1. Chapter 5: India’s First Empires

2. Lesson 1: Origins of Hindu India

3. Aim
Students will be able to describe how the Four Varnas impacted India’s first empires.

4. The Four Varnas
Four Varnas= social groups that ranked people from high to low
Top: Brahmins- priestly, in charge of religious ceremonies
Kshatriyas- warriors
Vaisyas- commoners who were merchants and farmers
Sudras- peasants or servants
Sudras had limited rights

5. The Caste System
In the system, every Indian was believed to be born into a caste based on occupation and family lineage.
A caste determined what jobs people could have, whom they could marry, and what groups they could socialize with
Higher castes were believed to have greater religious purity and castes at the bottom were seen as impure.
Lower group-Untouchables- people who were viewed as impure.
Untouchables- given tasks like handling dead bodies

6. Hinduism Origins with the Aryan people
Evidence of religion comes from Vedas- collections of hymns and religious ceremonies
Brahmin- single force in the universe
Atman- duty of the individual to seek the ultimate reality
One achieves Brahmin through the use and performance of yoga.

7. Aim
Students will be able to describe the teachings and principles of Hinduism.

8. Yoga
Yoga- a method of training developed by the Hindus that is supposed to lead to oneness with Brahman
Four types:
Path of Knowledge
Path of Love
Path of Work
Path of Meditation
Ultimate goal- leave behind the cycle of earthly life and achieve the spiritual union of the individual soul with the Great World Soul- Brahman

9. Polytheistic
Believed in many gods (three chief gods)- Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the Destroyer
Hindus sought not only salvation but also a means of gaining ordinary things they need in life

10. Principles of Hinduism
Reincarnation- belief that the individual soul is reborn in a different form after death
Karma- the force of a person’s actions in this life in determining how the person will be reborn in the next life
Karma goes by social class- Brahmins are seen as the closest to being released from the law of reincarnation

11. Principles of Hinduism
The concept of karma is ruled by the dharma- divine law
Dharma requires all people to do their duty.
Dharma duties are closely linked to the social class structure

12. Sacred Texts
Hinduism has no holy book but texts that have the beliefs of Hinduism.
Three books: Upanishads, the Bhagavad-Gita, and the Verdas

13. Aim
Students will be able to explain the geography of India as well as the Buddhism religion.

14. Geography of India

15. Geography of India Subcontinent Shaped like a triangle
Includes the Himalayan Mountains (the largest mountains in the world)
Includes the Indus River Valley
South of Indus River- Deccan- hilly, dry, sparsely populated

18. Who are the Aryans? Aryans were nomadic people
Excelled in the art of war
Set foundation for Hindu religion
The period of time when the Hindu religion was founded: Vedic Age

19. What did the Aryans do? Used iron plows Irrigation
Turned the jungle type land into farmable land
Crops grown: wheat, barley, rice, cotton, grain, vegetables, and spices

20. Section 2: Buddhism

21. Siddhartha Gautama Founder of Buddhism
Siddhartha Gautama came from a small kingdom- son of a princely family.
Appeared to have everything: wealth, good appearance, model wife, child, a throne that would be his.
Became aware of the pain and suffering of the world.
Decided to leave his luxurious life to seek the cure for human suffering

23. Siddhartha Gautama Abused his physical body
Came very close to dying from not eating
Practiced ascetics- self-denial to achieve ultimate reality
One day he was enlightened and spent the rest of his life preaching what he discovered.
The teachings became the basic principles of Buddhism

24. Principles of Buddhism
Believed that the physical surroundings were an illusion
Pain, poverty, and sorrow were cased by human attachment to things
Goal: achieve nirvana- ultimate reality- the end of the self and a reunion with the Great World Soul

25. Four Noble Truths 1. Ordinary life is full of suffering
2. This suffering is caused by our desire to satisfy ourselves
3. The way to end suffering is to end desire for selfish goals and to see others as extensions of ourselves.
4. The way to end desire is to follow the Middle Path

26. Middle Path (Eightfold Path)
1. Right view- we need to know the Four Noble Truths
2. Right intention- we need to decide what we really want
3. Right speech- we must seek to speak truth and to speak well of others.
4. Right action- do not kill, do not steal, do not life, do not consume alcohol or drugs.
5. Right livelihood- we must do work that uplifts us

27. Middle Path (Eightfold Path)
6. Right effort
7. Right mindfulness- we must keep our minds in control of our senses
8. Right concentration- we must meditate to see the world in a new way

28. Buddhism and Reincarnation
Accepted the idea of reincarnation
Did not believe in the defined castes and reincarnation
Humans should reach nirvana as a result of their behavior in this life

29. Buddhism
Siddhartha forbade his followers from worshiping him or his image
Eventually agreed to accept women into the Buddhist monastic order

31. Section 3: Three Major Empires in India

32. The Mauryan Empire Candragupta Maurya Pataliputra Highly centralized
Provinces
Governors
Asoka (2 times)

35. Mauryan Empire Buddhism Buddhist Hospitals Roads
Sent teachers to promote education

36. Kushan Empire Northern Silk Road China Roman Empire Trade Persia
Hinduism
Buddhism

37. Gupta Kingdom Gupta Candra Gupta Candragupta Maurya Northern 375 415
Golden Age
China

39. Gupta Empire Southeast Asia Mediterranean Pilgrims Gold Silver
Nomadic Huns
7th

40. Gupta Empire Reasons why it fell: 1. Weak rulers and foreign invasions
2. Invaders: White Huns from central Asia
3. Nomads destroyed villages

41. Government in the Gupta Empire
Maintained a strong central government
Gave power to local leaders
The local leaders were elected by merchants and artisans
Each village had a headman and council who made decisions for the village
In earlier times, women were allowed to serve on councils.
Overtime, Hindu law placed greater restrictions on women

42. Accomplishments of Gupta Empire
Established universities
Supported arts and literature
Developed the concept of zero and the decimal system
Used Sanskrit language to write literature
Used herbs and other remedies to treat illnesses
Surgeons set bones and repaired injuries
Vaccinated people against smallpox

43. **Overall Indian Family Life**
Patriarchal- father or oldest male was the head of the household
Children learned the family trade or worked the fields like their parents
Arrange marriage
Women’s roles were restricted over time.
Upper class women were restricted to their homes and had to be covered from head to toe
Lower class women were to work in the fields or did spinning