1. Early
Civilizations of
Ancient India

2. The Harappan Civilization
3300 BCE BCE

3. Aerial View of Mohenjo-Daro

4. A Male Head, Mohenjo-Daro
Dravidian

5. A Priest-King, Mohenjo-Daro

6. Female Figures, Harappa

7. Undecipherable to date.
Harappan Writing
Undecipherable to date.

8. The
Vedic
Age
(1500 BCE BCE)

9. Aryan Migration pastoral  depended on their cattle.
warriors  horse-drawn chariots.

10. Sanskrit writing

11. The Vedas 1200 BCE-600 BCE. written in SANSKRIT.
Hindu core of beliefs:
hymns and poems.
religious prayers.
magical spells.
lists of the gods and goddesses.

12. Varna (Social Hierarchy) Pariahs [Harijan]  Untouchables
Brahmins
Kshatriyas
Vaishyas
Shudras
Pariahs [Harijan]  Untouchables

13. The Caste System WHO IS… The mouth? The arms? The legs? The feet?
Brahmins
The mouth?
The arms?
The legs?
The feet?
Kshatriyas
Vaishyas
Shudras

14. The foundations for Hinduism were established!
The Vedic Age
The foundations for Hinduism were established!

15. Hinduism Basic Beliefs Sacred texts
Dharma: duties that must be followed to achieve liberation
Karma: sum effect of one’s actions
Moksha: Liberation – release from reincarnation
Samsara: reincarnation (birth, death, rebirth)
Sacred texts
Vedas (sacred hymns of knowledge)
Upanishads (philosophocal reflecetions on Vedas)

16. Jainism Vardhamana Mahavira, 540-468 BCE
Abandoned privileged family to lead ascetic life
Promotes 7th c. movement based on Upanishads
Emphasis on selfless living, concern for all beings
Ahimsa
Principle of extreme non-violence
Jainists sweep earth, strain water, use slow movements to avoid killing insects
Ahimsa continues to inspire modern movements (Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr.)

17. Buddhism

18. Religions of South Asia

19. Buddhism in the Subcontinent

20. The essence of Buddhism
The “middle way of wisdom and compassion.”
2,500 year old tradition.
The 3 jewels of Buddhism:
Buddha, the teacher.
Dharma, the teachings.
Sangha, the community.

21. Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 BCE)
Born in NE India (Nepal).
Raised in great luxury to be a king.
At 29 he rejected his luxurious life to seek enlightenment and the source of suffering.
Lived a strict, ascetic life for 6 yrs.
Rejecting this extreme, sat in meditation, and found nirvana.
Became “The Enlightened One,” at 35.

22. What is the fundamental cause of all suffering?
Desire!
Therefore, extinguish the self, don’t obsess about oneself.

23. Four Noble Truths
There is suffering in the world. To live is to suffer. (Dukkha)
The Buddha found this out when he was young and experienced suffering and death in others.

24. Four Noble Truths
The cause of suffering is self-centered desire and attachments. (Tanha)

25. Four Noble Truths
The solution is to eliminate desire and attachments. (Nirvana = “extinction”)

26. Four Noble Truths
To reach nirvana, one must follow the Eightfold Path.

27. Nirvana Eightfold Path The union with the ultimate spiritual reality.
Escape from the cycle of rebirth.

28. Buddha – 19c Thailand

29. Buddha’s head :
2c Pakistan

30. Mandala: Wheel of Life Motif

31. Mandala: Wheel of Life Motif

32. Buddhist Altar

33. Types of Buddhism Therevada Buddhism Mahayana Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Zen Buddhism

34. Theravada Buddhism The oldest school of Buddhism.
The “Way of the Elders” or the “Small Vehicle.”
Found in southern Asia.
The monastic life is the best way to achieve nirvana.
Focus on wisdom and meditation.
Goal is to become a “Buddha,” or “Enlightened One.”
Over 100,000,000 followers today.

35. Theravada Buddhism

36. Mahayana Buddhism The “Great Vehicle.”
Founded in northern Asia (China, Japan).
Buddhism “for the masses.”
Seek guidance from Boddhisatvas, wise beings.
Goal: Not just individual escape from the wheel, but the salvation of all humanity through self-sacrifice of those enlightened few.

