chapter 3 ancient india and the rise of buddhism 2600 b.c.e-100 c.e
TRANSCRIPT
Chapter 3Chapter 3
Ancient India and Ancient India and the Rise of Buddhism the Rise of Buddhism 2600 B.C.E-100 C.E2600 B.C.E-100 C.E..
Agenda: Oct 2
Attendance, scribe, gum, uniforms, phones Wrap up Egypt: Book of the Dead Main topics and concepts: Egypt Rig Veda Homework for Monday: China capture sheet.
Key Terms
Indus and Ganges Rivers Monsoon Harappan Site Ur Sanskrit Rig Veda Nomads Varna Jati
More Terms
Bhagavad Gita Ramayana Dharma What evidence survives of social stratification at
the Indus Valley sites? What is known about the role and position of
women in Vedic society? What are some of the connections between
Sanskrit and modern English?
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The Origins of Complex Society in South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
The Story of Ashoka
Ashoka ruled from 268–232 B.C.E.
In 260 B.C.E., Ashoka won a major battle at Kalinga.
Appalled by the violence, he decides to embrace Buddhism.
The Origins of Complex Society in South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
Ashoka had inscriptions carved on rocks and pillars placed throughout realm.
These rock edicts are some of the earliest surviving texts from South Asia.
Ashoka's dynasty, Mauryan, was one of the few periods in which a large part of South Asia was unified.
The Origins of Complex Society in South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
Complex Society in the Indus River Valley, 2600–1700 B.C.E.
The Indian subcontinent is divided into three regions.
Largely uninhabited Himalaya Mountains in the north
Densely populated plains of the Indus and Ganges Rivers
Southern peninsula, less populated than the plains
The Indus and Ganges rivers both originate in the Himalayas.
The Origins of Complex Society in South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
Earliest civilizations in the area were the Indus Valley Society or the Harappan.
The first farmers domesticated wheat and barley c. 6500–5000 B.C.E.
India's agriculture depends on the monsoon season for water.
Indus Valley residents learned to make pottery and metallurgy.
The Origins of Complex Society in South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
The Harappan remains were discovered in the 1920s.
Large mounds were excavated, revealing a large urban center of mud brick.
The Harappa site reached 380 acres and a population of between 40,000 and 80,000.
Another 1500 settlements have been discovered.
The Origins of Complex Society in South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
Harappan society had a written language, using between 400–450 different signs.
Similar signs have been found throughout the region, suggesting a common writing system and unified culture if not politically unified.
The signs have yet to be deciphered.
Scholars do not know if the signs stand for words, syllables, or sounds.
An Indus seal was found in Ur, Mesopotamia, revealing the extent of trade.
Carnelian and lapis lazuli came from the Indus, shells to Mesopotamia
The Origins of Complex Society in South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
Archeological evidence indicates that the Harappan had social stratification
The Origins of Complex Society in South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
The Spread of Indo-European Languages
Indo-European is a large language family that includes English, French, Latin, Greek, Hittite, and Sanskrit.
Original homeland of the Indo-Europeans is unknown
Migrated out of that homeland thousands of years ago
The Origins of Complex Society in South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E. Migrations covered most of Europe, Russia,
Anatolia, Iran, and north India.
Anatolians were speaking Hittite by 2000 B.C.E.
Sanskrit reached north India by 1500–1000 B.C.E.
Modern Hindi, in north India, is descended from Sanskrit.
The Origins of Complex Society in South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
The Indo-European Migrations and Vedic Culture, 1500–1000 B.C.E.
The Indo-Europeans brought, into India, the Rig Veda.
The Rig Veda consists of 1028 hymns in Sanskrit.
The Rig Veda was transmitted orally from 1500 B.C.E.–1000 C.E.
First written down in 1000 C.E.
Hymns of the Rig Veda convey many details about everyday life.
The Origins of Complex Society in South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
The Indo-Europeans called themselves Aryan, a Sanskrit word for "noble.”
The Indo-Aryan religion is called "Vedic" after the Rig Veda. Some elements of the Vedic religion will descend
down into Hinduism.
The Origins of Complex Society in South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
Vedic rituals focused on the transition between day and night or between seasons.
Brahmin priests made offerings to deities to ensure change of time or season.
Deities include gods of war, the sun, fire, death, and minor deities.
Rituals were elaborate and could last days and involved animal sacrifice.
The Origins of Complex Society in South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
The Rig Veda reveals a lot about Vedic social customs and classes. Priests were commissioned by nobles to perform
rituals. There was no single ruler; kings had small
territories and collected taxes. Earliest Vedic peoples were nomadic, migrating
with seasons to feed herds. Most important animal was the horse
The Origins of Complex Society in South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E. The Rig Veda reveals that the Vedic peoples had
diverse occupations. Women in Vedic society were almost equal to
men, within the same class. Women could be educated, choose their own
husbands, inherit property, and widows could remarry.
