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Ancient India |
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Chapter Three p. 49
Contents:
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Chapter Three p. 49 |
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The Physical Setting:
Regions:
The Northern Mountains: 3 ranges- Himalayas (massive glaciers rest in valleys, avalanches, few usable mountain passes), Karakorums (compose part of the mountain chain that forms a wall btwn the Indian subcontinent and the rest of Asia) & Hindu Kush (several usable passes-like the Khyber Pass- allow migrating & invading tribes access to India)
The Indo-Gangetic Plain: 2 rivers- Ganges (southeast through a fertile valley) & Indus (southwest through drier lands)
The Deccan: high plateau in the south; Vindhya Mountains separate it from the Indo-Gangetic Plain (cultural barrier btwn northern & southern India); Western & Eastern Ghats
The Costal Plain: Arabian sea west and Bay of Bengal on east; people in the west traded w/ Fertile Crescent, the Nile Valley & Mediterranean region; those in the east traded with (now) Sri Lanka & SE Asia; had more contact w/ people overseas than those in the Indo-Gangetic Plain
Climate:
Monsoons: Winter (blows from the north & northeast; moisture falls on northern slopes of Himalayas before reaching the rest of India) & Summer (blows from SW; picks up moisture from Indian Ocean-> heavy rains along Costal Plain, lower Ganges Valley & eastern Himalayas, sparse in land behind Western Ghats)
>in most of India, the yr�s rainfalls comes during four months of summer monsoon; timing & right amount of rain is critical
2. High temperatures: seldom soar on Costal Plain or Deccan but scorching heat plagues in Indo-Gangetic Plain (winter months cool but May & June averaging 120 F)
Early Civilizations in the Indus Valley:
Appeared about 2500 BC, until 1500 BC
Ruins of twin cities provide most evidence, Harappa (Harappan civilization) & Mohenjo-Daro:
� wide streets, regular pattern, water system w/ public baths, covered brick sewer system for private homes, brick homes of the wealthy appear to have been 2 stories tall w/ bathrooms & garbage chutes
� designed for use not beauty; kiln baked bricks superior to the sun-dried & Sumerian; remained intact over centuries
� twin capitals, not rivals; each had a citadel (strong central fortress)
� grain stored to feed large populations
� Indus Valley w/ its swift current of heavy silt probably made irrigation difficult
� City dwellers worked in industry or trade (w/ Tigris-Euphrates Valley); artisans produced cotton cloth, pottery, bronze items, gold & silver jewery
� Developed written language (pictograms)
� Animism (belief that spirits inhabit everything & influenced a person�s life so tried to control & please them); found no temples, shrines or religious writings but believe they worshipped animals associated w/ physical power & fertility
� Don�t know why it declined: 1) maybe foreign tribes conquered the valley 2) salt content of underground water increased -> agriculture impossible & disintegrated bricks 3) major earthquakes and floods
The Conquering Aryans:
Came through Khyber Pass into India about 1500 BC
Spoke an Indo-European language, called Aryans
Nomadic Aryans herded sheep & cows
Chariots, archers, skillful fighters-> conquered Indus Valley, then entire northern plain
Aryan Civilization During the Vedic Age:
Aryans were not traders or builders, did nothing to improve the citries they conquered
Had no written language, what we know comes from the Vedas (for centuries memorized, later w/ dvlpmnt of writing scholars wrote them down in Sanskrit (Aryan language)
Religion as mentioned in the Vedas- worshipped personified natural forces, but suggested one supreme god
Believed in immortality; reached heaven through performing ceremonies correctly
Rituals of sacrifice become more complicated & spoken language changed-> Brahmans (priests who knew the proper forms & could read & write; prepared the ceremony for almost every occasion in life & charged heavily) became important
Aryans eventually settled in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (in one of the richest & most fertile areas of the world); dvlpd farming & gov�t
City-states ruled by rajahs (princes that acted as military leader, chief priest, lawmaker & judge)
Physical differences btwn Aryans (light-skinned) and Indus Valley people (dark-skinned)
Social diff: Aryans had been nomads, IVP city dwellers; Aryans believed in maintaining their separate identity-> passed laws prohibiting marriage btwn Aryans & IVP
Class divisions began to form, but not yet hereditary
Warriors considered among most admirable & important members of society
Marriages by kidnapping (women considered this a great compliment), purchase (more flattering than-), mutual consent
Wife expected to bear sons; sons expected to bring honor to families and perform correct rituals at father�s funeral
Principal crop was barley; land divided among families but whole village responsible for irrigation; land couldn�t be sold to outsiders, willed only to male heirs; working for someone else�s land was a disgrace
