India

Standard GS-1.4
Explain the impact of religion in classical
Indian civilization, including Hinduism and
the effects of its beliefs and practices on
daily life, changes that occurred as a result
of Buddhist teachings, and the influence of
religion on culture and politics.

Essential Question:
What were the effects of Hinduism and Buddhism
on the daily life, culture, and politics, of classical
Indian civilizations?
 Chapter 3 Key Terms
Term Definition
monsoon Seasonal wind pattern in southern
Sanskrit Writing system developed by the Aryans
raja Aryan prince or leader
Hinduism Religion of the majority of ; originated with the Aryans
ascetics People who practiced self-denial to achieve understanding of
ultimate reality

Buddhism Philosophy founded by Siddhartha Gautama in in the 6th century

Silk Road Trade route that linked China to Western Civilizations like
Greece and Rome

pilgrim Person who travels for religious reasons

I. The Land of India
The summer monsoons bring
heavy rains, which farmers
depend on to grow their crops.
If the rains come too early or
too late, or if there is too much
or too little rain, crops are
ruined and many people
starve.

Label the following on the India map

provided:
•Indus River •Indian Ocean
•Ganges River •Sri Lanka
•Harappa •China
•Mohenjo-Darro •Himalaya Mountains
•Nepal
•Pakistan
The three
pillars of Indian
life are the
Village, the
Family, and the
Caste System

II. ANCIENT INDIAN CIVILIZATION AND

SOCIETY
 A. Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
3000-1500 BC
1. Both cities were carefully planned
a. Buildings were made of mud bricks
b. walled neighborhoods
c. public wells
d. Bathrooms w/ advanced drainage systems
and sewage pits
e. garbage bins.
2. Power given to the rulers by the gods
or through divine assistance
3. Economy based on farming and
extensive trade.
4. Polytheistic Religious beliefs
a. Worshiped many gods and goddesses
connected to nature and their environment
 B. Arrival of the Aryans
1500 BC
1. a group of nomadic (people that
move around to follow their food)
2. Indo-Europeans (referring to
their language group not race)
3. settled along the Ganges River
4. Pastoral (farmers and herders)
with a strong warrior tradition
5. the iron plow and irrigation,
helped to clear the dense jungle
and turn it into farms.
6. Governed by Aryan princes
called rajas
7. Developed their first writing
system, known as Sanskrit,
around 1000 BC
 Caste System Role Play
Each group should research their assigned caste
and answer the following questions.
– What is your job?
– What is your income level?
– What is your daily life like?
– What kinds of food do you eat and clothes do you
wear?
Use the information you have gathered to create
a short skit to share with the class.
– Everyone in your group must participate through
movement and/or speech.
– You may bring in items from home to help you with
your skit.
C. Society in Ancient India Brahmans
priests

1. Aryans created the Caste system

a) a rigid set of social classes
b) Determined one’s occupation,
Kshatriyas
warriors

economic potential, and position in

society from birth
c) Based, in part, on skin color Vaisyas
commoners

2. Untouchables
a) 5% of India’s population
b) not treated as humans and
Sudra s
pe asants with
limited rig hts

were separated from the

rest of society
c) Given menial and degrading UNTOUCHABLES
tasks such as handling trash
and collecting dead bodies
 D. Family in Ancient India
1. Family
a) Extended families: multiple
generations living together
b) Patriarchal: Father or the oldest
male is the head of the household
2. Villages
a) The center of Indian Life
b) run by a headman (like a chief)
and council of elders
3. Men
a) inherit property
b) Educated
c) priests
d) Could take a second wife if first
was infertile
4. Women
a) Marriages arranged by parents
b) Dowries made women were an
economic burden on their parents
c) Suttee required a wife to throw
herself onto her dead husband’s
flaming funeral pyre.
III. Hinduism and Buddhism
 B= C=
Hinduism Buddhism
Unique A= Unique
Characteri Similarities Characteri
stics stics
1 = Origins
and
Founders

2 = Major
Beliefs and
Sacred Texts

3= Rituals,
Practices,
Effects on
Society
 Hinduism and/or Buddhism
Reincarnation is the belief that the individual
soul is reborn in a different form after death.
Karma is the force generated by a person’s
actions that determines how the person will
be reborn in the next life.
Dharma is the divine law in Hinduism that
requires all people to do their duty.
 Hinduism: Origins
No single founder
– Developed from the
overlapping beliefs
of Indus and Aryans
as well as others
– Hinduism is one of
the most complex
religions
Hinduism: Major Beliefs
Everything in the universe is
part of the unchanging, all
powerful spiritual force called
Brahman.
Hindus worship many gods
that are part of the Brahman
– Brahma: the creator
– Vishnu: the preserver
– Shiva: the destroyer
 The ultimate
Hinduism: Major goal is
Beliefs moksha, or
union with the
Brahman, thus
reincarnation
makes this
possible
Yoga is a
method of
training
designed to
lead to union
with Brahman.
 Hinduism: Sacred
Texts
No single sacred text
– Vedas, Bhagavad Gita,
Upanishads, Ramayana,
and Mahabharata
Vedas and Upanishads
recorded Hindu teachings
The Bhagavad-Gita spells
out many ethical ideas
central to Hinduism such as
ahimsa, or nonviolence.
 Think Real Hard
Get back together with your caste system
group and answer the following questions
now that you know about the Aryan’s
Hindu beliefs.
– Do people in your caste believe they are
being punished for their past life? Do they
think they are being rewarded? Explain why.
– What do people in your caste hope will
happen in their next life?
– Do you think that their belief in reincarnation,
karma, etc helped reinforce the caste system
or undermine it? Explain your answer.
 Hinduism