The Origins of Complex Society in South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
The Changes After 1000 B.C.E. After 1000 B.C.E., the Vedic peoples began to
settle down to agriculture. Four distinct social classes developed, called
varnas. Varnas were determined by birth. Brahmin priests were the highest, followed by
warriors, farmers and merchants, and finally, laborers.
Each varna is based on categories of religious purity.
Varnas evolved, over time, into diverse social classes, called caste or jati.
The Origins of Complex Society in South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
Iron was also introduced after 1000 B.C.E. Agriculture improved with the use of iron tools. Population also increased, as did trade.
Coins first appeared in India c. 500 B.C.E.
The Origins of Complex Society in South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
The religion also changed, moving from external rituals to internal to morality. The Upanishad texts introduced the idea of
transmigration of souls. Karma, or acts in this life, determine how a soul
will be reborn. New gods, who took anthropomorphic forms,
were introduced.
The Origins of Complex Society in South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
The Mahabharata is a Sanskrit epic of 100,000 verses. It introduces dharma, or "right conduct.” The Bhagavad Gita is often read separately.
Krishna appears in the tale as a god, urging the characters to devote themselves to worshipping him.
The Ramayana tells the story of a king whose wife is captured by a demon; he does not trust her loyalty to him until he tests her and the gods defend her.
The Origins of Complex Society in South Asia, 2600–500 B.C.E.
Jainism began c. 500 B.C.E., by Mahavira
Mahavira, a wandering ascetic who renounced food and clothing
Jains believe in right faith, knowledge, and conduct.
Jains emphasize no harm to other living beings.
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Table 3-1 p50
Map 3-2 p51
The Rise of Buddhism
The Rise of Buddhism
Founder of Buddhism was Siddhartha Gautama
"Buddha" means "the enlightened one or awakened one."
Buddhism spread to Sri Lanka, Central Asia, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia.
Sources for the Buddha date to several centuries after his death.
The Rise of Buddhism
The Life of the Buddha
Scholarly consensus puts the death of the Buddha at ca. 400 B.C.E.
Born near Nepal, along the southern edge of the Himalayas
Lived to be about eighty years old
The Rise of Buddhism
Legend says his mother dreamed of a white elephant holding a lotus flower.
Seers interpreted the dream to mean her son would either be a great monarch or a great teacher.
Believed if he saw human problems, he would become a teacher
Parents raised him in a walled palace, to prevent him from seeing suffering
Wanted him to grow up to be a monarch, not a teacher
Buddha grew up, married, and fathered a child.
The Rise of Buddhism
Buddha then had four encounters.
Driving inside the palace park, he noticed an elderly man.
He then saw a man with fever, and his body covered with growths.
His third encounter was a glimpse of a corpse.
The Rise of Buddhism
The fourth encounter was a wandering ascetic, wearing a simple robe.
The ascetic looked happy.
The Buddha resolved to follow his example.
Buddha starved and lived a life of extreme asceticism.
The Rise of Buddhism
After six years, the Buddha decided to stop starving himself and meditate.
Meditated for forty-nine days under a tree, later known as the Tree of Wisdom
From meditation, he gained enlightenment.
Decided to share his enlightenment and explain how he achieved it
The Rise of Buddhism
The Teachings of the Buddha
Tradition holds that his first sermon was in the Deer Park in the Ganga Valley.
Five first followers who were also seeking enlightenment
Identified two incorrect routes to enlightenment
One was extreme self-mortification and the other was extreme self-indulgence
Told his followers to leave family life, live simply, and avoid extremes
The Rise of Buddhism
Identified a Noble Eightfold Path as means to escape the endless cycle of rebirth
First, he analyzed Four Noble Truths.
First truth was suffering.
Second truth was the origin of suffering.
Third truth was that suffering could be ended.
Fourth truth was the Eightfold Path to ending suffering.
The Rise of Buddhism
Eightfold path consists of right understanding, resolve, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and meditation.
Following the Eightfold path leads one to nirvana, an end to the cycle of rebirth.
Nirvana means "extinction" but also means true understanding.
Both Buddhists and Jainists reject the authority of the Brahmans, the Vedic hymns, animal sacrifices, and Vedic rituals.
Both focused instead on individual liberation without regard to varna.
The Rise of Buddhism
Buddha urged everyone to follow him, begging for food and living in monastic groups that lived by consensus.
Buddha believed that only the monks like him could achieve nirvana.
At first, all his followers were men.
Eventually allowed women to join, but only as subordinate to men
The Rise of Buddhism
People who did not become monks, but donated food and money could still achieve merit.
This could possibly improve their lives or future lives.
Unlike the Vedic religion, merchants and lower classes could change their status.
The Rise of Buddhism
Buddha forbade any worship of statues or portraits of him.
Did allow worship at four sites important to his life
Where he was born, gained enlightenment, preached first sermon, and died
The Rise of Buddhism
Upon his death, the Buddha was cremated, and his ashes divided up.
His ashes were buried under a bell-shaped monument over a burial mound, called a stupa.