Poor transportation & trading methods
The Great Epics (Epic Age):
Brahman priests composed Upanishads (-complex philosophical explanations of Vedic religion) -> gave them more importance, ordinary people could not understand them
Stories passed down from Vedas eventually combined into two epics:
Mahabharata (�Great War�) - longest epic poem in literature; tells of civil war in a kingdom near Delhi; Bhagavad-Gita (�Lord�s Song�)- last 18 chapters; doing one�s moral duty according to one�s responsibilities is highest fulfillment in life; love & devotion to god Vishnu can lead to salvation in afterlife
Ramayana- story of Rama & Sita; symbolize ideals of Indian manhood & womanhood (faithfulness to duty, devotion to each other & kingdom)
Vedas, Upanishads & epics-> scholars able to piece together origins of caste system & Hinduism
The Caste System:
Began in N. India when invading Aryans prohibited marriages btwn themselves & conquered people
During Epic Age four classes emerged:
Kshatriyas- rulers & warriors
Brahmans- priests, scholars
Vaisyas- merchants, traders, owners of small farms
Sudras-peasants bound to work fields of large landowners
(�untouchables�- Indians thought touching them would make them impure; conquered people considered this)
Kshatriyas & Brahmans changed places-> Brahmans most important
Hereditary castes developed
People cannot eat w/ someone of lower caste; only work at fitting occupations; no marrying outside of caste
Could perform services consistent w/ their caste duties for other people
Hinduism:
-developed as priests� interpretation of the Vedas
Atman-self, essence of an individual person
Brahman- basic divine essence that fill everything in the world; universal soul, all souls make up part of it
Monism-God & human beings are one (Brahma & Atman are one & indivisible)
Maya- the world known to our senses; is really an illusion that gives people sorrow & pain; people can be delivered from suffering if they can identify Maya
Reincarnation
Dharma- fulfillment of moral duty in this life so soul make progress towards deliverance from punishment in the next
Karma- belief that present condition reflects what one did or did not do in previous life
goal is to end repeated transmigrations & enable soul to reunite w/ soul of Brahma
reward- higher caste; punishment- born into lower
Hindus (especially Brahmans) must respect sacredness of life in all forms
Yoga- physical & mental discipline harmonizing body w/ soul
Brahman trinity: Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, Siva the Destroyer
Below the trinity are many other gods represented in spirits of trees, animals, people
Cows sacred because provide power for plow & cart, food (milk, butter) and fuel (dung)
Not polytheistic, but monistic (basic trinity & all other gods are diff representations of oneness of the universe
The Early Life of Buddha:
Gautama (aka Buddha, �Enlightened One�): 563 BC-483; sheltered son of Indian prince, at 29 ventured into city streets where he saw suffering & death
Great Renunciation- Gautama left wife, son & possessions to search for truth of why suffering exists & what is value of life & death
lived as hermit, practiced yoga so strict almost died, fasted, self-torture-> none of these gave him answers
after six yrs, was meditating under fig tree when he felt he understood the truth-> became Buddha
Buddha�s Teachings:
From Hinduism
>accepted- progress of soul depends on the life a person leads; good rewarded, bad punished
>differed- only deeds count so salvation cannot come through self-torture or sacrificing animals; salvation comes from knowing the Four Noble Truths & following Eightfold Path; did not accept the gods, only people could change good to evil & vice versa; people do not need help of gods, ceremonies, etc. to follow 8 Path; did not accept caste system (only two kinds exist- good & bad) but did not openly attack it
Four Noble Truths:
all human life contains suffering & sorrow
greedy desire for only pleasure & materialism causes suffering
renouncing desire frees people from suffering & helps soul attain nirvana (perfect peace; freedom from endless cycle of reincarnation)
following Eightfold Path leads to renunciation
Eightfold Path:
1. right views- seeing life as it is w/ all its imperfections
2. right intentions 3. right speech- no lying or gossiping
4. right action- avoid committing crimes, seek to be honest
5. right living- job that does not harm others
6. right effort- work to prevent evil
7. right mindfulness- constant awareness of one�s self
8. right concentration to direct the mind in meditation
stressed ethics (key was unselfishness) , not ceremonies
The Spread of Buddhism (map on p.61)
Buddha didn�t have many followers during his lifetime but over centuries�
By 100s BC, two branches:
Hinayana: followed traditional beliefs of Buddhism; Buddha a teacher; spread to Burma, Thailand, Cambodia
Mahayana: Buddha a god & savior; priests, temples, creeds, rituals; spread to Afghanistan, central Asia, China, Korea & Japan
