1 / 29

Indian Empires and Religions

Indian Empires and Religions. 1500 BC-400 AD. Essential Questions:. What impact did the Aryans have on India? Why was the caste system central to Indian culture? What were the accomplishments of the Mauryan and Gupta Empires? What are the beliefs of Hinduism? Buddhism? How did they spread?.

albina
Download Presentation

Indian Empires and Religions

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Indian Empires and Religions 1500 BC-400 AD

  2. Essential Questions: • What impact did the Aryans have on India? • Why was the caste system central to Indian culture? • What were the accomplishments of the Mauryan and Gupta Empires? • What are the beliefs of Hinduism? • Buddhism? • How did they spread?

  3. Indo-Aryans • Originated in Europe and migrated to and invaded India.

  4. Aryans take power Slowly, the Aryans took over India and held the most powerful positions. They introduced the caste system.

  5. Caste system • A very rigid social class structure. • A person is born into a caste and stays in that caste the rest of his/her life. • Your caste decides what jobs you can hold, who you can marry, who your friends are, and more.

  6. Caste system con’t

  7. Hinduism • Developed thousands of years before it was even written down! • Hindus all believe all things are interconnected. • They believe that god lives everywhere in everyone.

  8. Bramhan • Henotheism • Hindus believe that god (called Brahman) exists in many (possibly thousands) of forms • They choose which god to worship. • Hindu worship is usually done in the home at small shrines

  9. Vedas and Upanishads • The Vedas are a collection of hymns, prayers, and instructions for religious rituals. They were passed down orally by the Aryans. • Around 750 BC, a group of Hindu teachers wrote the Upanishads, written interpretations of the Vedas.

  10. Reincarnation • Reincarnation- a soul does not die, nor is there an afterlife. Once a person dies, they are born again as the same soul, but different person.

  11. Karma • Karma- good or bad deeds. Follows from one incarnation to the next • It was thought that if you had “bad karma” you would be reincarnated in a lower caste or would otherwise pay for it in your next life. • In this way, it reinforced the caste system.

  12. Moksha • Moksha= a state of perfect understanding • Once a person achieves moksha, they are liberated from the cycle of reincarnation • It usually takes several lifetimes to get there.

  13. Brahman- the Creator of the World

  14. Vishnu – the Preserver of the World

  15. Shiva- the Destroyer of the World

  16. Buddhism • Prince Siddhartha Gautama. Born in Nepal, 563 BC. • He was groomed to be king. But, at age 29, chose to seek religioustruth. • He travelled India for six years seeking truth.

  17. Buddha con’t • After 49 days of meditation, he achieved enlightenment, or “nirvana.” • He began to teach that enlightenment is possible for all people. • Changed his name to Buddha, which means “Enlightened One.”

  18. Four Noble Truths • First: Everything in life is suffering and sorrow • Second: The reason for suffering is people’s selfish desire for temporary pleasure • Third: The way to end suffering is to end desire • Fourth: The way to overcome desire is to attain enlightenment

  19. The Eightfold Path • The way to attain enlightenment is the Eightfold Path

  20. Buddhism Video

  21. Buddhism spreads • Missionaries spread the teachings of Buddha • Early converts were low caste people

  22. Similarities and Differences

  23. Mauryan Empire 305 BC – 232 BC

  24. Mauryan Empire • Chandragupta Mauryaunified North India in 321 BC. • During the Mauryan Empire, roads were built. The emperor even ordered wells and rest houses built every nine miles to ease travelling. • Buddhism also spread during this time

  25. Asoka- Mauryan Emperor • After a war with neighboring Kalinga, which left 100,000 people dead, Asoka started to rethink the violence used to expand the empire. • He converted to Buddhism and started to advocate non-violence and tolerance.

  26. Asoka video

  27. Gupta Empire 320 AD- 500 AD

  28. Golden Age of Classical Indian Culture • The Gupta made incredible advances in mathematics, inventing the concept of zero, modern numerals, and the decimal system. • Astronomy- Discovered the Earth is round by observing lunar eclipses • Literature and the arts flourished

  29. Trade and the Silk Road • The Silk Road ran from China all the way to Asia Minor (Turkey). It was a major trade route for thousands of years! • Not only used for trade, but spread technology, ideas, language, and culture.

More Related