ANCIENT INDIA ORIGINS OF INDIAS RELIGIONS INDUS VALLEY

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ANCIENT INDIA ORIGINS OF INDIA’S RELIGIONS

ANCIENT INDIA ORIGINS OF INDIA’S RELIGIONS

INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

Complex waterways w/ sewage management Statues indicate meditation Language still undeciphered Highly Advanced Civilization

Complex waterways w/ sewage management Statues indicate meditation Language still undeciphered Highly Advanced Civilization 3500 -1300 BCE Worshipped Female (presumably Mother) Goddess Intricate system of weights & measures for trading w/ Mesopotamia Large public baths

ARYAN INVASION THEORY PROS & CONS Why it was believable Why it makes no

ARYAN INVASION THEORY PROS & CONS Why it was believable Why it makes no sense ØThe “arya” (noble ones) in the Vedas ØNo evidence of conquest or struggle in Indus Valley ØThe Vedas are Sanskrit – how did Sanskrit reach India? ØAryans were nomadic cattle herders & horse breeders, not advanced ØSanskrit linguistically similar to ancient Iranian & European language roots ØIndus Valley language not Sanskrit ØWhat happened to the Indus Valley civilization? ØThe Vedas tell of no travel, no homeland outside of India ØCenturies of trading could explain diffusion from outside cultures

Two Religious Strands: Sramana vs. Brahmanical Traditions Sramana Brahmancial ØNon-Vedic ØBased on the Vedas

Two Religious Strands: Sramana vs. Brahmanical Traditions Sramana Brahmancial ØNon-Vedic ØBased on the Vedas ØAscetic, focused on individual self-awakening /transcendence ØNon-ascetic, focused on maintaining dharma (cosmic order & duty), worldly goals ØEveryone capable of renouncing worldly life to pursue nirvana ØEnforces & legitimizes caste hierarchy ØWandering & begging for alms ØHouseholding, raising a family, earning a living

Both Sramana & Vedic/Brahmanical Strands are still widely practiced throughout India Sramana: Saddhus/ Renunciates

Both Sramana & Vedic/Brahmanical Strands are still widely practiced throughout India Sramana: Saddhus/ Renunciates Vedic: Brahmin Priests

Indus Valley Religion = Sramana Jainism considers itself within the lineage of the Sramana

Indus Valley Religion = Sramana Jainism considers itself within the lineage of the Sramana tradition, thus traces its origin to the Indus Valley civilization, or even prior, making Jainism the oldest living religion in the world (acc. to Jains) ØVedic rituals require fire offerings; Indus civilizations had no firepits ØIndus Valley statues of yogis resemble Jinas

The Vedic religion is un-iconic. At Mohenjodaro and Harappa iconism is everywhere apparent. In

The Vedic religion is un-iconic. At Mohenjodaro and Harappa iconism is everywhere apparent. In the houses of Mohenjodaro the firepit is conspicuously lacking. It is a fact that the Jainas are the first Indian people who took to iconism in their religious worship and made the images of their Tirthankaras which resemble those found at Harappa and Mohenjodaro. The Harappa statuette is a male torso in nude form which resembles the torsos found at Lohanipur (Patna). . In the face of similarities, the nude torso of Haapa seems to represent an image of a Jina, probably of Jina Rishabha. T. N. Ramacandran, Jt. , Director –General of Indian Archaeology: “we are perhaps recognizing in Harappa statuette a full-fledged Jaina Tirthankara in the characteristic pose of physical abandon (kāyotsarga). ” Figures on the Mohenjodaro seals also depict the yogic pose and idea of physical abandonment of the Jainas. These figures are represented as nude in standing kāyotsarga pose with a tríśūla-like decoration on their head and the eye-sight fixed on the tip of the nose, which are the characteristics of an image of a Jina. . (the images on the Indus seals are in yoga posture, and the kāyotsarga yoga posture is peculiarly Jaina). Also some yogi figures on Indus seals have a bull, and the name Rishabha means “bull” and the bull is the emblem of Rishabha. (from The Indus Valley Civilisation and Rishabha By V. G. Nair)