Chapter 7 Terms

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moksha

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Hindu. “Liberation” from endless cycles of rebirths. Needs physical discipline, meditation, and acts devotion to the gods by which the spirit can distance itself from desire and be merged with the divine force that animates the universe.

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Buddha

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Indian prince named Siddhartha Gautama, who renounced his wealth and social position to become enlightened. This doctrine evolved and spread throughout India and Southeast, East, and Central Asia.

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Mahayana Buddhism

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“Great Vehicle” branch of Buddhism followed in China, Japan, and Central Asia. Focus is on reverence for Buddha and for bodhisattvas, enlightened person who have postponed nirvana to help others attain enlightenment.

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Theravada Buddhism

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“Way of the Elders” Buddhism. Sri Lanka and much of SE Asia. Theravada remains close to the original principles set forth by the Buddha; downplays the importance of gods and emphasizes austerity and the individual’s search for enlightenment.

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Hinduism

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General term for a wide variety of beliefs and ritual practices that have developed in the Indian subcontinent since antiquity. Hinduism has roots in Vedic, Buddhist, and S Indian religious concepts and practices. Spread to SE Asia from trade.

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Mauryan Empire

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(324-184BC) First state to unify most of the Indian subcontinent. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya. From its capital at Patalipurta in the Ganges Valley it grew wealthy from taxes and agriculture, iron mining, and control of trade routes.

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Ashoka

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Third ruler of Mauryan Empire in India. Converted to Buddhism and broadcast his precepts on inscribed stones and pillars, the earliest surviving Indian writing.

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Mahabharata

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Vast Epic chronicling the events leading up to a cataclysmic battle between relation kinship grounds in early India. Includes Bhagavad-Gita, the most important work of Indian sacred literature.

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Bhagavad-Gita

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Most important work of Indian sacred literature, dialogue between the great warrior Arjuna and the god Krishna on duty and the fate of the spirit.

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Tamil Kingdoms

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Kingdom of southern India, inhabited by speakers of Dravidian languages, isolated, and somewhat differently, from the Aryan north. They produced epics, poetry, and performance arts. Tamil religious beliefs were merged into the Hindu synthesis.

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Gupta Empire

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Powerful Indian state base, 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.

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theater-state

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Historians’ term for a state that acquires prestige and power by developing attractive cultural forms and staging elaborate public ceremonies to attack and bind subjects to the center. Ex. Include Gupta Empire in India and Srivijaya in SE Asia

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Malay peoples

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Designation for peoples originating in south China and SE Asia who settled the Malay Peninsula, Indonesia, and the Philippines, then spread eastward across the islands of the Pacific Ocean and west to Madagascar.

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Funan

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Early complex society in SE Asia between first and sixth century CE. Centered in the rich rice-growing region of S. Vietnam and it controlled the passage of trade across Malaysian isthmus.

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Srivijaya

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State on Indonesian island of Sumatra, between 7th & 11th century CE. Wealth/power by adopting Indian techs and concepts, control of the trade routes between India & China, and holds together a realm of inland and coastal territories.

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Borobodur

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Stone monument on Indonesian island of Java, built by the Sailendra kinds around 800 CE. The winding ascent through ten levels, decorated with rich relief carving, is a Buddhist allegory for the progressive stages of enlightenment.

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monsoon

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Seasonal winds in Indian Ocean from differences in temp. Deposits large amounts of rainfall on India, SE Asia, and China. Allows cultivation of several crops a year.

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Vedas

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"Knowledge." Sacred & Indian. Passed down orally by Brahmin priest until written down. Religious texts > poetic hymns to deities in Rig Veda. Source of info on Vedic per.

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varna

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Four major social divisions: Brahmin priest class, Kshatiya warrior and administrator class, Vaishya merchant/farmer class, and Shudra laborer class.

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jati

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Within varna system. Regional groups of people with common occupational sphere. Marry, eat, and interact with only members of their own group.

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karma

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Indian. Deeds performed in past/present lives. Determines spirit and form in next life. Doctrines of karma used by elites to get people to perform/accept their social class.