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CLASSICAL
INDIA
FROM THE MAURYANS
TO THE GUPTAS
THE LATE
VEDIC AGE
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The Vedic Age: 1500 – 500 BCE
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Name from Vedas, which records history
Began with Aryan migration into India
Aryans pushed into Ganges, up to Deccan
Eventually nomadic Aryans settled down
Ruled local inhabitants (dasas, Dravidians)
Ganges Republics (mahajanapadas): 900 – 500 BCE
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Generally 16 larger states dominated Indus-Ganges Region
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Republics dominated by kshatriyans (warrior-rulers)
States vied for power constantly with each other
Within states, kshatriyans vied for power with rulers
Rulers performed social, religious rituals
Magahda was one of the most dominant of the states
Religious society dominated by brahmins
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Controlled ritual, rites, religious duties
Religion often called Brahmanism
RISE OF MAURYAN EMPIRE
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Western Intrusions
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Intrusions of Persians (520 B.C.E.)
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The Greek Interlude (c. 327 B.C.E.)
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Alexander the Great conquered Persia, Invaded India
Alexander’s withdrawal left a political vacuum
Seleucid Empire succeeded to Alexander’s lands in India
Magadha kingdom filled the vacuum in Ganges
Chandragupta Maurya
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Persians established Indus satrapy
Introduced imperial government, ruling style, coins
As young prince, held hostage by Greeks, escaped back to India
Overthrew the Magadha kingdom in 321 B.C.E.
The founder of the Mauryan empire
Conquered the Greek state in Bactria, Selecuid control of Indus
Chandragupta's empire embraced all of northern India
Chandragupta's government
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Government procedures devised by Kautalya, the advisor of the empire
The political handbook, Arthashastra, outlined administrative methods
ASHOKA
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Ashoka Maurya (reigned 268-232 B.C.E.)
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Chandragupta's grandson
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Ruled through tightly organized bureaucracy
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Established a tolerant rule of righteousness
Sent out missionaries to Sri Lanka, SE Asia, Central Asia
Decline of the Mauryan Empire
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Ashoka died in 232 B.C.E.
Heirs were not strong and cost of ruling was expensive
Suffered from acute financial and economic difficulties
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Established capital at Pataliputra
Policies of encouraging agriculture and trade
Converted to Buddhism
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The high point of the Mauryan empire
Conquered the kingdom of Kalinga, 260 B.C.E.
Developed remorse and renounced future war
High cost for maintaining army and bureaucrats
Debasing the currency, not a effective resolution
The empire collapsed by 185 B.C.E.
THE NOMADIC INTERLUDE
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Northwestern Kingdoms: 200 BCE to 300 CE
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Indo-European nomads enter India from Central Asia
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Indo-Greeks came from Bactria c. 180 BCE
Indo-Scythians (Sakas) come from C. Asia c. 80 BCE
Indo-Parthians came from Persia c. 20 CE
Influenced Indian art, commerce, religion
Syncretic blending of Greek culture, Buddhism
Indians saw them as foreigners, impure barbarians
Linked India to the Silk Road, China, Western Asia
Became “Indianized” over time
The Kushans
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Indo-Europeans pushed out of China
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Took over Scythians, Central Asia, Northwestern India
Dominated Silk Road trade between Mediterranean, China
Adopted Buddhism, blended with Greek, Persian traditions
Gandaran art style was a major artistic period
Helped facilitate spread of Buddhism back to China
THE GUPTAS
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The Gupta Dynasty: 320 CE to 550 CE
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Gupta Government
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Dynasty was relatively decentralized
Local rulers had great power
Theatre state: ruler had ceremonial functions
Devaraja Cult: ruler was incarnation of a god
An Indian Golden Age
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India was controlled by regional kingdoms
The Gupta state rose to power in Magadha
Chandra Gupta founded the new dynasty
Guptas supported revival of Hinduism
During this age Hinduism took its major form
Guptas supported arts, sciences, mathematics
Gupta decline
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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
ECONOMICS AND SOCIAL
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Towns and manufacturing
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Long-distance trade
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Strong patriarchal families; subordination of women to men
Child marriage placed women under control of old men
Development of caste system
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Invasions by Persians helped build trade networks
Trade with China through silk roads of central Asia
Trade in Indian Ocean basin, Africa to Southeast Asia
Spread Buddhism, Hinduism to Central, Southeast Asia
Social and gender relations
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Towns dotted countryside after 600 B.C.E.
