The Impact of Aryan Invaders Around 1500 S.C., Aryans from Central Asia Invaded and Conquered the Indus Valley
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organized government was needed to plan and lay out the cities. The government was probably headedby a tr<ingor priest-king. Look back at the No one has been able to decipher the written tableon page39 of language of the Indus Valley people. All we Chapter5. Draw a know about life in these cities comes from fourth column in your archaeological records. notebook.Label the new column"Indus The people of the Indus Valley were ValleyPeople" and po\,-theistic -meaning they worshiped many add informationfrom gods. A major deiry was a god of creation. this lesson.Work with They also worshiped animals. a partner to complete this column. The Impact of Aryan Invaders Around 1500 s.c., Aryans from Central Asia invaded and conquered the Indus Valley. They were nomadic warriors. Over time they moved eastward into the plain around the Ganges River and then south into the Deccan Plateau. Most of what is known about the Aryans comes from the Vedas.The Vedasare a collection of books containing prayers, songs, and other writings of the Agrans. The Aryans brought with them their own language, religious beliefs, and social system. They spoke an Indo-European language known as Sanskrit. English, German, Persian, Spanish, and French are some of the languages that are based on the Indo- European language. Like other ancient people, the Aryans were po\rtheistic. Their chief deigr was Indra, the god of war. Other deities represented the natural world such as the sky, air, and water. Priests called brahmans offered sacrifices to the deities. Over time, the people began to worship a single force <- 2000-1500B.c. or power in the world known as Brahman. I500-l000 e.c. + 1000-500B.c. The Aq,'ans developed a social system that has had a lasting impact on Indian culture. -?41 crrapter+ They divided the population into four major categories, or castes. These four t% 8c.-a.o. casteswere further divided into soo thousands of subcastes.The castes determined a person's occupation and social class. Those not included in the caste system were called Untouchables. Over time, A5ran culture and its caste system etpanded across much of the Indian subcontinent. Aryan kingdoms grew up in several areas, especially on the vast plain around the Ganges River. These became important centers of farming and trade. prrests oversaw religious ceremonies . highest caste and smallest in number . commoners, or ordinary people . mostV farmers or merchants earned a living by doing farm work and other manual labor outside the caste system did jobs no one else *ould do, about 5 percent ofthe people such as garbage collecting lived separate from others Putting It All Together Imagineyou are a memberof the Sudracaste or an Untouchable. The only reasonyou are not a memberof a higher casteis that you are not an Aryan.The Aryans conquered your people. How would you feel (a) aboutyour life and (b) aboutthe Aryans? Discussthe questionswith a partner.Write a bulletedlist of notes as you taik" Use your notes to write a paragraphthat answers the questions. The Indian Subcontinent145 LF.SSON2 The B*ginning IndianF of Hinduism Thinking on Your Own captions'and skim the lesson by reading the subheadings, you have about this vocabulary words' Write five questionsthat partner' As you read' answer lesson.Share your questionswith a ali of the questions. H;lxi:;::':"u' religions that began on the { How did Hinduism develop? Indian subcontinent' The What are the basic beliefs other religion is Buddhism' of Hinduism? Hinduism develoPed from a blending of ASran religious beliefs with those of other Hinduism karma people who lived on the atman dharma subcontinent. Unlike reincarnation mobilitY Judaism or Buddhism, no one person founded Hinduism. The teachings, developed over hymns, t,td of Hinduism prayers, """*onies in four long Vedasand centuries. In time, they were collected' three other works. The Ganges River ls sacred to people of the Hindu faith. 46| crrapter+ Basic Beliefs of Hinduism Hinduism is a very complex religion with many deities and different rituals and ,% &c-a.o. practices. However, Hindus share soo certain beliefs. 