History-The Vedic Age,Religion in Ancient India,The Caste System

What were the two largest cities in the Indus River Valley Civilisations?

Harrapa and Mohenjo-daro

What are 4 possible causes of the decline of the civilisation?

Monsoons destroyed irrigation and farming prospects,invasions and long distance trade collapse

What does the word Aryans mean?

Noble/pure

What language did they speak?

An early form of Sanskrit

Why did the Nazis glorify the Aryans as a superior race?

Because they were credited with this important language development

Fun Fact:This Indo-European language is closely related to Persian, Latin, Greek and modern Romance languages.Such as

Spanish,French,Italian&Portuguese

Where did Aryans come from?

They descended upon North India through the Hindu Kush around 1500 BC/Arrived mcuh earlier and perhaps descended from the Harappans-Still a vibrant debate about where they came from

Cattle became the principal measure of ______ in early Aryan Society

wealth

They were____________.(job)

pastorialists

Aryans did not use _______ but they composed numerous poems and songs

writing

The earliest of these orally transmitted works were the

Vedas

What were the Vedas?

 which were collections of songs, prayers, philosophies and rituals honoring Aryan gods.

What was the earliest Veda?How many hymns did it contain?

Rig Veda, a collection of 1,028 hymns. 

What kind of stories were in Vedas?

stories that attempt to explain how the world was created, who the gods are, etc.

What are the four Vedas?

Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva Vedas

Rig Veda

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* The ear\`liest Veda
* Originally was recited orally and passed down generation to generation.
* Children began learning the Rig Veda at an early age, would learn to chant each syllable in perfect order.
* Scholars believe that the Rig Veda was the basis of the caste system which developed in ancient India.

In th Vedas,Aryans are portrayed as

fierce warriors with military skills

True or False Aryans spread through India quickly and carried out well organized military campaigns

False

How did Aryans come to power in North India ?

 over generations of warring with each other

What was each Aryan tribe headed by?

rajan/chief

Who was second in importance in an Aryan tribe?

priests

What was the priests job?

* They learned complicated rituals that were typically focused on honoring or appeasing the gods.

What was the Aryan social order?

Rajan

Priests

Warrior class

Farmers

Non-Aryans-not slaves,only allowed to perform the most ,menial tasks

Where did the Aryans begin to settle after 1000BCE?

*  the area between the Himalayan foothills and the Ganges river.  During this time iron tools and implements were being made.

Eventually the would settle the entire subcontinent and evolve into_____

more formal political institutions.

* Early Vedic period was more ______ with ____ being the main distinction between Vedic (Aryan) and non-Vedic people. 

egalitarian,varna

What does varna mean?

color

What does Dravidian person mean?

Non-Vedic(Aryan) person

What did the Aryans use the term Varna to refer to?

The major social classes.( “Wheat colored v. darker skinned”)

How many “varnas” were recognized by the Aryans

4

What is a caste system?

* The caste is a closed group whose members are severely restricted in their choice of occupation. 
* Social status is determined by the caste of one’s birth.
* Marriage outside the caste is frowned upon.

Fun facts about the Caste system

* Has been in use for many years
* Still today the values of the caste system are held strongly.
* Has a major role in modern India
* Gives a sense of order and peace among the people.

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__Name the Different Castes (from Highest to Lowest)__

1. Brahman → priests, scholars
2. Kshatriya →ruler, warriors, landowner
3. Vaishya →merchants
4. Shudra → artisans, agriculturalists

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5. Harijan → actually not part of the caste system, „outsiders“ and once known as „untouchables“

__Where Does The System Come From?__

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1. The Indo-Aryans may have established a caste system in which they placed themselves in higher classes

True or False Activists think the system is a form of racial discrimination

True

Three disadvantages for people in the lower caste are:

1. Are not allowed to go to the high castes areas
2. They cannot visit the same temples as the higher castes
3. Often sit in the back of classrooms.

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Many Hindus believe that the system is

 a part of the society and not within Hinduism’s backgrounds.

Observers think the caste system is a system of

exploitation of poor lower castes by the higher

What is the world’s oldest and third largest religion?

Hinduism

What is the name of the Hindus one universal sprit (god)?

Brahman

What is the name of the Creator god?

Brahma-created the universe,

What is said about Brahma’s four heads?

each head is said to have delivered the four Vedas (sacred texts) 

Who is the protector god?

Vishnu

What is the destroyer god?

Shiva

Reincarnation

The belief that each person has many lives

Karma

the belief that the deeds (actions) of a person affect what he or she will be in the next life.

To have a better existence in the next life—you must follow your

* dharma = your place in society (caste)

Avatar

* representation of a Hindu god or goddess in human or animal form.  

Why do many Hindus not eat meat?

