India

Structured Notes

Part 1: Geography

Follow along to identify 8 rivers, 3 bodies of water, and 4 other surrounding geographic regions










































 India Structured Notes

Part 2: Hinduism

1) Write the term for each definition… _________________ = no one can know _________________ = there is no
god ___________ = there is one god ____________ = everything is god _____________ = there are many gods

2) Why might Hinduism be monotheistic? ___________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
3) Why might Hinduism be polytheistic? ____________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
4) Why might Hinduism be pantheistic? ____________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________

5) Hinduism is the predominant religion of __________. There are different variations of Hinduism such as
____________, ____________, and ___________. Hinduism speaks to being moral, believing in ______________,
__________ and __________. It is the world’s third-largest religion as there are over ________ Hindus in the world
today, ____% of whom are in India.

6) Hindu Deities range from minor, personal deities to major gods and even a supreme being. Some Hindus believe that a
Para-Brahman called __________ is the supreme deity, and that all other deities are the form, expansion or
__________ of this deity. In fact, Hindus believe that Siddhartha Gautama or ‘The ____________ from Buddhism is the
th
9 avatar of Vinshu.

7) Hinduism finds its origins in the _______ religion from 1500B.C. The Vedic religion is very similar to modern Hinduism
in the central beliefs, fire sacrifice rituals and the ritual chanting and prayers. There is no single founder or _______ of
Hinduism since its origins are from several different traditions. Because of the connection between Hinduism and
Vedas, Hinduism is often considered the world’s _________ religion.

8) When it comes to Hindu texts, there is not a single book like the __________ for Muslims or the __________ for
Christians. Hindu texts are commonly divided into ____________ texts (Sruti) and ____________ texts (Smriti). Sruti is
said to be divine text and of greater authority, while Smriti is more about rituals and of lesser authority. The texts
discuss topics such as ____________, ____________, ____________, ____________ and how to build ____________.
Some well-known Hindu texts include: Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas and Agamas. The ____________, for example,
discuss the creation of the universe, genealogy of gods, the creation of the human race and mythological time periods
covering over ____________ years.

9) ____________ refers to the idea that all things have cause and effect relationships. For example, if you are cruel
toward people, then eventually you will be treated in a cruel way. Likewise, if you are kind toward people, then
eventually you will be treated kindly. In addition to Hinduism, karma is a concept in many Indian religions like
____________, ____________ and ____________. Hindus also believe in ____________ (Samsara); the cycle of birth,
life, death and rebirth. ____________ refers to being freed from this cycle.

10) ____________ is the belief in a force that supports order and harmony in the universe. It means, “that without which
nothing can stand”. Much like karma, Dharma is a belief that is found not only in Hinduism, but in Jainism, Buddhism
and Sikhism as well. Dharma not only maintains order in the universe, but ____________ people into more pure and
moral human beings. A Hindu is to reach a state of ____________ where dharma is experienced firsthand.

11) The _________ System in India is directly linked to Hinduism. Hindus believe that people are _________ from a
previous life and born into a certain caste of society. People may only marry within their caste, usually work certain
jobs associated with their caste, and cannot move out of that caste. Castes are also very limited in the ways they can
interact with other castes. Higher castes sometimes will not walk on the same side of the street as members of lower
castes in order to keep pure. Hindus believe that, because of karma, people are born into _________ castes for being
good in previous lives, and people are born in _________ castes for being bad in previous lives.

12) In the past the lowest castes like the Dalits were called ____________, since they were considered impure, and
typically worked the hardest, dirtiest, lowest jobs in society. They were often forbidden from entering ____________,
living inside the ____________, drinking from ____________ used by high castes, or even letting their ____________
fall on a member of a high caste like a Brahmin. The specifics of the Caste System vary by region, and some new laws in
India attempt to protect the lower castes from ____________.
 India Structured Notes

Part 3: Buddhism

1) Buddhism is a religion and worldview based on the life and teachings of ______________________,
also known as ‘Buddha’, ‘the Buddha’, ‘the ___________ one’ or the ‘___________ one’.

2) The Buddha means, “enlightened one.” Siddhartha Gautama was born to a ___________ royal
family in the 500s B.C. At the age of 29, he left the ___________ in a chariot to meet his subjects.
After witnessing an old man, a diseased man, a decaying corpse, he was ___________ to find that
people get sick, get old, suffer and die.

