Unit 2

Harappa

A city of the ancient Harappan civilization, located in the Indus Valley of South Asia. surrounded by a brick wall over 40 feet thick at its base and more than 3.5 miles in circumference.

Law of Manu

According to the Law of Manu, an early treatise on social organization and behavior in ancient India, probably written in the first or second century B.C.E., a woman was subordinated to men throughout her life—first to her father, then to her husband, and finally to her sons

What was the physical structure of Harappa and Mohenjo Daro?

Both Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were divided into large walled neighborhoods, with narrow lanes separating the rows of houses. Houses varied in size, with some as high as three stories, but all followed the same general plan based on a square courtyard surrounded by rooms. Bathrooms featured an advanced drainage system, which carried wastewater out to drains located under the streets and thence to sewage pits beyond the city walls. But the cities also had the equivalent of the modern slum. At Harappa, tiny dwellings for workers have been found near metal furnaces and the open areas used for pounding grain.

What was trade like in Harappa?

But Harappa also developed an extensive trading network that extended to Sumer and other civilizations to the west. Textiles and foodstuffs were apparently imported from Sumer in exchange for metals such as copper, lumber, precious stones, and various types of luxury goods. Much of this trade was conducted by ship via the Persian Gulf, although some undoubtedly went by land.

Harappan government organization

Harappa was not a centralized monarchy with a theocratic base but a collection of more than 1,500 towns and cities loosely connected by ties of trade and alli- ance and ruled by a coalition of landlords and rich merchants. There were no royal precincts or imposing burial monuments, and there are few surviving stone or terra- cotta images that might represent kings, priests, or military commanders.

Harappan pottery

Harappan painted pottery, wheel-turned and kiln-fired, rivals equivalent work produced elsewhere. Sculpture, however, was the Harappans' highest artistic achievement. Some artifacts possess a wonderful vitality of expression.

Why was the caste system able to survive?

In the first place, it provided an identity for individuals in a highly hierarchical society. Although an individual might rank lower on the social scale than members of other classes, it was always possible to find others ranked even lower. Class was also a means for new groups, such as mountain tribal people, to achieve a recognizable place in the broader community. Perhaps equally important, the jati was a primitive form of welfare system. Each jati was obliged to provide for any of its members who were poor or destitute. It also provided an element of stability in a society that all too often was in a state of political turmoil.

What did reincarnation do?

In the first place, it tended to provide religious sanction for the rigid class divisions that had begun to emerge in Indian society after the arrival of the Aryans, and it provided moral and political justification for the privileges of those on the higher end of the scale. At the same time, the concept of reincarnation provided certain compensations for those lower on the ladder of life.

Buddhism

In the sixth century B.C.E., a new doctrine appeared in northern India that would eventually begin to rival the popularity of Brahmanical beliefs throughout the subcontinent. This new doctrine was called Buddhism.

Indian religion

Indian religion is a blend of Aryan and Dravidian culture. The intermingling of those two civilizations gave rise to an extraordinarily complex set of religious beliefs and practices, filled with diversity and contrast.

What was the family like in ancient india?

It was essentially patriarchal, except along the Malabar coast, near the southwestern tip of the subcontinent, where a matriarchal form of social organization prevailed down to modern times. In the rest of India, the oldest male traditionally possessed legal authority over the entire family unit.

Mauryan Empire

On the heels of Alexander's departure came the rise of the first dynasty to control much of the region.

Dharma

The concept of karma is governed by the dharma, or the law. A law regulating human behavior, the dharma imposes different requirements on different individuals depending on their status in society. Those high on the social scale, such as brahmins and kshatriyas, are held to a stricter form of behavior than sudras are. The brahmin, for example, is expected to abstain from eating meat, because that would entail the killing of another living being, thus interrupting its karma.

Religion in the family

The family was linked together in a religious sense to its ancestral members by a series of commemorative rites. Family ceremonies were conducted to honor the departed and to link the living and the dead. The male family head was responsible for leading the ritual. At his death, his eldest son had the duty of conducting the funeral rites.