Towns provided manufactured, luxury goods
New social groups of artisans, craftsmen, and merchants appeared
Individuals of same trade or craft formed a guild; guilds were subcastes, jatis
Functions of guilds: social security and welfare systems
Wealth and social order
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Trade and industry brought prosperity to many vaishyas and shudras
Old beliefs and values of early Aryan society became increasingly irrelevant
JAINISM
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Vardhamana Mahavira
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Jainist doctrine and ethics
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Born in north India, 540 B.C.E.
Left family, searching for salvation from cycle of incarnation
Gained enlightenment, taught an ascetic doctrine
His disciples began to lead a monastic life
Mahavira became Jina, the "conqueror," and followers, Jains
Inspired by the Upanishads
Everything in the universe possessed a soul
Striving to purify one's selfish behavior to attain a state of bliss
The principle of ahimsa, nonviolence toward all living things
Believed that almost all occupations entailed violence of some kind
Too demanding, not a practical alternative to the cult of the brahmins
Appeal of Jainism
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Social implication: Individual souls equally participated in ultimate reality
The Jains did not recognize social hierarchies of caste and jati
Became attractive to members of lower castes
The ascetic tradition continues to today
EARLY BUDDHISM
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Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 B.C.E.)
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The Buddha and his followers
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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
Began searching for enlightenment
Intense meditation and extreme asceticism
Received enlightenment under the bo tree
"Turning of the Wheel of the Law," 528 B.C.E.
Organized followers into a community of monks
Traveled, preached throughout north India
Buddhist doctrine: The dharma
 The Four Noble Truths
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The Noble Eightfold Path (“Setting the wheel in motion”)
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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
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
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Appealed strongly to members of lower castes
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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
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Salvation without services of the brahmins
Did not recognize social hierarchies of castes and jati
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 (no violence)
Granted lands to monasteries
Sent missionaries to Bactria and Ceylon
SPREAD OF
BUDDHISM
VARIANTS OF BUDDHISM
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Early Buddhism
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Development of Buddhism
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Made heavy demands on individuals
Giving up personal property
Forsaking the search for social standing
Detaching oneself from worldly pleasures
Buddha gradually seen as god by ex-Hindus, in China
The bodhisatva - "an enlightened being"
Monasteries accepted gifts from wealthy individuals
Buddhism became more attractive
The Schism of Buddhism: Was he a god or man?
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Mahayana - "the greater vehicle"
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Spread to Central, East Asia
Blended in India with Hinduism, which coopted Buddha as a god
Coopted Chinese traditions and Taoist gods in China
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Hinayana or Theravada
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Continued to view Buddha as human
 Practiced in Sri Lanka, parts of India, SE Asia
Buddhism died out in India as it merged with Hinduism
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POPULAR HINDUISM
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The epics
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Mahabharata
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A secular poem revised by brahmin scholars
Honored Vishnu, the preserver of the world
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The Bhagavad Gita
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Ramayana
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Secular story of Rama and Sita was changed into a Hindu story
Shows extent of spread of Hinduism in region
Hindu ethics
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A short poetic work within the Mahabharata
A dialogue between the god Vishnu and Prince Arjuna
Illustrated expectations of Hinduism and promise of salvation
Lower demands for achieving salvation
Individuals should meet their responsibilities in detached fashion
Balance of dharma, artha, karma to attain moksha, end samsara
Popularity of Hinduism
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Became more popular than Buddhism; Buddhism too aesthetic
The Guptas helped Hinduism become the dominant religion
Guptas placed Brahmins as lead caste above Kshatriyas