'l Brahmanis the supreme I and eternal spirit, or fbrce, of the universe. Becausethis is a difficult idea to understand, Hinduism has a large number of lesserdeities. People find it easierto worship deities that are shown as humans or animals. Hindus believe that these deities are all forms of Brahman. goal of every soul is to 2The become part of Brahman. The Hindu word for soul is atman. The eoal of everv atman is to unite with Brahman after death. Before it can achieve this, the soul must free itself from earthly desire, such as wanting to be wealthy or popular. It may take many lives to complete this journey. This cycle of birth and death is called reincarnation. ? Karma determinesa soul's next'life. Karma is the sum of a person's actions in life. These actions determine whether a soul is reborn into a higher or lower life or whether it has to be reborn at all. The answer depends on how close the soul comes to freeing itself from earthly desire. For example, a commoner who has worked hard at being good could be born into the warrior caste. The Indian Subcontinefi W- o to I z.fB .TA-Karmais determined by following dharma' Dharma refers both to divine law and to a person's and obedience toward d.ivine law. Dharma sets up certain m.rral on one's religious duties for every Person' These duties depend caste,job, gender, and age. A person is supposed to behave according to his or her dharma. How well a Person The Hindu TrinitY performs these duties helPs in his or her journey toward and Shiva make up the Hindu Brahma, \4shnu, union with Brahman. If a timurti. These are not separate gods' trinity, or person behaves according to of the same god' but three faces onet dharma, then he or she Brahma: the creatoc who breathes out the will move toward union with universe to make it come into existence' Brahman. Disobey one's dharma and move backward Vishnu: the preserver or caretaker of the on the cycle of reincarnation. universe, who must balance eveS"thing that exists, and whose constant action-karma- Hinduism has social as keeps ever;rthing running. well as religious importance. Hinduism links Shiva: the destroyer:god of opposites-light union with Brahman to and darkness, good and evil, creation and r .... 'lt behavior on Earth. For destruction, rest and achvrty' mlld a.nd centuries, this link terrible, male and female. encouraged peoPle to staY within their castes, behave better, and work hard. Social mobility is the ability to move from social classto social class and better one's life. Hinduism made this difficult, if not impossible' It supported keeping things the way they were. The ruling caste and the wealthy did not have to worry about being pushed out by people working their way up. The promise of reincarnation gave hope to the poor. Their lives could be better the next time' Putting It All Together ThelastparagraphSaysthatHinduism..Supportedkeeping things the way they were."what two basic belieJsof Hinduism weremostimportantinsupportingtheCastesystem?Talkthis question over with a partner.Write your answerin a $entence in yaur notebook. --T8l chapter 4 LESSON The B*Sinning of Buddhism Thinking on Your Own Lookthrough the lessonfor vocabuiarywords in bold type.ln your notebook,write the words you do not know Readthe definitionsin the text and in the GlossaryWrite a sentencefor each word. Be sure you use the word in contextand spell it correctly. nlike Hinduism, Buddhism was founded by a person. It began in the What was Siddhartha 500s B.c. by Siddhartha searching for? Gautama. Much of what we What are the four basic know about him comes from principles of Buddhism? tradition, or stories passed Why is Asoka one of India's greatest rulers? from one generation to the Why is the Gupta period in next. According to tradition, Indian history important? Siddhartha was born around 563 s.c. His father was the rajah, or ruler, of a small Buddhism nirvana kingdom in what is today tradition dynasty Nepal. rajah missionaries Siddhartha lived the life of meditation a prince until he was about twen{y-nine years old. One day while out riding, he came upon a sick person, then an old person, and finally a dead body. He wanted to know why people like this suffered and died. Siddharta gave up his life as a prince to search for the answer to his question. The Indian Subcontinent F9- s He sPent slx Years wandering India' At journey he took up meditation' some point in his thinking about spiritual Meditation is intense sitting under a tree and things. One day while to.his question' meditating, he was enlightened In time' his followers He learned the answer' the "Enlightened called him Buddha' meaning One." Buddha takes many forms around the worid. Tl3th: The Four Nobte having the suffering' A must know 1 Life is filled with (1) right belief: Person I Truths' pain, and sorrow' the Four Noble must (2) right intention: A Person ') is caused bY our Suffering to living bY the Four desrres' "o-^it Noble Truths' must waY to end suffering (3) right sPeech:A Person ?, The onlY ' ' e' the truth and must is to conquer desire' ttlt.Y. sPeak language' not gossiP or use bad desire is The waY to conquer A person must.not =4 (4) right behavior: the l\tddle Path' that is ,o follow t itt, steal, or do anY'thing not moral and right' not must quit a job that is occupation: A person (5) right the find one that will help good for him ot h"'^tttd according to Buddhism' !"..o.t live L1- + ;{ 50| ChaPter i1'-- (6) right effort: A person must develop good attitudes and behaviors and keep bad ones from developing' (Z) right mindfulness: A person must be constantly aware of the sensesin order to control the body.