India Stretches south from the Himalayas Highest mountain

India

�Stretches south from the Himalayas ◦ Highest mountain range in the world ◦ Subcontinent in the Indian Ocean �Geography limited contact with other cultures ◦ Himalaya and Hindu Kush Mountain Ranges ◦ Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea �Passes in the mountains ◦ Allowed for migration into the Indus River Valley �Great rivers begin in the mountains ◦ Indus River ◦ Ganges River ◦ Make farming possible down below Location & Geography

India and its Rivers

�Monsoons Strong winds that blow across the region at certain times of the year ◦ Dry air blows from NE �Oct – May ◦ Rains blow up from Indian Ocean �Middle of June �Drenches the valleys and plains Monsoons

�Rich soil ◦ Wheat and grains ◦ Lots of food led to population increase �Well planned cities flourished 25001500 BC ◦ Harappa ◦ Mohenjo-Daro ◦ The larger of the two �On banks of Indus River Life in the Indus River Valley

�Built above ground level ◦ To protect from floods �Homes and workshops on one side of the city ◦ Public buildings on the others �Highest point of the city served as the citadel ◦ Fortress ◦ Built on a high mound of earth ◦ Enclosed by a high brick wall ◦ Would have protected most important buildings �Storehouse for grain �Bath house �Clay pipe drains ran under the brick streets ◦ Carried waste out of the city �Canals outside the city to handle the flooding ◦ Redirected the water to where it was needed Mohenjo-Daro: Carefully Built

�Merchants owned shops along the streets ◦ Trade came from as far as Mesopotamia ◦ Jewelry ◦ Bright clothing �Homes opened to courtyards ◦ Children played with toys and pets ◦ Adults enjoyed games and music �No idea as to their language ◦ Writing on square seals ◦ Don’t know about their religion or government either ◦ Evidence supports they had multiple gods Life in Mohenjo-Daro

�Indus valley farmers began to abandon their land around 2000 BC ◦ Climate change? ◦ Earthquakes and floods destroyed canals? �Aryans entered valley b/w 2000/1500 BC ◦ “noble” or “highborn” ◦ Nomadic herders ◦ Drove horse-drawn chariots �Overwhelmed local people militarily ◦ Intermarried with the locals �Combined Aryan and native culture Rise of the Aryans

�Iron age in 800 BC ◦ Used axes to clear rain forest of northeast ◦ Built cities �Religion books: Vedas ◦ “knowledge” ◦ Tells us much about Aryan Life �Herders and warriors ◦ Lived in temporary villages �Three social classes ◦ Aryan Priests: Brahmans ◦ Warriors and Nobles ◦ Artisans and Merchants ◦ Later a fourth formed: Farm workers, laborers, servants Aryan Life

�Strict division of classes – Caste system �Each caste (class) had special duties �People had to stay in the caste of their parents ◦ People of the same caste had the same occupation ◦ People did the same jobs as their parents �Castes divided into hundreds of different groups over times Caste System

�The Hindu religion developed over 3500 years ◦ Absorbed beliefs of many religions ◦ Different people need different ways of approaching god �The religion has no single founder �Worships many gods and goddesses �Belief in one spiritual power: brahman ◦ Lives in everything Hinduism

�Different gods and goddesses stand for different parts of Brahman ◦ Take many different forms (avatars) �Representation of a Hindu god or goddess in human or animal form �Brahma ◦ Creator ◦ Born from a golden egg ◦ Created Earth and everything on it ◦ Not as widely worshipped Brahma

�The Preserver �Kindly god concerned with welfare of humans �Visits earth to protect mankind Vishnu

�The Destroyer �Not concerned with human matters �Very powerful �Responsible for creative and destructive forces of universe Shiva

�Wife of Shiva �Also a creator and destroyer Shakti

�Hindu religious text �Means “sitting near a teacher” �In the form of questions by pupils and responses by teachers Upanishads

�Reincarnation: Rebirth of the soul �Belief that when someone dies, the soul is reborn in the body of another living thing �Every living thing has a soul �Actions of one’s life affect his fate in the next ◦ Good behavior rewarded: reborn into a higher position ◦ Bad behavior punished: reborn into a lower caste �Maybe even return as animals ◦ Perfect life: he or she may be freed from this cycle of death and rebirth �Soul becomes one with Brahman Reincarnation

�Dharma: Moral duties of each person ◦ Depend on caste, age, and occupation ◦ Man’s duty to protect the women in his family ◦ Ruler’s duty to protect his subjects �Ahimsa: Nonviolence ◦ All living things are part of Brahman ◦ Must be treated with respect �Many Hindus do not eat meat ◦ Try to avoid harming living things A Hindu’s Duties

�Yoga means “union” ◦ Goal is to free the soul from the worries of the world �Different types of yoga ◦ Yoga of physical activity ◦ Yoga of selflessness: Giving to the poor ◦ Yoga of following religious practices �Private devotion ◦ Personal gods ◦ Private altars and offerings Yogas