3. Rise of universal monarchy
Approximately 4th BCE
326 BCE invasion by
Alexander the Great. He
dies 323 BCE. What
happens next?
Greeks make agreement
with the growing Northern
Empire of Chandragupta
Maurya
3
4. Mauryan Empire
Greeks leave India
Chandragupta takes over as
leader of the Mauryan Empire –
4th BCE
Capital = MAGADA (note
location)
MAGADHA
4
5. Chandragupta’s reign (321 BCE)
Extends empire from Hindu Kush to
Bay of Bengal but…
Can’t Conquer All of India
Interesting Fact
Machiavelli (an Italian)
wrote The Prince
Kautiliya
Wrote the Arthasastra or The Science
of Government . . . 10 centuries
before…
5
6. Asoka’s Reign (269-232 BCE)
Succeeded Chandragupta
“Ashoka’s edicts” were carved in
rock
Emphasized:
– Equality: there was flexibility in
the caste system
– Peace: non-violence to all living
creatures
Asoka (Ashoka)
the Great
6
7. Asoka’s accomplishments
Spread Buddhist philosophy
Built stupas
Public works…
Hospitals, Veterinary clinics,
Bathhouses,
wells, rest-houses for travelers
7
9. Gupta Empire 4th - 6th CE (320- 535)
Founded by Chandra Gupta I (no relation to the earlier one)
Great period of prosperity
(the “Golden Age of the Guptas”)
Accomplishments:
Art, literature, trade, poetry, math (Indian mathematicians
contributions to study of decimal number system, zero, negative
numbers, arithmetic, and algebra.)
9
12. H i n d u /C a s t e
C o nc e p ts
A tma n
E s s e n t i a l s e l f
( t h e “ s o u l” )
S e l f i s p a r t o f a
u n iv e r s a l
s oul (B ra hma n)
12
13. Hindu/Caste Concepts
R e in c a r n a t io n
R e b i r t h o f the s o u l
in v a r io u s
( te m p o r a r y) fo r m s
C o n t i n u e s u n t i l o n e
re a c he s moks ha
13
14. M a y a …B l o c k s k n o w l e d g e
o f B ra hma n & p re ve nts o ne
f r o m r e a c h in g m o k s h a
Are you “Living In a Material World” ???
14
15. A Hindu dies and it is the. . .
G o a l o f lif e t o
F r e e t h e s o u l ( a t m a n ) f r o m
b o d y t o u n it e w it h B r a h m a n
Release from the physical world &
unification w/ B r a h m a n
is . . .
*M o k s h a
15
16. K a rma
…s a ys e v e r y d e e d
( m e n t a l o r p h y s ic a l)
in t h is lif e a f f e c t s a
p e r s o n ’ s f a t e in a
f u t u r e lif e ( Yo u R e a p
W h a t Yo u S o w . )
…i s t h e s u m o r t o t a l
( o f d ha r m a s ) fr o m
y o u r p a s t liv e s .
16
17. P e r i o d 2 4 /2 0
D ha rma
D u t ie s & o b lig a t io n s
O b e d ie n c e t o
c a s t e r u le s &
m o r a l la w s
( C a s t e R u le s
C r it e r ia )
– R it u a lly P u r e
P r a c t ic e s
17
18. H in d u
C o nc e p ts
C a s te S ys te m
P a n c h a y a t – F o u n d i n
t r a d it io n a l v illa g e In d ia
S t r i c t s o c i a l /r e l i g i o u s
orde r
B o r n i n t o & r e m a i n e d f o r
lif e
R e s u l t o f ‘ k a r m a ’
B r a h m i n s = c l o s e s t t o
moks ha 18
19. H in d u
C o nc e p ts
C a s te S ys te m
B r a h m i n s = Priests, scholars
( c lo s e s t t o m o k s h a )
•Ks h a t r i y a s = Warriors, Rulers
• V a is y a s = Merchants, Craftsmen
•S u d r a s = Laborers, Serfs
19
20. H in d u
C o nc e p ts
D a l i t s = O utc a s te s ,
U n t o u c h a b le s
Peasants, Laborers doing the dirtiest
work and jobs in society
This Work is considered “ritually impure”
20
Hinweis der Redaktion
Emperor Asoka (273-236 B.C.) built stupas in Buddha's honour at many places in India. Stupas at Sanchi are the most magnificent structures of ancient India. UNESCO has included them as one of the heritage sites of the world. Stupas are large hemispherical domes, containing a central chamber, in which the relics of the Buddha were placed. Sanchi stupas trace the development of the Buddhist architecture and sculpture at the same location beginning from the 3rd century B.C. to the 12th century A.D. Asoka when he was a governor married Devi, the daughter of a respected citizen of Vidisha, a town 10 km from the Sanchi hill. Prince Mahendra visited Sanchi with his mother before leaving for the island of Lanka for taking Buddhism there. Emperor Asoka had put up at Sanchi a pillar edict and a stupa containing relics of the Buddha. Addition of new stupas and expressions in stone of legends around the life of the Buddha and the monastic activities at the Sanchi hill continued under several dynasties for over fifteen hundred years. Also, the Brahmi script could be deciphered from the similarities in inscriptions carved at different places in the main stupa. Sanchi stupas are noteworthy for their gateways as they contain ornamented depiction of incidents from the life of the Buddha and his previous incarnations as Bodhisattvas described in Jataka tales. Sculptors belonging to different times tried to depict the same story by repeating figures. The Buddha has been shown symbolically in the form of tree or through other inanimate figures. One of the sects of Buddhism opposed depiction of the Buddha by a human figure.