What is another form of Indian architecture besides Stupas?

The final form of early Indian architecture is the rock chamber carved out of a cliff on the side of a mountain. Ashoka began the construction of these chambers to provide rooms to house monks or wandering ascetics and to serve as halls for religious ceremonies.

Chandragupta Maurya

The founder of the new state, who took the royal title Chandragupta Maurya (324-301 B.C.E.), drove out the Greek administrators that Alexander had left behind and solidified his control over the northern Indian plain. He established the capital of his new Mauryan Empire at Pataliputra (modern Patna) in the Ganges valley.

Reincarnation

The idea that the individual soul is reborn in a different form after death and progresses through several existences on the wheel of life until it reaches its final destination in a union with the Great World Soul, Brahman. Because life is harsh, this final release is the objective of all living souls. From this concept comes the term Brahmanism, referring to the early Aryan religious tradition.

Ganges River

The invention of the iron plow, along with the development of irrigation, allowed the Aryans and their indigenous subjects to clear the dense jungle growth along the Ganges River and transform the Ganges valley into one of the richest agricultural regions in South Asia.

Brahmins

The priestly class, known as the brahmins, was usually considered to be at the top of the social scale. Descended from seers who had advised the ruler on religious matters in Aryan tribal society—brahmin meant ''one possessed of Brahman'' (BRAH-mun), a term for the supreme god—they were eventually transformed into an official class after their religious role declined in importance.

Kshatriya

The second class was the kshatriya, the warriors. Although often listed below the brahmins in social status, many kshatriyas were probably descended from the ruling warrior class in Aryan society prior to the conquest of India and thus may have originally ranked socially above the brahmins, although they were ranked lower in religious terms.

What was the goal of reincarnation?

The ultimate goal of achieving ''good'' karma, as we have seen, was to escape the cycle of existence. To the sophisticated, the nature of that release was a spiritual union of the individual soul with the Great World Soul, Brahman, described in the Upanishads as a form of dreamless sleep, free from earthly desires.

Collapse of Harappan civilization

Today, however, historians are doubtful that the Aryan peoples were directly responsible for the final destruction of Mohenjo-Daro. More likely, Harappan civilization had already fallen on hard times, perhaps as a result of climatic change in the Indus valley. Mohenjo-Daro itself may have been destroyed by an epidemic or by natural phenomena such as floods, an earthquake, or a shift in the course of the Indus River.

Animals in Hinduism

Within the animal kingdom, an especially high position is reserved for the cow, which even today is revered by Hindus as a sacred beast. Some scholars have speculated that the unique role played by the cow in Hinduism derives from the value of cattle in Aryan pastoral society.

How was male dominance shown?

Women could not serve as priests (although some were accepted as seers), nor were they normally permitted to study the Vedas. In general, males had a monopoly on education, since the primary goal of learning to read was to conduct family rituals. In high- class families, young men, after having been initiated into the sacred thread, began Vedic studies with a guru (teacher). Some then went on to higher studies in one of the major cities. The goal of such an education might be either professional or religious. Such young men were not supposed to marry until after twelve years of study.

What are some theories about the Aryans?

a new theory has been proposed by some Indian historians, who contend that the Aryan peoples did not migrate into the Indian subcontinent from Central Asia, but were in fact the indigenous population that had originally created the Indus River civilization. Most scholars, however, continue to support the migration hypothesis, although the evidence is not conclusive.

twice born

a term referring to a ceremony at puberty whereby young males were initiated into adulthood and introduced into Indian society. After the ceremony, male members of the top three classes were allowed to wear the ''sacred thread'' for the remainder of their lives.

Mahabharata

a vast epic of early Indian society

Sati

encouraged the wife to throw herself on her dead husband's funeral pyre.

Mahavira

founder of Jainism. contemporary of Siddhartha Gautama.

