Indian Civilizations

Paleolithic and Neolithic Cultures

Diverse Paleolithic Cultures on Indian subcontinent

Neolithic pottery and hunting tools from c. 5500 bc. in present-day Pakistan

Although a bit later than Near East, cultures, Indian cultures are generally considered of independent origin on most, if not all of Indian subcontinent.

Indus Valley Civilizationc. 2500-1750 bc

Fertile floodplains of Indus River

2 major cities: Harappa and Mohenjo Dara

More are currently being found by archaeologists

Civilization flourished for about 500 years

Indus Valley Civilization

Vast territory – up to 5 million peopleunited in homogeneous culture suggests strong

centralized government, integrated economy and good internal communications

City Layout in Harappa and Mohenjo-daro

N-S, E-W grid of avenues

walled citadel on western edge of city

cemeteries on periphery

private houses built around central courtyard

strong evidence of urban planning

Egalitarianism: all houses had access to water and drainage – a vast middle-class society

Building Construction of Burnt Brick

Harappa

large granary for food storage

Mohenjo-daro

Elaborate plumbing facilities unequalled until Roman times

Private baths Household wells

Standard Weights and Measures

Writing

Indus inscriptions are found only on small objects, mostly stone seals and on pottery.

About 3700 inscriptions are presently known.

The inscriptions are all extremely brief, averaging not more than about five signs in a text. Longer inscriptions might have been written on palm leaves or cloth which have perished.

Sanskrit or Dravidian language?

Seals

Unicorn Sealmost common motif on Indus seals

Bison

Seals

Bull

Material Culture Fine bronze and stone statues Copper and bronze tools and

vessels Black-on-red painted pottery Silver and gold vessels and jewelry Dyed woven fabric Flat stamp stone seals

Statue of Priest-King

Stone and Terra-cotta Sculptures

Gold and Agate Ornaments

Painted Burial Pottery

Cooking Pots and Vessels

Terra-cotta

Copper/bronze

Toys

Ox-carts

Whistles

Economy Thriving agriculture: wheat, barley,

peas, lentils, sesame, cotton Cattle, dogs, sheep, fowl, water

buffalo Cotton weaving, metalworking,

wheel-driven pottery Trade contacts in Mesopotamia,

central Asia, possibly Arabia and prehistoric Greek cultures

Religion Elaborate bathing facilities

suggest ritual bathing and purification rites

Recurrent images: Pipal tree Swastika Humped bull -- animal

worship? Tiger, snake, unicorn “Lord of All Creatures” --

merges with Shiva Mother Goddess: pregnant

& madonna female figures

Elaborate Public Baths

Libation Vessels

Three-headed Totemic Animal

Bull

UnicornAntelope

Male Deity: Shivafigure

Gods and Goddesses

Miniature mask from Mohenjo-daro of bearded

horned deity

Religious Ritual

End of Indus Civilization

Began to decline during early 2nd millenium bce

Possible causes: abnormal flooding of

Indus River ecological destruction --

baked bricks of construction led to deforestation

no firm evidence that invading Aryans destroyed civilization

Dravidan Hero Stone

Aryan Invasions

c.2000 bce-1500 bcemyth or

misconception?

19th c. European scholars claimed a migration by a light-skinned group they called ARYAS came from the steppelands between Eastern Europe and Central Asia into Europe, Greece, Anatolia, the Iranian plateau and India in the 2nd and 1st millennia bc.

Warlike peoples with horse-drawn chariots conquered the darker-skinned Dravidians of central India

“Aryan” -- 19th c. term used to describe language

group now called Indo-European.

Counter-evidence

Sanskrit word Aryan refers to one who is righteous and noble – it has nothing to do with race.

Horses had been domesticated and used for battle by the Harappans.

No evidence of a significant influx of migrants into India during 4500-800 bce.

Rig Vedas describe Aryans as urban dwellers with hundreds of cities, numerous professions and seafaring capabilities.