37. Mahayana Buddhism

38. Seated Boddhisatva – 16c

39. boddhisatva

40. Tibetan Buddhism The “Diamond Vehicle.” [Vajrayana]
Developed in Tibet in the 7c CE.
A mix of Theravada and Mahayana.
Boddhisatvas include Lamas, like the Dalai Lama.
The Tibetan Book of the Dead [Bardo Thodol].

41. The Dalai Lama

42. zen Buddhism The “Meditation School.”
Seeks sudden enlightenment [satori] through meditation, arriving at emptiness [sunyata].
Use of meditation masters [Roshi].
Beauty, art, and aesthetics:
Gardens.
Archery.
Tea ceremony.
Calligraphy.

43. Buddhism in America (1999)

44. Distribution of Buddhism Centers in the US, 2001

45. Maurya
&
Gupta
India

46. Chandragupta: 321 BCE-298 BCE
Unified northern India.
Defeated the Persian general Seleucus.
Divided his empire into provinces, then districts for tax assessments and law enforcement.
He feared assassination [like Saddam Hussein]  food tasters, slept in different rooms, etc.
301 BCE  gave up his throne & became a Jain.

47. The Maurya Empire
321 BCE – 185 BCE

48. Kautilya Chandragupta’s advisor. Brahmin caste.
Wrote The Treatise on Material Gain or the Arthashastra.
A guide for the king and his ministers:
Supports royal power.
The great evil in society is anarchy.
Therefore, a single authority is needed to employ force when necessary!

49. Asoka (304 – 232 BCE)
Religious conversion after the gruesome battle of Kalinga in BCE.
Dedicated his life to Buddhism.
Built extensive roads.
Conflict  how to balance Kautilya’s methods of keeping power and Buddha’s demands to become a selfless person?

50. Asoka’s Empire

51. Asoka’s law code
Edicts scattered in more than 30 places in India, Nepal, Pakistan, & Afghanistan.
Written mostly in Sanskrit, but one was in Greek and Aramaic.
10 rock edicts.
Each pillar [stupa] is 40’-50’ high.
Buddhist principles dominate his laws.

52. One of Asoka’sStupas

53. Women Under an Asoka tree

54. Turmoil & a power Vacuum: 220 BCE – 320 CE
Tamils
The Maurya Empire is divided into many kingdoms.

55. Gupta Empire: 320 CE – 647 CE

56. Gupta Rulers Chandra Gupta I Chandra Gupta II Hindu revival.
r. 320 – 335 CE
“Great King of Kings”
Chandra Gupta II
r CE
Profitable trade with the Mediterranean world!
Hindu revival.
Huns invade – 450 CE

57. Fa-Hsien: Life in Gupta India
Chinese Buddhist monk traveled along the Silk Road and visited India in the 5c.
He was following the path of the Buddha.
He reported the people to be happy, relatively free of government oppression, and inclined towards courtesy and charity. Other references in the journal, however, indicate that the caste system was rapidly assuming its basic features, including "untouchability," the social isolation of a lowest class that is doomed to menial labor.

58. Chandra Gupta 11

59. International Trade Routes during the Guptas

60. Extensive Trade: 4c spices silks cotton goods rice & wheat spices
horses
gold & ivory
gold & ivory
cotton goods

61. Kalidasa The greatest of Indian poets.
His most famous play was Shakuntala.
During the reign of Chandra Gupta II.

62. Greatly influenced Southeast Asian art & architecture.
Gupta Art
Greatly influenced Southeast Asian art & architecture.

63. 500 healing plants identified Printed medicinal guides
Gupta Achievements
1000 diseases classified
500 healing plants identified
Printed medicinal guides
Kalidasa
Literature
Plastic Surgery
Medicine
Inoculations
Gupta India
C-sections performed
Solar Calendar
Astronomy
Mathematics
Decimal System
The earth is round
PI =
Concept of Zero

64. The Decline of the Guptas
Invasion of the White Huns in the 4c signaled the end of the Gupta Golden Age, even though at first, the Guptas defeated them.
After the decline of the Gupta empire, north India broke into a number of separate Hindu kingdoms and was not really unified again until the coming of the Muslims in the 7c.
QUESTION: Is the best literature and art written as the civilization is on the rise, at its height, or in its decline?

65. Bhartrhari 5c India court poet and philosopher.
Knowledge is man's crowning mark, A treasure secretly buried, The source of luxury, fame, and bliss, A guru most venerable, A friend on foreign journeys, The pinnacle of divinity. Knowledge is valued by kings beyond wealth--- When he lacks it, a man is a brute.