Beginning(starting) of harappan civilization and growth

it probably began in tiny farming villages scattered throughout the river valley, some dating back to as early as 6500 or 7000 B.C.E. These villages thrived and grew until by the middle of the third millennium B.C.E. they could support a privileged ruling elite living in walled cities of considerable magnitude and affluence.

Karma

one's rebirth in a next life is determined by one's actions (karma) in this life.

How were women influential in India

the code of behavior set out in the Law of Manu stressed that they should be treated with respect. Indians appeared to be fascinated by female sexuality, and tradition held that women often used their sexual powers to achieve domination over men. Despite the legal and social constraints, women often played an important role within the family unit, and many were admired and honored for their talents.

Rig Veda

the earliest account produced by the Aryan people themselves, know as the Rig Veda (RIK VAY- duh) (see the next section), describes a culture based primarily on pastoralism, a pursuit not particularly suited to the Indus River valley. Most of what is known about the early Aryans is based on oral traditions passed on in the Rig Veda, an ancient work that was written down after the Aryans arrived in India (it is one of several Vedas, or collections of sacred instructions and rituals).

Upanishads

A group of writings sacred in Hinduism concerning the relations of humans, God, and the universe.

Shiva

A notable example is Ganesha, described in Indian literature as a son of Shiva who was accidentally beheaded by his father in a fit of anger. When Shiva repented of his action, he provided his son with the head of an elephant. the Destroyer

Stupas

A stupa was originally meant to house a relic of the Buddha, such as a lock of his hair or a branch of the famous Bodhi tree (the tree beneath which Siddhartha Gautama had first achieved enlightenment), and was constructed in the form of a burial mound (the pyramids in Egypt also derived from burial mounds). Eventually, the stupa became a place for devotion and the most familiar form of Buddhist architecture. Stupas rose to considerable heights and were surmounted with a spire, possibly representing the stages of existence en route to Nirvana.

Trade and manufacturing

After the rise of the Mauryas, India's role in regional trade began to expand, and the subcontinent became a major transit point in a vast commercial network that extended from the rim of the Pacific Ocean to the Middle East and the Mediterranean Sea. This regional trade went both by sea and by camel caravan. But village trade continued to be conducted by means of cowry shells (highly polished shells used as a medium of exchange throughout much of Africa and Asia) or barter throughout the ancient period.

What did the Aryans do agriculturally?

After they settled in India, the Aryans gradually adapted to the geographic realities of their new homeland and abandoned the pastoral life for agricultural pursuits. They were assisted by the introduction of iron.

Greek invasion of India

Alexander had heard of the riches of India, and in 330 B.C.E., after conquering Persia, he launched an invasion of the east. In 326, his armies arrived in the plains of northwestern India and the Indus River valley. They departed almost as suddenly as they had come, leaving in their wake Greek administrators and a veneer of cultural influence that would affect the area for generations to come.

Middle Path

Also known as the Eightfold Way, the Middle Path calls for right knowledge, right purpose, right speech, right conduct, right occupation, right effort, right awareness, and right meditation

Vishnu

Although Brahman (sometimes in his concrete form called Brahma) is considered to be the highest god, Vishnu and Shiva take precedence in the devotional exercises of many Hindus, who can be roughly divided into Vishnuites and Shaivites.

Ashoka

Buddhism received an important boost when Ashoka, the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya, converted to Buddhism in the third century B.C.E. Ashoka (269-232 B.C.E.) is widely considered the greatest ruler in the history of India. By his own admission, as noted in rock edicts placed around his kingdom, Ashoka began his reign conquering, pillaging, and killing, but after his conversion to Buddhism, he began to regret his bloodthirsty past and attempted to rule benevolently.

