Hinduism
- A diverse body of religion, philosophy, and cultural practice
- Native to India
- Belief in reincarnation and a supreme being of many forms and natures
Terms
- Brahma- the Hindu creator god.
- Vishnu- the Hindu preserver god.
- Shiva- the Hindu destroyer god.
Brahma
- Senior member of the triad of great gods
- He felt alone and separated from the world
- Split himself into two
Vishnu
- Often represented resting on the coiled serpent Shesha
- Never sleeps
- When the forces of good and evil are not balanced, Vishnu will incarnate himself to set the forces equal
Shiva
- Lord of the dance
- Often has a 3rd eye, cobra necklace, vibhuti
- Is known to have a wild passion, which causes extreme behavior and his relationship with his wife. Parviti brings him balance.
Military Conquest
Maurya Empire
- Founded after the death of Alexander the Great
- The first three emperors were Chandragupta, Bindusara, and Ashoka.
- All able to gain land
Military
- 9000 elephants
- 8000 chariots
- 30000 Cavalry
- 750000 soldiers
Gupta Empire
- Chandra was dying and he told his son to rule the world
- His son went on an extreme military campaign
- He conquered Bengal, Nepal, Assam, Malava, and eventually Ujjayini
Military
- 500000 infantry
- 50000 calvary
- 20000 charioteers
- 10000 elephants
- Navy with more than 1200 ships
- At its height they had more than ¾ million soldiers
Buddhism:
- Historians estimate that the founder of Buddhism is Siddhartha Gautama commonly known as Buddha
- it’s a religion home to the Indian subcontinent that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs, and practices largely based on teachings where the people worshiped Buddha.
- Buddha is recognized as being an awakening and enlightening teacher
- Thought of more as a ‘way of life’ than religion
- Practice meditation
- The Four Noble Truths : the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering.
- Believe in karma, which in turns determines reincarnation (believe after death that they will be reborn again)
- There are six planes in which they can be reborn. Into the Three fortunate realms and the Three unfortunate realms.
- Three fortunate realms: the realm of demigods, the realm of gods, and the realm of men
- Three unfortunate realms-- of animals, ghosts and hell -- suffer untold suffering, the suffering of the realm of man is far less
Stupas:
- mound-like structure
- typically the ashes of deceased.
- used by Buddhists as a place of meditation.
- five types of stupas:
- relic: remains of Buddhist leaders.
- object: objects that belonged to Buddhist leaders.
- commemorative: commemorative events in life of Buddha and his disciples.
- symbolic: symbolizes aspects of Buddhist theology.
- votive: constructed to commemorate visits or to gain spiritual benefits.
Theravada:
- is the oldest surviving Buddhist branch.
- the more conservative of the two major traditions of Buddhism.
- It is practiced mainly in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos
Art- Buddhist
- Originated from India
- Spreand from contact with other cultures throughout Asia
- Influence the developmentof Hindu art
- Worked with brick, wood, thatch, and bamboo
- Made stone railings, gateways and sculptures
- Painted scrolls
Art- Hinduism
- Four goals: aim for righteous living, wealth acquired through the pursuit of profession; exual love; and finally spiritual salvation.
- Costumes
- Perfumery
- Jewelry
- Magic and illusions
- Cooking
- Sewing
Advancements in Medicine, Literature, Math, Astronomy, and Performing Arts
- Ayuveda (life knowledge) is the ancient science of medicine
- Used herbal medicine
- Believed their body have 3 types of energy that controlled the body and affected
- Dental surgery and plastic surgery
Literature
- Greatest time for poetry and drama
- Well known writer of this time was Kalidasa(was and Indian poet)
- Sanskrit- classical language in India
- Sruti- listened to or heard
- Smriti- remembered or memorized
Math
- Decimal number system still used today
- Made early contributions to the study of the concept of zero as a number, negative, arithmetic and algebra.
- Sutras- set of ruled or problems in verse to help the student memorize them
- Prose commentary- composed by several scholars that described the provle in detail
Astronomy
- Ancient India used stars and planets to create astrological charts
- Calculation of occurrences of eclipses
- Aryabhata- presented a mathematical system that the sun spins on an axis and considered the motion of the planets in respect to the sun.
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