Discovery of the Sarasvati River

River Sarasvati is mentioned in the Rig Veda 60 times (Ganges only mentioned once)Now a dry river, the Sarasvati once flowed from the Himalayas to the ocean across the desert of Rajasthan

Sindhu-Sarasvati

Civilization:Vedic

Civilization

Over 2500 settlements have been found.

More than 75% of these sites are on the banks of the dried up river Sarasvati.

The catastrophic drying up of the river led to a massive exodus of people ca. 2000-1900 bce.

Some went to Middle-eastern countries such as Iran and Mesopotamia.

Dynasties and rulers with Indian names appear and disappear all over west Asia confirming the migration of people from East to West.

Vedic Texts

Texts date from 1700 bc - 500 bc

Veda means “Knowledge” -- the eternal wisdom realized by ancient seers and preserved over thousands of years by professional reciters in unbroken oral transmission

4 main texts: Rig Veda -- 1028 hymns --

c.1700 bce-1000 bce Upanishads -- philosophical

poems -- c.700 bce Valmiki’s Ramayana -- epic

-- 6th c. bc The Mahabharata -- epic --

400 bc-400 ce Rama and Sita

VedicSociety

Patrilineal descent and inheritance

Patriarchal family -- monogamous, widows could remarry

Language: Vedic Sanskrit > Sanskrit

Kinship groups -- tribes ruled by rajas/ kings (cf. Latin rex), warrior leader

Brahman -- chief priest. Powers of priestly class increased with those of king

Two classes -- noble and common --evolved into four castes

Vedic Caste SystemFour classes:

Brahmans – priests/scholars

Kshatriyas -- warriors/nobles

Vaishyas --traders Shudras -- servants Caste is divinely ordained;

one cannot migrate from one caste to another based on talent or accomplishment.

Vedic Material Culture Gray painted pottery Wood and thatch, mud-

walled houses Measured wealth in cattle Gold ornamentation Wool Alcoholic drink and soma Highly developed music --

singing and dancingGambling -- especially dice

games Writing -- c. 700 bc-500 bc

-- scorned for sacred texts

Rama and his allies begin the attack on Lanka, by Sahib Din. From a manuscript of the

Ramayana, Udaipur, 1652

Vedic Deities Indra -- god of war and

storms: atmospheric Varuna -- guarded

cosmic order: oceanic Agni -- god of fire --

sacrifices, hearth, home: terrestial

Vishnu or Surya -- god of the sun: celestial

Soma or Chandra -- god of hallucinogenic soma plant

Ushas -- goddess of dawn -- one of few female divinities

Evolution of Hinduism:Indus Influences

Mother goddess Bull figure: Nandi – still the symbol

of Congress Party Shiva cult:

seals with Shiva figure lingam stones -- emblem of Shiva Shiva cult may be world’s oldest

surviving cult

Evolution of Hinduism:Vedic Influences

Vishnu – preserver god Sanskrit as language of religious learning Vedic hymns -- nucleus for more abstract

religious thought Notions of Hell (House of Clay) and

Heaven (World of the Fathers) Karma: action determines destiny Upanishads: through philosophical

interpretation -- inner meaning of traditional truths, ascetic teachings

Mahabharata battle

HinduismSanatana Dharma

“The Everlasting Way”

OMthat which hath no beginning or end

Hinduism:all-embracing structure of thought

All creation linked in huge web of being

Transmigration of souls through various life forms

Proper behavior linked to purgation and renewal

Dharma: the duty of the believer

Monotheism God is Infinite. Although one cannot divide or subtract from the Infinite,

the Infinite can be represented in different ways. The Infinite also manifests in billions of ways. Hinduism believes not only in One God, but also in His

Supreme Personality. This personality is manifested in different forms around us and within us perpetually. Therefore, the Infinite manifests in billions of ways to help mankind visualize the Divine Being. This belief of Hinduism is often confused with polytheism.

That the Supreme can be worshipped in any form is a unique concept in Hinduism.

Hinduism worships multiple forms of the one God.

Hindu Concep

t of Time

The transcendence of time is the aim of every Indian spiritual tradition.

Time is often presented as an eternal wheel that binds the soul to a mortal existence of ignorance and suffering.

