and fine
works of art and literature were created.
• The Gupta kings believed in the strict social order of the Hindu caste
system and women’s roles were limited.
Indian Achievements
The Big Idea
The people of ancient India made great contributions to the
arts and sciences.
Main Ideas
• Indian artists created great works of religious art.
• Sanskrit literature flourished during the Gupta period.
• The Indians made scientific advances in metalworking,
medicine, and other sciences.
Main Idea 1:
Indian artists created great works of
religious art.
The Indians of the Mauryan and Gupta periods created
great works of art, many of which were religious in
nature.
Many of their artistic endeavors illustrated either Hindu or
Buddhist teachings.
Hindu and Buddhist temples were built throughout India.
Buddhist and Hindu Temples during the
Mauryan and Gupta Periods
Hindu Temples
• During the Mauryan
period, temples were
small, stone structures
with one or two rooms
and flat roofs.
• During the Gupta
period, the temples
were more complex,
with huge towers and
intricate carvings.
Buddhist Temples
• Some Buddhists carved
entire temples out of
mountainsides.
• The temples at Ajanta
and Ellora are two of the
most famous of this
type of Buddhist temple.
• Another type of
Buddhist temple was the
stupa.
Painting and Sculpture
 The Gupta period saw the creation of countless works of
art.
 Most Indian paintings of the Gupta period are clear and
colorful.
 Many of the finest paintings of ancient India are found in
Hindu and Buddhist temples.
 Indian sculptors created intricately carved columns,
statues of kings and the Buddha for Buddhist cave
temples, and impressive statues of the Hindu gods for the
Hindu temples.
Main Idea 2:
Sanskrit literature flourished during the
Gupta period.
Religious Epics
• During the Mauryan and Gupta period, many works of
Sanskrit literature were created.
• The greatest of these Sanskrit writings are two religious
epics: the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.
Other Works
• Writers in the Gupta period also created plays, poetry, and
other types of literature.
• Kalidasa was a famous writer during this time.
• Indian writers produced a book of stories called the
Panchatantra. This collection of moral stories spread
throughout the world.
Main Idea 3:
The Indians made scientific advances in
metalworking, medicine, and other sciences.
Metalworking
• Pioneers of
metallurgy, the
science of working
with metals
• Knew processes for
mixing metals to
produce alloys,
mixtures of two or
more metals
• Metalworkers made
their strongest
products out of
iron.
Mathematics
• The most skilled
mathematicians of
their day
• Hindu-Arabic
numerals were
created by Indian
scholars and
brought to Europe
by Arabs.
• The first people to
create the zero
Other Sciences
• Began writing
medical textbooks
as early as the AD
100s
• Doctors knew
about disease
prevention and
used inoculation.
• Doctors could
perform surgery.
• Interested in
astronomy, the
study of stars and
planets
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