Ancient India Vocab

Front 1

Himalayas

Back 1

mountains on northern boundary of india
few usable passes, natural barrier between india and rest of asia

Front 2

Karakorum Mountains

Back 2

northern boundaries, seal off india from rest of asia

Front 3

Hindu Kush

Back 3

lower mountain range in north, provides acces through usable passes

Front 4

Kyhber Pass

Back 4

mountain pass through Hindu Kush

Front 5

Indus River

Back 5

river in north-western region of india

Front 6

Ganges River

Back 6

river in northern region of india

Front 7

Indo-Gangetic Plain

Back 7

two fertile river valleys close by, cradle of indian civilization

Front 8

Deccan Plateau

Back 8

high plateau south of i-g plain
cultural barrier between north/south india

Front 9

Eastern/Western Ghats

Back 9

mountains on either side of the deccan

Front 10

Monsoons

Back 10

main factor in indian climate
seasonal winds carry most of yearly rainfall
timing is essential to crops, crops need rain, but can be destroyed by flooding
most rainfall in i-g plain, little inland b/d it is blocked by western ghats

Front 11

The Twin Cities (Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa)

Back 11

earliest evidence of indus vally civilization
had infrastructure, social heirarchy, system of taxation, specialized labor, were self-sufficient

Front 12

Citadels

Back 12

strong central fortresses built on raised platforms
found in twin cities, evidence of civilization

Front 13

Indus Valley Culture

Back 13

twin cities surrounded by farms, utilized cattle and staple crops like rice
evidence of flood control and irrigation
manufacturing w/in cities
had written language

Front 14

Indo-Aryans

Back 14

aryan nomads came thru khyber pass, mingle w/ and add new things to i-v civ. via cultural diffusion
introduce cattle, hinduism, and the caste system

Front 15

Vedas

Back 15

early records of indo-aryan religion
introduced concept of universal soul manifested in all things
had no code of ethics, wasn't necessary at first

Front 16

Soma

Back 16

mushroom drug given to the gods to appease them

Front 17

Vedic Age

Back 17

period of indian history from 1500BC to 1000BC

Front 18

Varuna

Back 18

Vedic god of heavens/sky

Front 19

Indra

Back 19

Vedic god of storm/war

Front 20

Sanskrit

Back 20

indo-aryan language that the vedas were written in

Front 21

Brahmins

Back 21

spiritual vedic leaders, highest in caste system

Front 22

Rajas

Back 22

prince/king ruled independent city-state
often went to war w/ each other

Front 23

Upanishads

Back 23

complex interpretation of vedic religion
challenged the vedas + brahmins

Front 24

Epics

Back 24

long poems about historical or religious events

Front 25

Mahabharata

Back 25

about great civil war in delhi
encouraged caste system, following/achieving one's dharma

Front 26

Bhagavad Ghita

Back 26

last 18 chapters of mahabharata
"song of the lord," hero dies and kills enemies to fulfill duty, have good afterlife

Front 27

Ramayana

Back 27

epic about Rama
exiled prince, fights demon to save wife, ideal couple

Front 28

Rama

Back 28

incarnation of vishnu in Ramayana

Front 29

Krishna

Back 29

human form of vishnu in mahabharata

Front 30

Sita

Back 30

rama's wife

Front 31

Guru

Back 31

provided personal interpretation of the Vedas

Front 32

Chela

Back 32

students of gurus, later became gurus, expanded on/continued guru's parampara

Front 33

Parampara

Back 33

"lineage" of interpretations of the vedas passed from guru to chela over time

Front 34

Heterodoxy

Back 34

no strict uniform rules to follow, all paramparas were valid and accepted

Front 35

Caste System

Back 35

social heirarchy, one ascends/descends the ranks based on fulfillment of dharma in one life
cannot change roles within 1 lifetime

Front 36

Varnas

Back 36

classes that compose of the caste system

Front 37

Jatti

Back 37

smaller subdivisions w/in the varnas

Front 38

Brahmin

Back 38

at top of caste system
rulers, lawmakers, and priests
can only become one after atleast 1 life of achievement

Front 39

Kshatriya

Back 39

warrior caste, 2nd highest
"twice born" status

Front 40

Vaishya

Back 40

merchants and landowners, 3rd caste

Front 41

Sudra

Back 41

4th caste
majority, work for others
people start there, are born there, hve to move up in next life

Front 42

Parya

Back 42

aka "untouchables"
lowest of the low in caste system

Front 43

Hinduism

Back 43

complex religion based on Brahmins' interpretation of the Vedas
put forward code of ethics to govern the increasing population

