whap study guide unit 1.5

in the pre classical period from 1600-1000 bce

the immigration of aryans from central asia come and settle in south asia bc they had iron weapons which menag that they have power which menas india does not want to get invaded so they just kinda have to let them in

new language sanskrit also hinduism and caste system develops

aryan migration

during the vedic and epic ages much of hinduism comes from/is influenced by the vedas and upanishads

sources of hindu beliefs

it’s a monistic religion that believes in the brahman and samsara, and how karma and dharma contribute to getting to moksha

key beliefs of hinduism

this is a continuity to this day

there are five heredity classes/groups and the sub castes are jatis

classes: (least to highest w examples)

• untouchables (u literally lose karma if u touch them)

• sudras (unskilled workers)

• vaisyas (skilled workers merchants and minor officials)

• kshatriyas (warriors and rulers)

• brahmins (priests)

caste system

it’s a continuity in southeast and east asia but not in south asia even tho this is where the religion started

the founder (siddartha guatama) aka the buddha was born to rich parents of the kshatriya caste and his mom had a dream that was like omg ur son is gonna leave the fam if he sees suffering to find the meaning of the life so his dads like yo im not letting that happen fr so he hid all suffering from buddha but buddha was like yeah so im gonna see what this suffering looks like and he does and then he goes and finds what the meaning of life is by becoming an ascetic and learned that suffering comes from desire and if u still suffering u can avoid reincarnation (which is good cause no one wants to keep living over and over)

no Gods but instead there was bodhisattvas who were like Gods

buddha taught that ending desire is nirvana and the buddhist texts were sutras

they believe that doing it dharma would equal to good karma but rejected the caste system which means nirvana can be gotten by anyone

three types: theravada mahayana and tibetan

buddhism

gupta dynasty reunited most of south Asia and under their rule hinduism became the dominant religion and the caste system got established and also much of modern hindu culture had its foundations during this time (gupta dynasty is like the classical dynasty of south asia/india)

north and south india followed different politics after fall of gupta

• north india becomes more chaotic and a place of war and tension which cause nomadic turkish ppl (aryan migration) to take advantage and forced their way into india and the caste system but this also caused more disruption

king harsha (tolerant buddhist - when xuanzang visited he was like that king harsha is mad generous) temporarily brought back centralized rule in north india and wanted to bring it back to india and he influenced placed outside of india like the himalayan states and tang taizong of china

• but despite his favorable reputation he was not able to revive permanent centralized rule bc the empire was too loose cause since the fall of gupta local rulers were basically kings of their own lands and after he was assisted the empire fell apart and north india went back to chaos

political and social changes in south asia

islam reduced the north india through lots of methods but expeshally three:

• arab military- they conquered sind (indus river valley) and it was made a part of the umayyad and then passed on to the abbasid but although islam had authority it was mostly hindu and buddhist

• merchants- they had a big role in indian commerce and integrated themself into indian society so islam entered the port cities gradually (ex Gujarat has a large muslim population and it was next to the Cambay port)

• migrants- the muslim turkish nomads migrating/invading india (the aryan migration)

mahmud of ghazni discouraged islam in india bc of his raids and destroying of temples (like the Temple of Gujurat which killed a lot of people) and stole all of the wealth stored there

• his successors wanted to make india more muslim ruled so they create the sultanate of delhi and they tried to expand it but hindu resistance was too high but still the sultanate of delhi helped established islam in bengal region but it wasn’t very effective in india

introduction of islam to south asia

south india mostly avoided turmoil that north india went through they had less damaging conflicts and hindu rulers loosley administered small states

chola kingdom ruled the coromandel coast it was financed by trade which led it to dominate south china sea to the arabian sea

• they did not build a very centralized state bc they allowed considerable autonomy but that did partly lead to its decline

vijayanagar kingdom owed its origin to efforts by sultanate of delhi to expand to south india bc they send the brothers harihara and bukka to implement islam policies but they did uno reverse and were like lol jk we’re gonna create our own independent empire of vijayanagar (means city of victory)

• its establishment didn’t lead to muslims vs hindus and only fell in 1565 due to alliance of muslim kingdoms

north india and south india both have political division and conflict in post classical period but india didn’t do centralized imperial rule like other places in this unit bc the sultanate of delhi the chola kingdom and the vijayanagar kingdom were not powerful enough to organize politics throught the entire india but society still flourished

hindu kingdoms in south asia

as agricultural production increases in other regions india focused on trade and trade caused change to indian society (there were more guilds which had lots of power but castes were powerfuller)

monsoons made irrigation really important in india (it was implemented during dry months to balance out the short supply of water during that time)

• since north india had more rivers it had more opportunities to create irrigation systems

• south india did not have rivers and it’s pretty arid over there so as population increased irrigation systems became crucial which lead to the construction of water works (they required a lot of energy but also increased agricultural production)

basically bc irrigation increased, productivity increased, which allowed pop to increase, which lead to an increase of urbanization

political fragmentation did not prevent trade (inter and intra) as pop increased specialized work increased and an increase in trade was a natural result of that

• bc only certain regions could produce certain things like iron copper and salt and pepper it led to specialization and subcontinental trade

• as north india keeps getting invaded south india had a rapid economic development bc the chola kingdom provided stability and bc they allowed so much autonomy, villages could organize their own affairs

public life revolved around hindu temples bc they were social and economic centers

over time regions built larger ships (like dhows and junks) which were sailed in the indian ocean

• bc india is in the middle of the indian ocean basin it was a natural site for emporia and the establishments of dynasties increased trade in the indian ocean

• increased trade in indian ocean also encouraged specialization in all regions not just india

• kingdom of axum is a good example of how trade affects development (went from small to large influence)

trade in the indian ocean

hinduism and islam traditions dominated cultural and religious life in india

bc of persecution and invasion buddhism declines but hinduism benefits from taht

devotional communities (expeshally of vishnu and shiva) increase

shankara vs ramanuja beliefs

• shankara- more logical approach to understanding the Brahman

• ramanuja- emphasized the influence of devotional cults and personal union with dieties instead of understanding reality

religious changes in south asia

islam didn’t attract interest of first bc conquers offered less incentive for conversion bc they treated the indian ppl unfairly cause they favored arabs persians and turkish ppl (so indian ppl had less chance of moving up the caste then before) however there was gradual acceptance in merchant communities

some hindus adopted islam to escape the caste system - islam believes that everyone in the ummah is equal so there is no caste system so hindus converted to not be in a low caste (escape discrimination of caste) but even after conversion they continued to play the same caste role

sufi islam was a effective converter bc they had aspects of hinduism incorporated into islam making it easier for hindus to convert- they get to keep parts of their culture (they kinda allowed for a type of adaption of islam for india)

bhakti movement built a bridge between islam and hinduism (it emerged in south india at first to promote hinduism but then they were like islam lowk chill too) and it rejected any exclusive features

• Guru Kabir started off as muslim but became a famous bhakti teacher and believe that vishnu shiva and Allah were all different interpretations of one single universal deity that all believes could find in their heart

• although islam and hinduism couldn’t get harmonized sufi muslims and bhakti teachers printed values that connected indias social and cultural communities

growth of islam in south asia