Pariahs/Untouchables

At the lowest level of Indian society, and in fact not even considered a legitimate part of the class system, were the untouchables (also known as outcastes or pariahs). The untouchables probably originated as a slave class consisting of prisoners of war, criminals, ethnic minorities, and other groups considered outside Indian society. Even after slavery was outlawed, the untouchables were given menial and degrading tasks that other Indians would not accept, such as collecting trash, handling dead bodies, or serving as butchers or tanners. One historian estimates that they may have accounted for a little more than 5 percent of the total population of India in antiquity. The lives of the untouchables were extremely demeaning. They were regarded as being not fully human, and their very presence was considered polluting to members of the other varna. No Indian would touch or eat food handled or prepared by an untouchable. Untouchables lived in ghettos and were required to tap two sticks together to announce their approach when they traveled outside their quarters so that others could avoid them.

Sudras

Below the three ''twice-born'' classes were the sudras, who represented the great bulk of the Indian population. The sudras were not considered fully Aryan, and the term probably originally referred to the indigenous population. Most sudras were peasants or artisans or worked at other forms of manual labor. They had only limited rights in society.

Kautilya

Chandragupta Maurya was apparently advised by a brilliant court official named Kautilya whose name has been attached to a treatise on politics called the Arthasastra. The work actually dates from a later time, but it may well reflect Kautilya's ideas.

Chandragupta Maurya's government

Chandragupta Maurya's government was highly centralized and even despotic(he was luxurious too). The king possessed a large army and a secret police responsible to his orders. To guard against corruption, a board of censors was empowered to investigate cases of possible malfeasance and incompetence within the bureaucracy.The empire was divided into provinces that were ruled by governors. At first, most of these governors were appointed by and reported to the ruler, but later the position became hereditary. The provinces themselves were divided into districts, each under a chief magistrate appointed by the governor. At the base of the government pyramid was the village, where the vast majority of the Indian people lived. The village was governed by a council of elders; membership in the council was normally hereditary and was shared by the wealthiest families in the village.

Vedas

Evidence about the earliest religious beliefs of the Aryan peoples comes primarily from sacred texts such as the Vedas, four collections of hymns and religious ceremonies transmitted by memory through the centuries by Aryan priests.

Mahabharata and Ramayana

India's great historical epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana (rah-mah-YAH-nah). Both of these epics may have originally been recited at religious ceremonies, but they are essentially histories that recount the martial exploits of great Aryan rulers and warriors.

Varna

Indian classes (called varna, literally, ''color,'' and commonly but mistakenly translated as ''castes'' in English) did not simply reflect an informal division of labor. Instead, at least in theory, they were a set of rigid social classifications that determined not only one's occupation but also one's status in society and one's hope for ultimate salvation. There were five major varna in Indian society in ancient times. At the top were two classes, collectively viewed as the aristocracy, which represented the ruling elites in Aryan society prior to their arrival in India: the priests and the warriors.

Jainism

Resembling Buddhism in its rejection of the reality of the material world, Jainism was more extreme in practice. Where Siddhartha Gautama called for the ''middle way'' between passion and luxury on one extreme and pain and self-torture on the other, Mahavira preached a doctrine of extreme simplicity to his followers

Aryans

Pastoral peoples from the north who arrived in the subcontinent around the middle of the second millennium B.C.E. Although the Aryans were considered to be less sophisticated culturally than the Harappans, like many nomadic peoples they excelled at the art of war. Had supposedly destroyed Harappan civilization. The traditional view is that they were Indo-European-speaking peoples who inhabited vast areas in the steppes north and east of the Black and Caspian Seas.

Why was Jainism not popular?

Perhaps because of its insistence on a life of poverty, Jainism failed to attract enough adherents to become a major doctrine and never received official support.

rules about the castes

Technically, these class divisions were absolute. Individuals supposedly were born, lived, and died in the same class. In practice, upward or downward mobility probably took place, and there was undoubtedly some flexibility in economic functions. But throughout most of Indian history, class taboos remained strict. Members generally were not permitted to marry outside their class (although in practice, men were occasionally allowed to marry below their class but not above it). At first, attitudes toward the handling of food were relatively loose, but eventually that taboo grew stronger, and social mores dictated that sharing meals and marrying outside one's class were unacceptable.

