India: Mythology & Religion (Notable Terms, Concepts, Works, Characters or Deities, Events / Stories etc.)

Rig-Veda (All Facts)

• Earliest account that summarized Indo-Aryan religious beliefs around 1500 BCE

• Was unwritten, but was the most sacred text of the Indo-Aryans and other peoples of northern India around 800 BCE

• Gave rise to a great deal of religious discussion since its hymns were first collected

• Work which references the fourfold division of Indo-Aryan society into castes and the caste system

Upanishads (All Facts)

• Collection of 250 devotional hymns, saying, and reflections; which was the work of holy men and philosopher-kings contemporary of the Indo-Aryan peoples around 800 BCE

  • Are composed as dialogues, with questions and answers as if the reader was in a class

  • They are essentially aimed at finding deeper religious truth in the traditional framework of belief centered on the concept of life and existence known as “brahma”

• This word meant “a session in which religious teachers pass on their wisdom to their pupils,” which was also what the work was clearly purported to do

• Were more spiritual in nature compared to earlier texts

• It posed questions such as “what is the origin of the universe?” and “what is the nature of the soul?”

Sacrificial Offering (All Facts)

• Duty in Ancient Indian society that was carried out by the Brahmans or priests

• Consisted of food given to gods who could not sustain themselves in any other way

• Practice that was considered essential to the smooth running of the cosmos

560 BCE - Siddhartha Gautama Buddha (All Facts)

• Founder of Buddhism