Arjuna and Krishna
warrior and chariot driver pair; driver is secretly a god; advises the warrior that "there is more joy in doing one's own duty badly than in doing another man's duty well
Ganges and Indus rivers
India's two major rivers; one is its "holy river
Harappans
civilization in India from around 2000-3000 BCE
Mohenjo-Daro
One of the Harappan's two major cities; means "city of the dead
Harappan seals
seals depicting human figures and animals that were probably used to identify good of sale
Deccan Plateau
region of hills and an upland plateau that extends from the Ganges valley to the southern tip of Indian subcontinent
Dravidians
people descended from the Indus River culture that flourished at the dawn of Indian civilization
Aryans
people descended from the pastoral people who flooded southward from Central Asia in the second millennium BCE
raja and maharaja
chieftain; "prince" and "great prince
Rigveda
ancient work written down after the Aryans arrived in India
Alexander the Great
conquered Persia; briefly invaded India; left Greek administrators and cultural influence
Chandragupta Maurya
founder of the first dynasty to control much of the region
Arthasastra
political treatise that asserts that whenever dharma and practical politics collide, the latter should take precedence
varna/caste
color;" Indian classes
jati
system of extended families that originated in ancient India and still exists today
brahmins
the priests
kshatriya
the warriors
vaisya
the commoners/merchants
sudras
represents the great bulk of the Indian population
Law of Manu
a set of behavioral norms allegedly prescribed by India's mythical founding ruler, Manu
untouchables/pariahs
consists of those outside Indian society - prisoners of war, criminals, ethnic minorities, etc.; handled unpleasant tasks
the monsoon
seasonal wind pattern in southern Asia that blows from the southwest during the summer months and the northeast in winter
asceticism
abstinence from worldly pleasures; supposed to enable the practitioner to reach beyond material reality
sati
ritual that required a woman to throw herself upon her husband's funeral pyre
Hinduism
the main religion in India, it emphasizes reincarantion based on the results of the previous life and the desirability of escaping this system. Features in various forms both asceticism and the pleasures of ordinary life, and encompass a multitude of gods
Vedas
a set of four collections of hymns and religious ceremonies transmitted by memory through Aryan priests
Upanishads
a set of commentaries on the Vedas compiled in sixth century BCE
Kamasutra
textbook on sexual practices and techniques
Dyaus and Indra
parent god eventually overshadowed by the warrior god, who also declined in importance
Vishnu and Siva
Preserver and Destroyer; tends to take precedence in the devotional exercises of many Hindus
Brahman
ultimate reality
karma
determines one's rebirth in the next life
dharma
the law
reincarnation
the idea that the individual soul is reborn in a different form after death and progresses through several existences on the wheel of life until it reaches its final destination in a union with Brahman
Buddhism
the Middle Path
Siddhartha Gautama
son from a kshatriya family who founded Buddhism
sermon at deer park at Sarnath/Benares
Siddhartha transmitted his message about the Middle Path here
Nirvana
a form of release from the wheel of life
bodhi
wisdom; comes from abandoning worldly cares
Atman
the individual soul; denied by Siddhartha
Four Noble Truths
life is suffering; suffering is caused by desire; the way to end suffering is to end desire; the way to end desire is to avoid the extremes of a life of vulgar materialism and a life of self-torture and follow the Middle Path
Middle Path/Eightfold Way
right knowledge, purpose, speech, conduct, occupation, effort, awareness, meditation
Mahavira and Jainism
faith founded by this person; emphasized a life of poverty and thus never became popular
Mauryan Empire
empire in India founded by Maurya; lasted until after Asoka's, Maurya's grandson, death
Asokan pillars
stone pillars with official edicts and Buddhist inscriptions to instruct people in the proper way
Sanskrit and Prakrit
language of the Vedas; eventually replaced by another language
Panini
grammarian
Mahabharata and Ramayana
first one - tale of moral confrontations and an elucidation of the ethical precepts of dharma (in taking action, one must be indifferent to success or failure and consider only the moral rightness of the act itself); second one - much shorter than the fir
stupa and rock chambers
first - originally meant to house a relic of the Buddha, eventually became a place for devotion
second - chambers carved from cliff faces to provide a place for religious people and ceremonies
rule of the fishes
glorified warfare as the natural activity of kings and the aristocracy