Download Full_India

Ancient India
India: Modern Map
Monsoon Map
Harappan Civilization (2500 BCE)
Aryan Migration
The Aryans
• Light Skinned nomads who entered India
from the North in 1500 BCE.
• The Aryans spoke a language called
Sanskrit and counted their worth in cows.
• The Aryans conquered dark skinned,
town-dwelling Dasas when they entered
India
• The Aryans had a rigid class (or caste)
system, which determined how people
lived their lives (jobs, socializing….).
The Caste System
Ganges River, Varanasi
Bodhgaya, India
Origins of Hinduism
• No founder
• No single sacred text
• Collection of practices
and beliefs
• Evolved over time
Sacred Texts of Hinduism
The Vedas: Brought to the Indian subcontinent by the
Aryans. The Vedas are four collections of prayers and
instructions for performing rituals. The Rig Veda is the
most important, which includes Purusa.
Mahabharata: A great epic Indian story that explains
the struggles that took place in India as the Aryans
moved South. One part is the Bhagavad Gita,
about a warrior prince about to go to war; chariot
driver is Krishna, god in human form.
Ramayana: The great epic story of Rama and Sita, which
stresses the importance of dharma.
Vedas
•
•
•
•
Prayers
Rituals
Existed orally
Written in Sanskrit
around 300 BCE
The Vedas
Rama and Sita, with Hanuman,
from the Ramayana
Krishna and Arjuna, from the
Bhagavad Gita
Sources of Authority:
Upanishads
• Philosophical commentary on Vedas begun
around 8th C. BCE
• Means “sitting near;” told in dialogues
• Explore the relationship between humans and
gods
• Conclusion: Atman the same as Brahman
Major Beliefs of Hinduism
• Reincarnation: The process in which people are reborn
into new bodies when they die.
• Karma: System that determines whether someone
reincarnates into a higher or lower caste.
• Dharma:
• Samsara:
One’s obligations in life—helps to determine
karma—depends on caste
Cycle of birth, death, and re-birth
• Moksha: Goal of Hinduism—end of samsara—when the
soul (atman) becomes one with the one true
reality
Goal of Life:
Moksha
• Understand Ultimate
Reality, pierce through
maya (illusion)
• Free oneself from samsara
(cycle of rebirth)
Paths to Moksha
• Bhakti-yoga: path of devoting oneself to
God
• Raja-yoga: path of meditation and
proper knowledge
• Karma-yoga: path of acting correctly not
for the result of action
Hindu Pantheon
• Thousands of Gods/Goddesses—flexibility of worship
• All part of the Ultimate Reality, Brahman
• Individual human soul, Atman, also part of this
Ultimate Reality
• Main Gods: Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva
Brahma, the Creator
Vishnu, the Preserver
Siva/Shiva, the Destroyer
Siva/Shiva, as ascetic
Ganesh
Mother Goddesses: Shakti
Durga slaying a demon
Kali
Hindu Temple,
Madras
Puja: Worship
Sadhus
White Temple, Jaipur
Hindu Temple, Trimbukeshwar
Bathers, Ganges River