In India, priestly Brahmans opposed Buddhism but over several centuries gained many followers but then slowly declined
Greater acceptance in other areas of Asia
The Maurya Empire (322 BC)
Chandragupta: know about him from a book written by Greek ambassador to his court; took control of Pataliputra on Ganges made it beautiful city; learned science of gov�t & warfare from the Macedonians who conquered Persia; maintained large army w/ chariots & elephants; efficient postal system; united northern India from Ganges delta to west of Indus; conquered all of northwestern India till Hindu Kush
-Able but harsh, made many enemies who attempted to assassinate him (dug tunnels under palace to try)� slept in a different room every night, food tasters; eventually abdicated throne
Asoka: ↑�s grandson, came to throne about 270 BC, died about 230 BC; enlarged empire till it included all of India except southern tip of subcontinent; all these wars sickened him� renounced war, became a Buddhist; did not forced his people to accept Buddhism; sent his brother and other missionaries to Sri Lanka, Tibet, China, Burma, Indonesia, Egypt, Syria, Macedonia; urged religious toleration; relaxed harsh laws that supported unlimited power of his father & grandfather; pardoned prisoners; forbade animal sacrifices
The Gupta Rulers (AD 320-535)
First ruled in Ganges Valley but through intermarriage and conquest extended power over a wide area of India
First three rulers -Chandragupta I (no relation to previous one), Samudragupta & Chandragupta II- used their power for the good of society
Guptas believed the gods had appointed them� favored Hinduism over Buddhism� Buddhism declined in India but strengthened in other parts of Asia, Hinduism (influenced by Buddhism) is dominant religion of India (even today)
Called a golden age
When it ended invaders stormed in & ravaged northern India
Southern India:
Few empires controlled southern India so its history is different
Separated from north by Vindhya mts
Turned to trade & commerce; had expensive products like cotton, spices, ivory, gold so became wealthy
Hinduism leaked in after the 600s BC
First recorded date in history of s. India is 250 BC when Asoka sent Buddhist missionaries to the Deccan
Andhra dynasty arose in the south but when it declined south broke up into many small warring states
Economy and Social Life
Agriculture- most people eked out meager existence; limited few at top of caste system lived in luxury
Epic Age- rajah theoretically owned all land & took what they wanted from farmers
Guptas- rulers claimed 1/6 of produce
Southern India big w/ trade
Trade also in northern India under the Guptas
Indian goods (silks, spices, gems, muslins, cashmere) could be found as far as the Far East, the Middle East, Africa & Europe
Women become more restricted as empires rose & fell
>some freedom in Aryan society
>Hindu laws gave some rights (Mahabharata called a man�s wife his �truest friend�)
>in Gupta India woman�s status lower than a man (a Gupta legal treatise recommended wife worship husband as a god)
>polygamy common in Epic Age and Guptas
>suttee common during Gupta period among upper castes
Literature:
Panchatantra: series of fables from Gupta period; contained underlying morals & traits like adaptability, shrewdness & determination (most widely translated book in the world today)
Drama developed under Guptas; plays always had happy endings, little action, different dialects for different characters, little scenery; actors formed distinct caste
Arts & Architecture:
Know little about Indian art before reign of Asoka because artists used perishable materials
Asoka set up pillars with his laws carved on them and possibly set many stupas (dome-shaped shrine that held objects associated w/ Buddha)
During Guptas developed own more rigid and formal style (distinctive style of Hindu temple)
Moural paintings in caves (ex at Ajanta)- valuable source of info about daily life of Indian people during Gupta
Education
Formal schooling began at nine
Poor children only learned crafts or trades; upper class recived formal education
Children read the Upanishads, Mahabharatas & Ramayana
By Gupta-Nalanda (Buddhist monastic university) is center of education, in Ganges Valley, attracted students from Tibet, China 7 Korea
Mathematics & Astronomy
Invented Arabic numeral system (Arab traders brought it West from India), used at about AD 595
Understood negative numbers, calculated square root of 2, prepared a table of sines
Aryabhata- computed the value of pi & solved algebraic equations
Identified seven planets; knew the planets & moon reflected the sun�s light; understood daily rotation f earth on its axis; predicted eclipses, calculated diameter of earth; developed a theory of gravity
Medicine
Understood importance of spinal cord; bone setting & plastic surgery
Perfected the technique of inoculation (unknown in Western World till end of 1700s)
Built free hospitals in the early 400s
Susruta- great Indian doctor; practiced strict cleanliness before an operation & sterilized wounds (unknown in WW until modern times)
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