Animals have a supreme life force

*What is the name given to one of Hinduism’s religious texts that means “sitting near a teacher.”*

Upanishad

In the upanishad much of the text is in the form of

* questions by students and responses by teachers.

Why did many Indians want a simpler, more spiritual faith. 

some Indians felt unhappy with the many ceremonies of the Hindu religion. (focus on meditation)

What is the name of Buddha?

**Siddhartha Gautama** 

What did the prince do?

* gave up __**wealth**__ and __**power**__ to understand the meaning of life
*  Founded a new religion called **Buddhism** 

What did the prince people were too occupied with?

Fame,money and personal possessions

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What did the priest predict about Siddhartha Gautama ?

* **selfless, wandering holy man**

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At what age did Siddhartha Gautama  see sickness, old age, poverty, and death for the first time in his life.?

29

How many years of fasting did Siddhartha Gautama do?

6years

What are the four noble truths?

1. Life is full of **suffering**.
2. People suffer because they desire **worldly things** and want to satisfy themselves.
3. The way to end suffering is to **stop** desiring things.
4. The only way to stop desiring things is to follow the **Eightfold Path**

The Eightfold Pald

Right View

Right Intentions

Right Speech

Right Action

Right Livelihood

Right Effort

Right Concentration

Right Mindfulness

They believe that the Eightfold Path can lead to

nirvana

After Buddha died, Buddhism **divided** into many branches

**Theravada Buddhists** and **Mahayana Buddhists.**

Buddhism Today

* Today, Buddhism is one of the major world religions. 
* Most Buddhists live in Southeast Asia and East Asia. Only a few live in India, Buddhism's birthplace

Name animals that the Aryans reared and for what purpose

 cattle, sheep,  goats, and horses for purposes of milk, meat and hides.

How do we know this about their rearing?

after analyzing the literary  evidence in the Rigveda.

. A large number of words are derived from the word ___ meaning ____

go,cow

What was a rich person called?

 gomat

Who was the duhitri and what does it mean?

The daughter-one who milks the cows

gaveshana meaning

 search for cows, but it also means battle since many battles were fought over cattle.

The cows were thought of as

Providers of everything

What was done for an increase in the number of cattle

Prayers were offered

What was the most important economic activity of Rigvedic Aryans?

 cattle breeding

True or False Since Aryans valued cattle abpve all else the early Vedic people had no knowledge of  agriculture

False

What was yava

modern jau or barley;cereal

Name some other economic activities other than cattle rearing and smale scale cultivation by the Aryans?

Hunting, carpentry, tanning, weaving, chariot-making, metal smeltery etc

 The products of these activities were exchanged through____

barter

The priests received cows, horses and gold ornaments as

fees for performing  sacrifices. 

Describe the comparison of agriculture with pastoral activities

s meager  and mostly late insertions. A few references show that they had knowledge of agriculture and practiced it to  supplement their food requirements

What was the norm of marriage and what was the only exception for Rigvedic society?

Monogamy was the usual  norm of marriage but the chiefs at times practiced polygamy

When do marriages take place?

 after attaining maturity

 The family was part of a larger grouping called

vis or  clan.

 One or more than one clans made

jana or tribe

 The jana was the largest

social unit

All the members of a  clan were related to each other by

blood relation

The membership of a tribe was based on ____  and not on

birth;residence in a certain area.

Thus the members of the Bharata tribe were known as the

**Bharatas**

True or False Names of clans implied territory

False

True or false There was a caste system in the Rigvedic society

False

True or False Occupation in Rigvedic society is not based on birth

True Members of a family could adopt different occupations

Describe the appearance of vedic people in constrast to non vedic people

 The Vedic people were fair whereas the non-Vedic indigenous people were  dark in complexion and spoke a different language

What does dasa mean?

used in the sense of a group different from the Rigvedic people.Later, dasa came to mean  a slave

 Name a practice that resulted in the creation of some inequalities within a tribe during the later  part of this Vedic phase

concentration of a larger share of the war booty in  the hands of the chiefs and priests

What were the three sections of the Rigvedic  tribe.

The warriors, priests and the ordinary people

Fun fact about the Rigvedic society:

The women in society enjoyed respectable positions. She  was married at a proper age and could choose a husband of her own choice. She could take part in the  proceedings of the tribal assemblies

What were tribal assemblies called

sabha and samiti.

When did the shudra section of the Rigvedic tribe come?

Towards the end of the period

What were the main concerns of the  Rigvedic people

The prayers to propitiate gods for physical protection and for material gains

The Rigvedic gods were generally

personifications of different aspects of natural forces such  as rains, storms, sun etc

Why do we not see many goddesses mentioned in the text

 The attributes of these gods also reflect the tribal and patriarchal nature of the society 

Name some male gods

 Indra, Agni, Varuna, Mitra, Dyaus, Pushana, Yama,  Som