Hindus
Ethics
-Hindus disapproved of violence, killing, and revenge
-belief called ahimsa
-allowed to use violence for self-defense
-could not poison arrows, attack the sick, attack women or children, or attack from behind
-Hindus were vegetarians
-since they believed in ahimsa, they didn't believe in killing other living things
-cattle were sacred to the Hindus- in India cattle killing was banned
-jobs related to butchery were prohibited to those in the lower class of society
Beliefs
-allowed freedom to believe and worship
-thought the world was one big family
-accepted all beliefs but were against distinct forms of religion
Hindu Beliefs:
-Dharma- ethics
-Samsara- life, death, and rebirth
-Karma- action and reaction
-Yoga
Moksha- end of suffering
Festivals: Pongal, Shigmo, Bihu, Onam, Holi
Brahma- first god in Hindu triumvirate, god of creation
Vishnu- god in the triumvirate, supreme god, preserver of universe
Shiva- god in the triumvirate, destroyer/triumvirate
-all were responsible for creation, upkeep, and destruction of world
History
-oldest and most complex
-no specific founder or theology
-word Hinduism comes from Indus
-influenced when Aryan Indo-European tribes invaded Northern India and attacked the Harappan people who lived there in 1500
-has branched out and now has a lot of different beliefs and organizations
-Foundation of Transcendental Meditation and Buddhism
Indian Trade
-common trade items: black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, spices--considered very valuable
-India is one of the world's largest diamond cutting and polishing country
-trading was between Chinese, Central Asia, India, and Eastern Europe
-India was famous for its fabrics, spices, and semi-precious stones
Silk Roads: interlinking trade route connecting Afro-Eurasian East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean
-extended 4000 miles
-got its name from the Chinese silk trade
caravan: a group of people carrying goods to trade with people far away
-included about 4000 camels
-traveled through the spice markets in Babylon, Carthage, Alexandria, and Rome
-used ships to sail along the Indian Coast
-foreign trade was in the hands of both local and foreign merchants
-India divided into small regional political units
-for two periods during the classical era, India was unified by imperial powers
-during the classical period, India became a crossroads in a vast trade network that stretched from the Pacific to the Mediterranean Sea
-during a time period called lineage to state they shifted their livelihood from nomad pastoralism to agriculture and trade
Indian Military
Dynasties
-Nanda dynasty
-Maurya dynasty
-Shishnuga dynasty invented a catapult on an armed chariot and a swinging mace on a chariot
-Satavahana dynasty was around for 400 years and used elephants, chariots, and infantry supporting the elephants
Gupta empire- relied heavily on war elephants, infantry, archers, and rarely used horses
Kushan empire- fought a lot on horseback and used a lot of war elephants and infantry--many elephants received from the Greeks
-bamboo longbow- didn't warp as much as composite bows, used by Sheva, fired metal tipped arrows, protected by light infantrymen
-war elephants used to charge and break enemy lines, and cause terror in their opponents
-catapults hurled large stones at enemies
-Krauncha Vyuha was a crane-shaped formation, forces distributed to form wing spanning sides and a formidable penetrating center
-Vyuha was a winding, circular formation considered impenetrable
Buddhism
-has many beliefs, branches, and traditions, and practices based on Buddha
Mahayana
Theravada- oldest surviving Buddhist branch, most popular in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia
-belief that every individual is responsible for their own self-awakening and liberation
Stupas- a dome-shaped structure erected as a Buddhist shrine, 5 types:
relic
object
commemorative
symbolic
votive
Brahma- In Buddhism, name for a type of exalted passionless deity
-originated from Vedic tradition
-no identity between the Buddhist Brahmas and the Hindu ones
Aryabhata- Indian astronomer, father of spherical astronomy, made theories about how the earth's shadow affected the phases of the moon
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