Aryan Writing

The Aryans also developed their first writing system, based on the Aramaic script of the Middle East, and were thus able to transcribe the legends that previously had been passed down from generation to generation by memory.

Indo European

The Indo-Europeans were pastoral peoples who migrated from season to season in search of fodder for their herds. Historians have credited them with a number of technological achievements, including the invention of horse- drawn chariots and the stirrup.

Mahabharata

The Mahabharata, consisting of more than 90,000 stanzas, was probably written about 100 B.C.E. and describes in great detail a war between cousins for control of the kingdom nine hundred years earlier. Interwoven in the narrative are many fantastic legends of the gods. Above all, the Mahabharata is a tale of moral confrontations and an elucidation of the ethical precepts of the dharma.

Siddhartha Gautama

The historical founder of Buddhism. Was a kshatriya.At the age of twenty-nine, however, he suddenly discovered the pain of illness, the sorrow of death, and the degradation caused by old age in the lives of ordinary people and exclaimed, ''Would that sickness, age, and death might be forever bound!'' From that time on, he decided to dedicate his life to determining the cause and seeking the cure for human suffering.At first he tried to follow the model of the ascetics, but he eventually decided that self-mortification did not lead to a greater understanding of life and abandoned the practice. Then one day after a lengthy period of meditation under a tree, he achieved enlightenment as to the meaning of life and spent the remainder of his life preaching it. His conclusions, as embodied in his teachings, became the philosophy (or as some would have it, the religion) of Buddhism. According to legend, the Devil (the Indian term is Mara) attempted desperately to tempt him with political power and the company of beautiful girls. But Siddhartha Gautama resisted

Sanskrit

The language of the Vedas was Sanskrit, one of the Indo-European family of languages. After the arrival of the Aryans in India, Sanskrit gradually declined as a spoken language and was replaced in northern India by a simpler tongue known as Prakrit (PRAH-krit). Nevertheless, Sanskrit continued to be used as the language of the bureaucracy and of literary expression for many centuries after that and, like Latin in medieval Europe, served as a common language of communication between various regions of India

vaisya

The vaisyas were usually viewed in economic terms as the merchant class. Megasthenes noted that members of this class ''alone are permitted to hunt and keep cattle and to sell beasts of burden or to let them out on hire. In return for clearing the land of wild beasts and birds which infest sown fields, they receive an allowance of corn from the king. They lead a wandering life and dwell in tents.''4 Although this class was ranked below the first two in social status, it shared with them the privilege of being considered ''twice-born,''

Harappan Civilization

Used to receive more rainfall and the valleys of the Indus River and its tributaries supported a thriving civilization that may have covered a total area of more than 600,000 square miles, from the Himalayas to the Indian Ocean. But the main sites are at the two major cities, Harappa, in the Punjab, and Mohenjo-Daro, nearly 400 miles to the south near the mouth of the Indus River

Jati

a system of extended families that originated in ancient India and still exists in somewhat changed form today. The jati eventually became identified with a specific kinship group living in a specific area and carrying out a specific function in society. Each jati was identified with a particular varna, and each had its own separate economic function. Jatis were thus the basic social organization into which traditional Indian society was divided. Each jati was composed of hundreds or thousands of individual nuclear families and was governed by its own council of elders. Membership in this ruling council was usually hereditary and was based on the wealth or social status of particular families within the community.In theory, each jati was assigned a particular form of economic activity. Obviously, though, not all families in a given jati could take part in the same vocation, and as time went on, members of a single jati commonly engaged in several different lines of work. Sometimes an entire jati would have to move its location in order to continue a particular form of activity. In other cases, a jati would adopt an entirely new occupation in order to remain in a certain area. Such changes in habitat or occupation introduced the possibility of movement up or down the social scale.