3) Gautama sought to overcome ageing, sickness, suffering and death by living a life of denying
___________. Not only is he the primary ___________, the first ‘awakened one’ for Buddhists, but
he is also considered to be the ninth of ten incarnations or ‘avatars’ in the ___________ religion.

4) Buddhist philosophy is often summarized by the Four Noble Truths:
1) _____________________________________________________________________________
2) _____________________________________________________________________________
3) _____________________________________________________________________________
4) _____________________________________________________________________________

5) Buddhists are to live a life of virtue, calmness, purity of mind and have ___________ for all living
things. Much like Hindus, Buddhists also believe in ___________; the idea that people are trapped
in a ___________ of birth, life, death and rebirth.

6) The goal for a Buddhist is to attain ___________, a state where you desire nothing. Reaching the
state of enlightenment (nirvana) is said to break the cycle of reincarnation and of the earthly life of
___________. The final calling for Buddhists is to help bring others to a state of nirvana or
enlightenment.

7) Buddhist texts are categorized as either ___________ (spoken by the Buddha) or as ‘other Buddhist
texts’. One such Buddhavacana text states that, “All buddhas have one body, the body of the
___________.” The concept of Dharma was originally a concept from Hinduism, referring to a
belief in a force that supports ___________ and ___________ in the universe.

8) The spread of Buddhism from ___________ occurred in all directions. It spread to ___________ in
the west, ___________ in the north and ___________ in the south. After roughly 1,000 years,
Buddhism was flourishing as far away as ___________ and ___________.

9) Many Chinese ___________ suffered from famine, war or harsh rulers. Therefore,
Buddhism was very ___________ in China since it offered escape from suffering. In Japan, many in
the ___________ class practiced ___________ Buddhism, a form of Buddhism that included
___________ and ______________________.

10) In which regions of the world is Buddhism the major religion? _____________________________


 India Structured Notes

Part 4: Maurya Empire

1) In what ways is India easy to defend? ________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

2) In what ways is India hard to defend? ________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

3) Out of all the empires in Indian history, the ___________ Empire was by far the largest. The
Mauryan Dynasty, originating in the kingdom of ___________, controlled a large portion of the
Indian subcontinent from ___________ B.C. to ___________ B.C. after overthrowing the
___________ Dynasty. It stretched from the ___________ in the north and into parts of modern-
day ___________ in the west.
4) Greek conqueror ______________________ and other Persian armies had previously conquered
parts of northern India, but these areas were left in relative disorder, leaving the region open for
the Mauryan Empire to conquer. Under the ruler ___________, the Mauryan Empire took over
parts of northern India that were under ___________ rule.
5) The Macedonians were the Greeks left by Alexander the Great to govern the region. A Greek
general named ___________ tried to invade again afterward, but was unsuccessful. Under
Chandragupta and later rulers, a single ___________, a ___________ and a system of military
security were established, allowing trade and ___________ to thrive and expand in the Mauryan
Empire.
6) A major turning-point for the Mauryan Empire came with the military victory against the Indian
state of ___________. In the Kalinga War, both sides used thousands of ___________ and
hundreds of war ___________ in the battles, but the Mauryan Empire won decisively.
7) The Mauryan victory established a unified India and led to a 50-year period of ___________ and
social harmony. This period of peace allowed for ___________ movements, expansion of
___________, ___________ and ___________.
8) During this time of peace and prosperity in India, the ruler Chandragupta encouraged the spread of
___________, while the next leader, Ashoka, encouraged the spread of ___________. Buddhist
philosophy soon spread as far as Europe in the west, and as far as China, Korea and Japan in the
east.
9) Many historians credit this period of peace to the spread of ___________ and ___________
philosophy. The population of the Mauryan Empire exceeded ___________, making it one of the
most populated empires of the time period. The empire began to decline after Ashoka died and
various regions began to declare ___________.
10) Most of what is known of the Mauryan Empire comes from the texts called the ___________ and
the Edicts of ___________. Many of the records in the Edicts of Ashoka, which are carved into
stone pillars (below) are thought to be hugely exaggerated by Ashoka himself. For example, he
claimed to have over ___________ warriors in the Kalinga War, but archeologists believe the
number to be less than half that amount.
11) In terms of mathematics, Indian scholars under the Maurya Empire are credited with the
development of: ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________
12) In terms of science, Indian scholars under the Maurya Empire are credited with the development
of: ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________