Front 44

Brahma

Back 44

universal soul in hinduism, part of him is w/in everyone

Front 45

Vishnu

Back 45

popular incarnation of Brahma

Front 46

Siva the Destroyer

Back 46

incarnation of Brahma, destroyed AND renewer of life

Front 47

Monism

Back 47

belief that there is one god (Brahma) that is manifested partially w/in everybody (Atman)
all things are part of it, makes believers appreciate life

Front 48

Maya

Back 48

illusion of pain, life
goal of hinduism is to escape via reincarnation through many lives to reunite w/ Brahma-Atman

Front 49

Samsara

Back 49

idea that the sole purpose of life is to reunite w/ Brahma through reincarnation, escape maya

Front 50

Dharma

Back 50

fulfillment of duty to achieve deliverance, determines what caste they reincarnate as (or if they were in the Brahmin, whether they join Brahma or not)

Front 51

Karma

Back 51

moral decisions that aren't explicitly explained in dharma
only bad karma, the more of it someone has, the lower they will reincarnate

Front 52

Yoga

Back 52

meditative inner search for soul
ignore pain and worldy feelings to become closer to Brahma-Atman

Front 53

Brahminical Strand

Back 53

"the long road" to salvation
studying hard and long, inaccessible to the lower castes

Front 54

Meditation

Back 54

path to salvation involves finding inner soul via yoga, etc.

Front 55

Work/Merit-Making

Back 55

path to salvation involces making morally right decisions to reduce karma

Front 56

Love (Bhakti)

Back 56

escape cycle of reincarnation to join Brahma simply by faith
worship, sacrifices, etc.

Front 57

Siddhartha Gautama

Back 57

aka The Enlightened One, or BUDDHA
hindi prince, escaped material world to live as a hermit, had revelation that expanded on hinduism

Front 58

Buddhism

Back 58

Siddhartha's new religion
accepted dharma, karma and reincarnation, more accessible b/c he denied caste system
added 4 noble truths and 8 fold path

Front 59

The 4 Noble Truths

Back 59

1.) all human life has sorrow + suffering
2.) desire for pleasure/personal gain brings sorrow
3.) renounce desire to be free from suffering and attain nirvana
4.) the 8 fold path leads to the 3rd step

Front 60

Nirvana

Back 60

perfect peace, final goal in Buddhist cycle of reincarnation
could be achieved by anyone, contradicts hindu's caste system

Front 61

8 Fold Path

Back 61

1.) right views
2.) right intentions
3.) avoid lies
4.) right action/honesty
5.) right living, harmony w/ others
6.) work to prevent evil
7.) constant awareness of oneself
8.) right concentration for meditation

Front 62

Bodhisattvas

Back 62

result of cultural diffusion as buddhism spread to other religions
other religion's gods were enlightened like Buddha, declined nirvana to help others

Front 63

Therevada

Back 63

southeastern asian sect of Buddhism
only accepts Pali Canon
multiple but rare human buddhas, most important = sidhartha
nirvana is nothingness
monasticism is necessary for enlightenment

Front 64

Mahayana

Back 64

Buddhism in china, korea, japan, mongolia
many different canons, multilingual
buddhahood = common reality
nirvana has various forms like western paradise
monasticism is important but NOT necessary for enlightenment

Front 65

Mauryan Empire

Back 65

powerful empire that ruled and conquered most of india for 150 years

Front 66

Chandragupta Maurya

Back 66

established Mauryan empire w/ army of 700,000 well-equpped soldiers
conquered all of northern india, united lands
created mines, textile centers, used uniform measurement system

Front 67

Pataliputra

Back 67

Chandragupta's capital city in western india

Front 68

Asoka

Back 68

chandragupta maurya's grandson
conquered all of india besides southern tip
became a buddhist, scorned bloody war, sent missionaries all over world, tried to reform laws written on stone pilalrs
emp. declined after him

Front 69

Gupta Dynasty

Back 69

began in ganges, gained land via conquest and intermarriage
ruled india during golden age
endorsed hinduism as main religion

Front 70

Chandra Gupta I and II

Back 70

ruled india during golden age

Front 71

Polygny

Back 71

hindi practice allowed a man to have multiple wives

Front 72

Suttee

Back 72

wives throw themselves onto husband's funeral pyre

Front 73

Panchantra

Back 73

series of gupta fables
taught good values, popular

Front 74

Stuppa

Back 74

hemispherical shrine held artifacts associated w/ buddha
asoka built 84,000 of them

Front 75

Aryabhata

Back 75

hindi mathematician
invented arabic digits (1-9)
first to solve quadratic equations, understood things like zero and infinity

Front 76

Indian Art

Back 76

influenced by greeks and romans that came nearby, later pictures made humans look like alexander the great

Front 77

Nalonda

Back 77

buddhist university, gave free higher education