Arthasastra

a treatise on politics. Although the author of the Arthasastra follows Aryan tradition in stating that the happiness of the king lies in the happiness of his subjects, the treatise also asserts that when the sacred law of the dharma and practical politics collide, the latter must take precedence. The Arthasastra also emphasizes ends rather than means, achieved results rather than the methods employed.

What was one thing Siddhartha did not believe?

he rejected the division of humanity into rigidly defined classes based on previous reincarnations and taught that all human beings could aspire to Nirvana as a result of their behavior in this life—a message that likely helped Buddhism win support among people at the lower end of the social scale. Siddhartha rejected the panoply of gods that had become identified with Brahmanism and forbade his followers to worship his person or his image after his death. In fact, many Buddhists view Buddhism as a philosophy rather than a religion.

Four noble truths

life is suffering, suffering is caused by desire, the way to end suffering is to end desire, and the way to end desire is to avoid the extremes of a life of vulgar materialism and a life of self-torture and to follow the Middle Path

What was life like as a farmer?

life was harsh. Among the most fortunate were those who owned their own land, although they were required to pay taxes to the state. Many others were sharecroppers or landless laborers. They were subject to the vicissitudes of the market and often paid exorbitant rents to their landlord. Concentration of land in large holdings was limited by the tradition of dividing property among all the sons, but large estates worked by hired laborers or rented out to sharecroppers were not uncommon, particularly in areas where local rajas derived much of their wealth from their property. Another problem for Indian farmers was the unpredictability of the climate. India is in the monsoon zone. The monsoon is a seasonal wind pattern in southern Asia that blows from the southwest during the summer months and from the northeast during the winter. People could starve.

Nirvana and bodhi

metaphysical reality. Nirvana, which involves an extinction of selfhood and a final reunion with the Great World Soul, is sometimes likened to a dream- less sleep or to a kind of ''blowing out''. Siddhartha's idea of achieving Nirvana was based on his conviction that the pain, poverty, and sorrow that afflict human beings are caused essentially by their attachment to the things of this world. Once worldly cares are abandoned, pain and sorrow can be overcome. With this knowledge comes bodhi, or wisdom

popular religion

popular religion during the first millennium B.C.E. was a distant reflection of its counterpart in India today, which is peopled with a multitude of very human gods and goddesses. It has been estimated that the Hindu pantheon contains more than 33,000 deities. Only a small number are primary ones, however, notably the so- called trinity of gods: Brahman the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva (SHIV-uh) (originally the Vedic god Rudra) the Destroyer. The rich variety and the earthy character of many of these deities are somewhat misleading, however, for Hindus regard the multitude of gods simply as different manifestations of one ultimate reality. An early belief in deities representing forces of nature gradually gave way to a more elitist system, with a priestly class at court performing sacrifices in order to obtain heavenly favors. During the first millennium B.C.E., religious belief began to evolve into a more personal experience, with an emphasis on ethics as a means of obtaining a union between the individual soul (Atman) and the ultimate reality (Brahman).

asceticism and yoga

self discipline or subjecting oneself to painful stimuli had begun to replace sacrifice as a means of placating or communicating with the gods. Apparently, the original motive for asceticism was to achieve magical powers, but later, in the Upanishads—a set of commentaries on the Vedas compiled in the sixth century B.C.E.—it was seen as a means of spiritual meditation that would enable the practitioner to reach beyond material reality to a world of truth and bliss beyond earthly joy and sorrow. Asceticism, of course, has been practiced in other religions, including Christianity and Islam, but it seems particularly identified with Hinduism, the religion that emerged from the early Indian religious tradition. Eventually, asceticism evolved into the modern practice of body training that we know as yoga (''union''), which is accepted today as a meaningful element of Hindu religious practice.

