Ancient+India

= **Ancient India, (1000 BC - AD 300) By: Jordan Beck And Reed Cronin**  =

=__Terms__= __Monsoon:__ A seasonal wind pattern in southern Asia. One monsoon blows warm, moist air from the southwest during the summer and another blows cold, dry air from the northeast during the winter.

__Raja:__ Aryan leaders known as rajas (princes), carved out small states and fought other Aryan cheiftans.

__Brahman:__ The priestly class, was usually considered to be at the top of the social scale known as the caste system.

__Untouchables__: The lowest level of Indian Society. Were given menial, degrading tasks that other Indians wouldn't have accepted.

__Karma:__ The force generated by a person's actions that determines how the person will be reborn in the next life.

__Important People__
__1. Siddhartha Gautama:__ Founder of Buddhism, known as Buddha or "enlightened one." He spent his life seeking the cure for human suffering.

__2. Chandragupta Maurya:__ Ruled India from 324 to 301 BC. Founder of new Indian state. He drove out the foreign forces and established the capital of the Mauryn Empire in northern India at Pataliputra.

__3. Asoka:__ Grandson of Chandragupta Maurya. He is commonly considered the greatest ruler in ancient India's history, he used Buddhist principles to conduct his rule.

__4. Faxian:__ Chinese traveler who spent a number of years in the Gupta kingdom. He reported the greatness of the culture through the kingdom's tolerance of Buddhism and their prosperity.

__5. Kalidasa:__ One of ancient India's most well known authors. Lived during the Gupta dynasty and wrote the poem //the Cloud Messanger// which is still one of the most popular of sanskirt poems.

__Quote__
"There is no fire like passion, no crime like hatred, no sorrow like seperation, no sickness like hunger, and no joy like the joy of freedom." Buddha

One of the major religions in India is Hinduism. The main consepts of Hinduism are Brahman, Atman, and Darme. Brahman is a single supreme force that unites everything in the universe. Atman is your soul. Karma means the actions you do in this life affect our rebirth in the next life. The Law of Karma says that if you are evil in this life you are punished in your next life and your are reborn into a lower caste, If you are good in this life you are rewarded and will be born into a higher caste. The people back then didnt care if someone was suffering, because it just ment they had done somthing bad in their last life and picked up some bad Karma.

Another major religion in India is Buddism, which is the teachings of Buddha. Buddha started his religion because one day he left his palace and saw a old man, a sick man and a dead body, which he saw as suffering, and he wanted to find a way that no one would suffer. Buddha was seen as both a God or just a teacher by the Theravada and the Mehayana. The sacred texts of Buddhism is called the Tripleka "Three Baskets of Wisdom". The four Noble Truths of Buddism include, Life is full of suffering and sorrow, suffering is caused by desire, if you renounce desire you will attain Nervana, and follow the middle way. Buddha's last words were "Work out your own salvation with diligence." In the Ajanta caves monks painted scenes of Buddha's life.

The society in Ancient India was split up into 5 different social classses. You did not get to pick your social class you were born into it and you could not change it either. The highest caste was the Brahmins, or the Priests. The next caste was the Kshatrivas which were the warriors. After that came the vaisyas, the landowners, merchants, and herders. This is the caste that Buddha was born into. The second lowest caste is the sudras, which were the servants and the peasants. The lowest and worst caste was the untouchables. The untouchables had to tap sticks together so the other people could here them, because they believed that if you came incontact with them you would pick up some of their bad Karma. In these times three generations would live together. media type="youtube" key="zVFDhhMGpSE" width="425" height="350"

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[|Architecture of India] In this website it explains the great architecture of ancient India. It also showed many of the buildings and structures they had made. There are many links and pictures. [|Ancient India] Here it talks about the history, architeture and religion of ancient India. It also talks about many of the important people of these times. [|Harappa] Many pictures, slide shows, and links. Talks about the Indus Valley and they indus culture. [|Ancient Indian Government for kids] This website has many links and pictures it is easy to read. Talks about the government in Ancient india. [|Ancient India Religon] Many links and pictures. Talks about all of the major riligions of Ancient India, and how they were formed.

http://worldhistoryrcjb.wikispaces.com/Ancient+India

Timeline- __1. 3000 B.C.-__ India supports civilizations along river valleys. __2. 1500 B.C.-__ Aryans move into Northern India. __3. 1000 B.C.-__ Aryans develop a written language called Sanskrit. __4. 600 B.C.-__ The idea of Reincarnation is introduced in Hinduism. __5. 563 B.C.-__ Siddhartha Gautama is born and introduces Buddhism. __6. 480 B.C.-__ Gautama or The Buddha dies. __7. 301 B.C.-__ Chandragupta Maurya dies. __8. 232 B.C.-__ Asoka dies. __9. 100-__ Silk Road connects China and Mesopotamia. __10. 320-__ Gupta Kingdom begins.