At the stupas, his followers performed a ritual circumambulation.
Followers also left gifts of flowers, incense, and clothing.
The Rise of Buddhism
The first visual depictions of the Buddha date from the first and second centuries C.E.
These depictions vary a great deal by region and style.
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The Mauryan Empire, ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
The Mauryan Empire, ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
Buddhism was one of many religions in India until Ashoka converted.
Under Ashoka, Buddhism became the most influential religion in India.
Ashoka made Buddhism a state religion, which allowed him to use it for social and political unity.
The Mauryan Empire, ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
Because of trade in Mauryan India, Buddhism spread across Asia.
Our major sources for this period are Ashoka’s rock edicts, archeology, and the partial report of Megasthenes, written after 288 B.C.E.
The Mauryan Empire, ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
Life and Society in the Mauryan Dynasty, c. 300 B.C.E.
Mauryan dynasty began with Chandragupta Maurya, grandfather to Ashoka
Reigned c. 320–297 B.C.E.
He was a general, who defeated another general to gain control of the north.
The Mauryan Empire, ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
Established his capital at Pataliputra, on the Ganges
In 302, Selecus I (successor to Alexander the Great) sent an ambassador to Pataliputra.
Megasthenes stayed in Pataliputra for fourteen years.
Wrote a description of the Mauryan called Indika c. 300 B.C.E.
Describes a large and fortified capital city
Also describes how carefully the Mauryans watched over foreigners living in the city
The Mauryan Empire, ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
Within Pataliputra, Mauryans had tight control over commerce and trade.
Also allowed Mauryans to collect taxes from trade
Megasthenes also described the large military section of the Mauryans.
Particularly fascinated by the training of elephants
The Mauryan Empire, ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
Megasthenes also describes Mauryan society, which had seven ranks.
These ranks do not correspond completely with the varnas of the Vedas.
The seven ranks are: councilors, philosophers, farmers, herdsmen, artisans, soldiers, and spies.
Among the philosophers were Brahmins, Jains, and Buddhists.
By 300 B.C.E., many Buddhists revered the Buddha as a god.
Megesthenes notes that no one is allowed to marry outside their caste.
The Mauryan Empire, ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
Mauryan Control Outside of the Capital
The Mauryan Empire was decentralized.
Megesthenes describes three types of territory: those ruled directly by the Mauryan, conquered regions with kings, and local republics.
The Mauryan Empire, ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
Local peoples continued to speak their own languages.
Ashoka's rock edicts were written in local languages.
The rock edicts were also written in different lengths, which allowed local officials to tailor them to their cultures and peoples.
The Mauryan Empire, ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
Ashoka sent officials to inspect outlying regions every three to five years.
Also built roads, planted trees, and dug wells
Mauryan rulers did not mint their own coins; local rulers did.
The Mauryan Empire, ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
Ruling by Example: The Ceremonial State
Ashoka was the first Indian ruler to embrace Buddhism.
Became a chakravartin, an ideal ruler who supports Buddhism by following its teachings and making donations, but not becoming a monk
A chakravartin rules by dharma and hopes his subjects will follow his example.
The Mauryan Empire, ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
Known as a ceremonial state because he does not enforce his rule, but hopes his subjects will accept his rule for his generosity and right living
Following the battle of Kalinga, Ashoka decided to accept five precepts.
Not to kill, steal, commit adultery, lie, and drink alcohol
This made him a lay Buddhist, rather than a monk.
The Mauryan Empire, ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
In 258 B.C.E., Ashoka increased his devotion even further.
He convened a meeting of ascetics from various religions.
Ashoka attempted to convert them to Buddhism.
The Mauryan Empire, ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
Ashoka claimed that his influence stretched into Egypt, Greece, and Ceylon.
No external evidence of this influence
It is possible that Ashoka sent Buddhist missionaries into these regions.
The Mauryan Empire, ca. 320–185 B.C.E.
Problem with the Ashoka's inscriptions is that they are only his viewpoint and not corroborated by external evidence
Mauryan Empire began to collapse after Ashoka's death in 232 B.C.E.
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South Asia's External Trade
South Asia's External Trade.
India was accessible to outside cultures via a land route through the Hindu Kush.
Sea trade was the most important contact between South Asia and other places.
South Asia's External Trade
Archeologists trace trade routes by following commodities.
Lapis lazuli is only found in northern Afghanistan.
The presence of lapis lazuli in Sumer and elsewhere reveals where trade with Afghanistan reached.
South Asia's External Trade
Sea trade followed the monsoon winds, which blew west in the summer and east in the winter.
Indian Ocean merchants used dhows, small teak boats that were flexible.
South Asia's External Trade
A first century C.E. text, called the Periplus, describes the Indian Ocean trade.
Periplus was written by a Greek merchant from Egypt.
It is a guidebook that describes the various ports of the Indian Ocean.
It lists the goods that could be found in various regions in East Africa, Arabia, and India and makes a reference to China.