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Seasonal winds in the Indian Ocean caused by the differences in temperature between the rapidly heating and cooling landmasses of Africa and Asia and the slowly changing ocean waters. These strong and predictable winds have long been ridden across the open sea by sailors, and the large amounts of rainfall that they deposit on parts of India, Southeast Asia, and China allow for the cultivation of several crops a year
-not as bad in SW asia
-still a problem today in india
-1500 BCE- 600 CE |
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early Indian sacred "knowledge—the literal meaning of the term—long preserved and communicated orally by Brahmin priests and eventually written down. These religious texts, including the thousand poetic hymns to various deities contained in the Rig Veda, are our mainn source of information about the Vedic period (ca. 1500-500 B.C.E.).
-caste sys. based off of them
-Vedic age |
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Indian tradition, the residue of deeds performed in past and present lives that adheres to a "spirit and determines what form it will assume in its next life cycle. The doctrines of karma and reincarnation were used by the elite in ancient India to encourage people to accept their social position and do their duty
-1500 bce-300 CE
- what goes around come around
-good dharma=good karma |
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Hindu concept of the spirit's "liberation from the endless cycle of rebirths. There are various avenues—such as physical discipline, meditation, and acts of devotion to the gods—by which the spirit can distance itself from desire for the things of this world and be merged with the divine force that animates the universe.
-1500 BCE-600 CE
-similar to nirvana
achieved through yoga and self control |
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(563-483 B.C.E.) n Indian prince named Siddhartha Gautama, who renounced his wealth and social position. After becoming "enlightened (the meaning ofBuddha) he enunciated the principles of Buddhism. This doctrine evolved and spread throughout India and to Southeast, East, and Central Asia
-did not think of himself as a god
-died on his way back to his homeland |
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Great Vehicle branch of Buddhism followed in China, Japan, and Central Asia. The focus is on reverence for Buddha and for bodhisattvas, enlightened persons who have postponed nirvana to help others attain enlightenment.
-400 BCE-present day
-great vehicle
-popular new features |
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Wway of the Elders branch of Buddhism followed in Sri Lanka and much of Southeast Asia. Therevada remains close to the original principles set forth by the Buddha; it downplays the importance of gods and emphasizes austerity and the individual's search for enlightenment.
-400 BCE- present day
-teaching of the elders
-original teachings |
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A general term for a wide variety of beliefs and ritual practices that have developed in the Indian subcontinent since antiquity. Hinduism has roots in ancient Vedic, Buddhist, and south Indian religious concepts and practices. It spread along the trade routes to Southeast Asia.
-4th century BCE
-still practiced today
- over 330,000,000 gods |
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The first state to unify most of the Indian subcontinent. It was founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 324 B.C.E. and survived until 184 B.C.E. From its capital at Pataliputra in the Ganges Valley it grew wealthy from taxes on agriculture, iron mining, and control of trade routes.
- Ashoka, Chandragupta's grandson
-C. guided by a crafty elder brahmin |
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Third ruler of the Mauryan Empire in India (r. 270-232 B.C.E.). He converted to Buddhism and broadcast his precepts on inscribed stones and pillars, the earliest surviving Indian writing.
-chandragupta's grandson
-originally brutal |
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A vast epic chronicling the events leading up to a cataclysmic battle between related kinship groups in early India. It includes the Bhagavad-Gita, the most important work of Indian sacred literature.
-1st centuries CE
-8 times length of greek illad and oddessy
-story of 2 cousins |
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The most important work of Indian sacred literature, a dialogue between the great warrior Arjuna and the god Krishna on duty and the fate of the spirit
-1st centuries CE
-self contained episode
-part of Mahabharata |
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The kingdoms of southern India, inhabited primarily by speakers of Dravidian languages, which developed in partial isolation, and somewhat differently, from the Aryan north. They produced epics, poetry, and performance arts. Elements of Tamil religious beliefs were merged into the Hindu synthesis.
-3rd century BCE-3rd century CE
-classical period
-Cholas, Pandyas, Cheras |
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320-550 C.E.) A powerful Indian state based, like its Mauryan predecessor, on a capital at Pataliputra in the Ganges Valley. It controlled most of the Indian subcontinent through a combination of military force and its prestige as a center of sophisticated culture.
-4th century CE
-1st king, Chandra Gupta |
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Historians' term for a state that acquires prestige and power by developing attractive cultural forms and staging elaborate public ceremonies (as well as redistributing valuable resources) to attract and bind subjects to the center. Examples include the Gupta Empire in India and Srivijaya in Southeast Asia
-4th century BCE
-like roman ceremonies/ plays
- profited state and people |
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An early complex society in Southeast Asia between the first and sixth centuries C.E. It was centered in the rich rice-growing region of southern Vietnam, and it controlled the passage of trade across the Malaysian isthmus
-very rich
-profited off not only trade, but sailors and dock workers too |
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Two categories of social identity of great importance in Indian history.Varnaare the four major social divisions: theBrahminpriest class, theKshatriyawarrior/administrator class, theVaishyamerchant/farmer class, and theShudralaborer class. Within the system ofvarnaare manyjati, regional groups of people who have a common occupational sphere, and who marry, eat, and generally interact with other members of their group.
-1500 BCE-600 CE
-skin color
-untouchables also in the catagory |
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