Download Classical India File - Northwest ISD Moodle

Topography of India
• Subcontinent of
India is partially
separated from
the rest of the
Asian continent
by the Himalayas
Passes through the mountains linked India to
other civilizations in the Middle East
Divisions within India itself made
full unity very difficult.
The most important agricultural regions
are those along the Indus and the Ganges
Rivers
The Formative Period
Indian civilization was
also shaped by its Vedic
and Aryan Ages. Aryan
conquerors gradually
came to terms with
agriculture. These ages
brought the caste
system, Sanskrit and
many other religious
beliefs to India.
Patterns in
Classical India
Political eras were less clear in India –
Invasions constantly disrupted the
flow of rule.
Classical India alternated between
widespread empires and a network of
smaller kingdoms.
The Maurya and Gupta dynasties
constituted the most successful
political regimes in India. They
were run entirely by Indians
themselves as opposed to outside
conquerors.
RISE OF MAURYAN EMPIRE
• Ganges Republics
– Prior to Alexander, kshatriyan republics dominated, vied for power
– Maghda was one of the most dominant
• Western Intrusions
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Intrusions of Persians (520 B.C.E.) and Alexander (327 B.C.E.)
Persians established Indus satrapy
Alexander’s withdrawal left a political vacuum
Magadha kingdom filled the vacuum
• Chandragupta Maurya
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The founder of the Mauryan empire
Overthrew the Magadha kingdom in 321 B.C.E.
Conquered the Greek state in Bactria, Selecuid control of Indus
Chandragupta's empire embraced all of northern India
• Chandragupta's government
– Government procedures devised by Kautalya, the advisor of the empire
– The political handbook, Arthashastra, outlined administrative methods
ASHOKA
• Ashoka Maurya (reigned 268-232 B.C.E.)
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Chandragupta's grandson,
The high point of the Mauryan empire
Conquered the kingdom of Kalinga, 260 B.C.E.
Ruled through tightly organized bureaucracy
Established capital at Pataliputra
Policies of encouraging agriculture and trade
Converted to Buddhism
• Established a tolerant rule of righteousness
• Sent out missionaries to Sri Lanka, SE Asia, Central Asia
• Decline of the Mauryan Empire
– Ashoka died in 232 B.C.E.
– Suffered from acute financial and economic difficulties
• High cost for maintaining army and bureaucrats
• Debasing the currency, not a effective resolution
• The empire collapsed by 185 B.C.E.
THE GUPTAS
• The Gupta Dynasty
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After Mauryans, India was controlled by regional kingdoms
The Gupta state rose to power in Magadha
Chandra Gupta founded the new dynasty
Gupta dynasty was relatively decentralized
Officially supported revival of Hinduism as state faith
Era seen as the Golden Age of Hinduism
• Gupta decline
– Invasion of White Huns weakened the empire
– After 5th century C.E., Gupta dynasty ruled in name only
– Large regional kingdoms dominated political life in India
The Caste System provided the stability in India that
most countries received from government.
Brahmans
(priests &
learned)
Kshatriyas
(warriors & rulers)
Vaisyas
(farmers & merchants)
Sudras
(peasants & laborers)
Panchamas
(untouchables)
Hinduism
The religion of the majority of
people from India. Hinduism had
no single founder and no central
holy figure.
Hinduism
“God is one, but wise people know it by
many names”
• Brahman–all-powerful spiritual force
• Reincarnation-rebirth of the soul in another
bodily form
• Karma-all the actions of one’s life that affects
the fate of the next life
• Dharma-religious and moral duties of an
individual
1. Temple
Worship
2. Recitation of
sacred text
3. Pilgrimage
4. Meditation
Hindu Practices
Features of Hinduism
Upanishads – Epic poems
Dharma – Hindu moral law
EARLY BUDDHISM
• Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 B.C.E.)
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Born in 563 B.C.E. to the Kshatriya caste
Witnessed miseries of the human condition
Gave up his comfortable life and began searching for enlightenment
Intense meditation and extreme asceticism
Received enlightenment under the bo tree and became Buddha
• The Buddha and his followers
– "Turning of the Wheel of the Law," 528 B.C.E.
– Organized followers into a community of monks (“the sangha”)
– Traveled throughout north India, bringing enlightenment to others
• Buddhist doctrine: The dharma
– The Four Noble Truths
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All life involves suffering
Desire is the cause of suffering
Elimination of desire brings an end to suffering
The Noble Eightfold Path brings the elimination of desire
– The Noble Eightfold Path (“Setting the wheel in motion”)
• Right belief, right resolve, right speech, right behavior
• Right occupation, right effort, right contemplation, and right meditation
– Religious goal: Nirvana, a state of perfect spiritual independence
APPEAL OF BUDDHISM
• Appealed strongly to members of lower castes
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– Salvation without services of the brahmins
– Did not recognize social hierarchies of castes and jati
Appealed to women as all souls considered equal
Less demanding than Jainism, more popular
Used vernacular tongues, not Sanskrit
Holy sites and pilgrims
The monastic organizations
– Spread the Buddhist message, won converts
– Could be endowed by others to support the religion
– Centers of learning, good works, contemplation
• Ashoka's support
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Emperor Ashoka became a devout Buddhist, 206 B.C.E.
Banned animal sacrifices in honor of ahimsa
Granted lands to monasteries
Sent missionaries to Bactria and Ceylon
Buddhism – Founded on the teachings
of Gautama born around 563 BCE –
Accepted many Hindu beliefs but
attacked the priests and caste system.
Buddha argued that holy life could be
attained from any level of society.