South Asia

Key Concept 2.1: The development and codification of religious and cultural traditions

  • The emergence of Hinduism
      * Religion originated with the polytheism that the Aryans brought
      * Aryan priests recited hymns that told stories and taught values and were eventually written down in The Vedas
  • Impact of the Upanishads
      * Less to do with formal rituals like the Vedas and focus instead on reflections about how life’s meaning and how man is related to the universe. Added ideas about reincarnation, karma, and the imperishable atman that resides in every living thing
      * From the foundations of the vedas and the philosophical musings of the upanishads arose the religion of hinduism
  • The concept of atman
      * A piece of the spirit called the atman is trapped inside humans and other living creatures
      * Goal: to be reunited with the universal spirit
      * When someone dies, their atman may be reunited, but most usually is reborn in a new body
      * A person’s caste membership is a clear indication of how close he or she is to the desired reunion
      * Basic tenets
        * Reincarnation
        * Dharma: reinforcing south asian social structures to the caste system
        * Karma: cause and effect
  • The multiple manifestations of Brahmin
      * Brahmin: universal spirit
      * God that takes many different shapes
      * Brahman’s forms are Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the Destroyer
      * Difficult to categorize as either polytheistic or monotheistic because of the central belief in the universal spirit
      * Brahman’s forms almost certainly represent difficult Aryan gods from the religion’s early days, but Hinduism eventually unites them all in the belief in Brahman
  • Popular appeal of Buddhism
      * Do not need to depend on Brahmins to achieve Moksha-appeals to lower castes
      * Not as ascetic as Jainism
      * Used vernacular instead of Sanskrit
      * Focuses on ethical behavior instead of ceremonies
      * Rejects caste system
      * Similarities to Hinduism
        * Moksha
        * Karma
        * Reincarnation
  • Spread of Buddhism
      * Asoka
      * Mahayana (Greater Vehicle) as opposed to Hinayana (Lesser Vehicle-Theravada-more ascetic)
      * Trade
  • Emergence of Popular Hinduism
      * Buddhist monks in India confined themselves to monasteries
      * Hinduism gained support from Gupta rulers
        * Education system
        * Land grant to Brahmins
  • Belief systems generally reinforced existing social structures while also offering new roles and status to some men and women.
      * \
HinduismBuddhism
Social structure: caste systemRoles of womenLaws of Manu taught that a woman is not independent of men at any point in her lifeRamayana: female protagonistSita: model of how wives should subordinate themselves to their husbandsRejects casteMany take on monastic life including women
  • Architecture
      * Classical Indian architecture reflected the religious and cultural values of Hindu society. The plan of the temple was representative of the order of the cosmos.
      * This main chamber is the holiest place in the temple and requires quiet reverence and prayer. Thus the temple design reflects spatial hierarchies similar to the hierarchies of the Hindu caste system.

Key Concept 2.2: the development of states and empires

  • The Mauryan Empire
      * About 1000 years after the first Aryans entered India, the first empire began to take shape
      * Chandragupta Maurya: became king of India in 321 BCE
      * Created a vast army
      * Conquered new lands
      * Centralized
      * Divided up into provinces each ruled by a prince
      * Heavy taxes on landowners
  • Asoka
      * Expanded the Mauryan Empire to its largest
      * Efficient ruler
      * Tax collecting system built roads
      * Ended slavery
      * Rocks and pillar edicts: pillars stating laws 
      * He converted to Buddhism, rejected violence, and ruled by moral example
      * He sent missionaries to spread Buddhism across India and throughout Asia, including China
      * Increase in foreign trade=taxes on trade=revenue
      * Asoka developed new policies of tolerance and nonviolence for his empire
      * After Asoka died, the empire declined
  • The Gupta Empire
      * There was 500 years of invasion and instability in India
      * Chandra Gupta formed the Gupta Empire in 320 AD and expanded the empire
      * Trade increased-Silk Roads
      * Provinces
      * Pataliputra-capital-intellectual and cultural center
      * Advances in medicine, astronomy, art, math, painting, architecture
      * Religiously tolerant
      * Hinduism spread
  • Decline
      * Weak rulers
      * Difficult to unify-ethnically and linguistically diverse
      * Invasion from White Huns

Key Concept 2.3: emergence of transregional networks of communication and exchange

  • Trade
      * Silk roads
      * Indian Ocean trade
      * Important trade network during this time, particularly for the Gupta Dynasty (pepper, cotton textiles, and dye)
      * Monsoons: predictable winds