"Release" from time's fateful wheel is termed moksha.

Hindus believe that the universe is without a beginning (anadi= beginning-less) or an end (ananta = end-less). 

The universe is projected in cycles. Each cycle is divided into four yugas

(ages of the world). Time is conceived as a wheel turning

through vast cycles of creation and destruction.

Shiva dancing

Major Hindu Manifestation

s BRAHMAN: divine

source of all being Brahma/Sarasvati, the

creator Vishnu/Lakshmi, the

preserver: benevolence, forgiveness, love

Shiva/Kali, the destroyer: disease, death, the dance

Ganesha, god of wisdom, writing, elephant-headed

BrahmaThe Creator His 4 heads represent

the four Yugas or cycles of time.

One of the earliest iconographic descriptions of Brahma is that of the four-faced god seated on a lotus.

The Lord has in his four hands a water-pot (kamandalu), a manuscript (Vedas), a sacrificial implement (sruva) and a rosary (mala).

Sarasvati She presides over and protects wisdom and the arts, and sheinvented writing.

Her four hands represent four aspects of human personality in learning:

MindIntellectAlertnessEgo

Vishnuthe

Preserver

Protector of dharma (righteousness) and the guardian of humanity. His particular task is the conservation or preservation of the Divine Order in the world.

Vishnu has 10 avatars or incarnations. He assumes these and

comes down to earth in order to help humanity. He carries his

symbols of: a white conch shell with which he is victor over the demonsa rotating disc, a weapon to oppose every enemy of the Divine ordera golden mace, symbol of his royal power in the realm of gods and men. a lotus flower, symbol of purity and original creation.

Lakshmi

The goddess of beauty, of good luck and wealth. She is

generally depicted seated or

standing on a lotus flower.

Lakshmi sprang from the primeval ocean.

Lakshmi always accompanies Vishnu in his incarnations on

earth.

Shiva the

Destroyer

Lord of the Dance

He performs the dance of destruction

so that the world can be recreated.

Shiva is the acknowledgment that

everything that comes to birth comes ultimately to

death and from death comes new life.

He is cruel and yet tender, wrathful and merciful,

unpredictable and yet ever the same.

Parvathi-UmaParvathi is the very expression of femininity, the woman par excellence, daughter of the Himalayas. She is beautiful, sweet, tender, and is always portrayed as Shiva's erotic partner.

The Great Goddess: Devi Parvathi and Uma are the benign aspects

of the goddess; the destroyer goddesses Kali and Durga are in turn all aspects of the Devi, or the Great Goddess.

Kali is the negative aspect of the Goddess and symbolizes death. In this form she is sometimes considered the presiding deity of famine and disease. This is the negative aspect and symbolizes death. In this form she is sometimes considered the presiding deity of famine and disease.

Kali

Durga

Ganesha God of knowledge and

the remover of obstacles He has four hands,

elephant's head and a big belly.

His vehicle is a tiny mouse.

The combination of his elephant-like head and a quick moving tiny mouse vehicle represents tremendous wisdom, intelligence, and presence of mind.

GaneshaIn his hands he carries

a rope -- to carry devotees to the truth

an axe -- to cut devotees' attachments

a sweet dessert ball –laddoo -- to reward devotees for spiritual activity

His fourth hand's palm is always extended to bless people.

Rama and Sita

Rama is the 7th avatar of Vishnu.

Lord Rama, the hero of the Ramayana, is one of the most adored gods.

He always holds a bow and arrow indicating his readiness to destroy evils.

More commonly he is pictured in a family style with his wife Sita, his brother Lakshmana and his devotee Hanumana sitting near Lord Rama's feet.

Ramayana5th-4th c. bce

First poem in Sanskrit outside a religious context

Attributed to Valmiki

Society of small villages and republics

Purpose is to preserve the divine order through the practice of dharma

Battle of Lakmana from the Ramayana

Krishna

Krishna is the 8th avatar of Vishnu. The mythology around Krishna is the most colorful and the

richest in lyricism, adventure and in love in all its forms, from the sensuous to the worship of the divine.