Caste
Dharma
System
Buddhism: Prince Siddhartha Gautama
enjoyed a happy life, married
Origins and had a son
One day he left the palace and
he saw suffering for the first
time and set out to discover
“the realm of life where there is
no suffering or death
One day he sat down to
meditate for 48 days until he
became enlightened and
understood the cause and
cure for suffering and pain he
then became the Buddha
Some of his followers collected
his teachings into the Tipitaka
or “Three Baskets of Wisdom”
FYI Buddha passed away at the age of
80 from an illness possibly related to
something he ate in his final days.
 Buddhism
Siddhartha accepted the idea of
reincarnation, but rejected the Hindu division
of human beings into rigidly defined castes,
based on previous reincarnations.
– He taught that all human beings could reach
nirvana as a result of their behavior in this life.
Siddhartha rejected the multitude of gods that
has become identified with Hinduism.
– He forbade his followers to worship either his
person or his image after his death.
 Buddhism
Achieving wisdom is a key step to achieving
nirvana, or ultimate reality – the end of the self
and a reunion with the Great World Soul.
 
List the Four Noble Truths.
– Ordinary life is full of suffering.
– This suffering is caused by our desire to satisfy
ourselves.
– The way to end suffering is to end desire for selfish
goals and to see others as extensions of ourselves.
– The way to end desire is to follow the Middle Path.
 Four
Noble
Truths

The way to
The cause of The only cure
All life is overcome
suffering is for suffering
full of desire is to
the desire for is to
suffering, follow the
things that overcome
pain, and Eightfold
are really desire
sorrow Path
illusions

Through
meditation a
person might
achieve
enlightenment or
Nirvana: the
union with the
universe and
release from the
cycle of rebirth.
 Other Differences
Buddhism rejected the priests, formal
rituals, and existence of many gods
Buddhists rejected the caste system
offering hope of nirvana to all
Buddhism Spreads
It split into two major
schools of thought…
– Theravada: more like
Buddha’s original teachings,
main scriptures Tripitaka
– Mahayana: easier for
everyday people to follow,
and worshiped Buddha as
god, main scriptures Sutaras
 Think Hard
What would make Buddhism an attractive
religion to some people?
Which beliefs/practices would make it an
unattractive religion for others?
How do you think Buddhism would effect
the way a king would rule?
 Religions of India Song
To the tune of “Mary had a Little Lamb”
Unlikehas
India Hinduism,
2 religions
Buddhism rejects the caste system
They
Hinduism
offer hope
andto Buddhism
all who want to achieve nirvana
Both believe in karma, dharma,
India
ahimsa,
has 2and
religions
reincarnation
Hinduism and Buddhism
Hinduism
Both believe
is the
in karma,
oldest one
dharma,
with thousands
ahimsa, and reincarnation
of gods but no founder
3 of the most important are
Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva
IV. ANCIENT INDIAN EMPIRES
 IV. ANCIENT INDIAN EMPIRES
Mauryan Empire Gupta Empire
Dates

Government
Who governed?

Economy
How did they gain
wealth?

Cultural
Developments
Literature,
architecture,
science, math?
A. Maurya Empire
1. Chandragupta Maurya was the founder
and ruled from 324-301BC.
a) Created a highly centralized state, divided
the empire into provinces, maintained order
through secret police.
b) He feared assassination so much that he
had secret passageways, taste-testers, and
women warriors for protection.
2. Asoka Maurya, Chadragupta’s
grandson, conquered most of the
Indian subcontinent through war and
violence.
a) Eventually he converted to Buddhism and is
considered the greatest Indian emperor.
i. He built hospitals, shelters for travelers, and
treated his people as his own children.
ii. Elephant Army Video
 B. Kushan Kingdom
1. Silk Road = trade route that linked China to
Mesopotamia and Rome.
2. The Silk road helped the Kushan kingdom of
India become very prosperous in the first
couple of hundred years AD.
 C. Gupta Empire
1. 320 AD a new Empire
emerged at the site of the old
Maurya capital, Pataliputra.
a. Golden Age of Indian civilization
b. Trade led to prosperous cities.
c. Religious pilgrims brought
wealth.
2. Eventually the Huns invaded in
the 5th century AD and the
empire collapsed.
 D.
Achievements
and Culture

1. Literature 2. Architecture 3. Science

Vedas, earliest known

Rock Chambers, Pillars, Earth=Sphere, Concept
literature from Aryans,
and Stupas: Dome
Ramayana= world’s of Zero, Algebra
shaped Buddhist Shrines
longest poem
 Summarizing
How did religion influence the following areas of
Indian life?
– Political – Buddhism influenced politics when Asoka
converted to the religion and rejected warfare for peace.
He treated the people with compassion, as if they were his
own children. Hinduism influenced politics through the
caste system which encouraged social stability and order.
– Economic- Pilgrims traveled throughout India to visit holy
Buddhist sites bringing in great wealth. Traders along the
silk road learned about Hinduism and Buddhism and
spread the beliefs.
– Cultural – Buddhism effected architecture through the
building of rock chambers, pillars, and stupas. Hinduism
was responsible for many of the great works of literature in
India like the Mahabharata.
 India Review Word Bank
Caste System
Animism
Theravada
Enlightenment
Hinduism
Aryans
Buddhism
Brahman
Silk Road
Indus Valley
Reincarnation