Where did the aryans move to?

the Aryans moved south across the Hindu Kush into the plains of northern India. Between 1500 and 1000 B.C.E., they gradually advanced eastward from the Indus valley, across the fertile plain of the Ganges, and later southward into the Deccan Plateau. Eventually, they extended their political mastery over the entire subcontinent and its Dravidian-speaking inhabitants, although the indigenous culture survived to remain a prominent element in the evolution of traditional Indian civilization.

Brahman

the Great World Soul. The ultimate reality.

Rule of the Fishes

the ruling class was characterized by what Indians call the ''rule of the fishes,'' which glorified warfare as the natural activity of the king and the aristocracy.

Marriage

In general, only males could inherit property, except in a few cases when there were no sons. According to law, a woman was always considered a minor. Divorce was prohibited, although it sometimes took place. According to the Arthasastra, a wife who had been deserted by her husband could seek a divorce. Polygamy was fairly rare and apparently occurred mainly among the higher classes, but husbands were permitted to take a second wife if the first was barren. Child marriage was common for young girls, whether because of the desire for children or because daughters represented an economic liability to their parents.

Change of religion

In later centuries, the Brahmanical beliefs and practices of early Aryan society would gradually be replaced by a more popular faith that would henceforth become known as Hinduism.

maharajas and Dharma

As Aryan society grew in size and complexity, the chieftains began to be transformed into kings, usually called maharajas (mah-huh-RAH-juhs) (''great rajas''). Nevertheless, the tradition that the ruler did not possess absolute authority remained strong. Like all human beings, the ruler was required to follow the dharma (DAR-muh), a set of laws that set behavioral standards for all individuals and classes in Indian society.

Raja and Kshatriya

As in other Indo-European societies, each of the various Aryan tribes was led by a chieftain, called a raja (RAH-juh), who was assisted by a council of elders composed of other leading members of the community; like them, he was normally a member of the warrior class, called the kshatriya (kshuh-TREE-yuh). The chief derived his power from his ability to protect his people from rival groups, a skill that was crucial in the warring kingdoms and shifting alliances that were typical of early Aryan society. Though the rajas claimed to be representatives of the gods, they were not viewed as gods themselves

Early Aryan Beliefs

Early Aryan beliefs were based on the common concept of a pantheon of gods and goddesses representing great forces of nature similar to the immortals of Greek mythology. The concept of sacrifice was a key element in Aryan religious belief in Vedic times. As in many other ancient cultures, the practice may have begun as human sacrifice, but later animals were used as substitutes. The priestly class, the brahmins, played a key role in these ceremonies.

Brahmanism

Early Aryan religious beliefs

Hinduism

Hinduism, as it emerged from Brahmanism, placed all living species on a vast scale of existence, including the four classes and the untouchables in human society. The current status of an individual soul, then, is not simply a cosmic accident but the inevitable result of actions that that soul has committed in its past existence.

Ramayana

The Ramayana, written at about the same time, is much shorter than the Mahabharata. It is an account of asemilegendary ruler named Rama (RAH-mah) who, as a result of a palace intrigue, is banished from the kingdom and forced to live as a hermit in the forest. Later he fights the demon-king of Sri Lanka, who has kidnapped his beloved wife, Sita (SEE-tuh). Like the Mahabharata, the Ramayana is strongly imbued with religious and moral significance. Rama is portrayed as the ideal Aryan hero, a perfect ruler and an ideal son, while Sita projects the supreme duty of female chastity and wifely loyalty to her husband. The Ramayana is a story of the triumph of good over evil, duty over self-indulgence, and generosity over selfishness. It combines filial and erotic love, conflicts of human passion, character analysis, and poetic descriptions of nature.

The Rig Veda

The Rig Veda dates from the second millennium B.C.E. and consists of more than a thousand hymns that were used at religious ceremonies.one of four vedas

Harappan Writing

not yet deciphered. the only surviving examples of Harappan writing are the pictographic symbols inscribed on clay seals. The script contained more than four hundred characters, but most are too stylized to be identified by their shape.