Krishna is central to the Mahabharata, the Sanskrit epic that is eight times longer than the Iliad and the Odyssey put together.

Krishna, the most accessible of the major Hindu deities, is a loyal ally of humans and always helps his friends. His worship is popular all over India and there are many sacred shines to him.

Bhakti is the emotional attachment and love of a devotee for his or her personal god. This is common in the worship of Krishna.        

Krishna

Mahābhāratac. 4th c. bce- 4th c. ce Epic narrative of

the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kauravas and the Pandava princes

Attributed to Vyasa Reflects events of

9th-8th c. bce Society of powerful

monarchs and kingdoms Explores polygamy Complex views on

interaction of karma and dharma

Draupadi after the Game of Dice

The Bhagavad-Gitain The Mahabharata

Krishna and Arjuna

Challenges to Hinduism

The strongest criticism and rejection of Hindu theology of Brahman and atman came from two near contemporaries of Valmiki:

Mahavira, the last of Janism’s founders Siddhartha-Guatama Buddha, who

launched Buddhism.

Siddhartha Gautama Sakya: Buddha ca. 563-483 bce

Prophesied to be king or world redeemer at birth

A prince who gave up his wealth to find escape from human suffering

Studied with Hindu masters Became an ascetic Meditated under Bo tree for

49 days and nights until he experienced enlightenment

Became a wandering preacher and teacher dedicated to help others achieve Nirvana

Buddhism A religion without a

god Each individual must

find his/her own way to enlightenment

Four Noble Truths: Life consists of suffering,

impermanence, imperfection, incompleteness

The cause of suffering is selfishness

Suffering and selfishness can be brought to an end

The answer to the problem of suffering is the Eight-fold Path

Mahavira (540 BC - 467

BC)

Vardhamana Mahavira was born in a village near Vaishali in north Bihar.

His father was a ruler of that area and his mother a princess.

At the age of thirty. he left home and started practicing penances in search of knowledge.

After twelve years, he attained the state called Nirvana (enlightenment).

Jainism Jainism does not recognize caste, deities or sacrifices

and is pledged to the non-taking of life. All Jains are strict vegetarians. Jainism stresses that there was no need for any Vedic

ceremonies and invoking the gods for help. Deeds should be based on the three jewels (Ratnas) -

Right faith, Right knowledge, and Right action. The five vows of Jainism are:

non-violence truthfulness non-stealing non- possession chastity

Invasion of Alexander the Great327-325 bce

Spring of 327 bce, Alexander and his army marched into India His goal was to reach the Ocean on the southern edge of the world Alexander sought out, the Brahmins, and debated them on

philosophical issues.

Maurya Empire332-185 bce

Response to power-vacuum created by Alexander the Great’s conquest of northern India c. 326 bce

First emperor Chandragupta Maurya (r.324-301 bce) – defeated the satraps left by Alexander and encouraged the spread of Jainism

One of the world’s largest empires in its time and the largest ever on the Indian peninsula.

Maurya Dynasty 332-185 bce Central administration Diplomatic and trade links

with Greece, Rome, Egypt, Syria and Central Asia

Emperor Aśoka (269–232 B.C.E.) –the king turns the “wheel of dharma”

Standardized Brahmin script used in rock inscriptions

Multilingual pluralism Buddhism and ahimsa

(non-violence) as state policy

Asoka Maurya273-232

Renounced violence after the devastating battle for Kalinga in which over 100,000 were killed

Built thousands of stupas and viharas (monasteries)

Sponsored 3rd Buddhist Council in 250 bce

Sent forth of monks, well versed in the Buddhist teachings, to teach in nine different countries

A collection of 33 inscriptions on the Pillars of Ashoka, as well as boulders and cave

The edicts describe the first wide expansion of Buddhism.

Buddhist proselytism during this period reached as far as the Mediterranean

The inscriptions revolve around a few themes: Asoka's conversion to Buddhism, his efforts to spread Buddhism, his moral and religious precepts, and his social and animal welfare program.

Pillar of Asoka at Vaishali, Bihar, India