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Hindu India: 300 to 1100 Ce CHAPTER 2 Hindu India: 300 to 1100 ce During these eight centuries, empires, religion, commerce, science, technology, literature and art flourished in India. ATI O In ways vitally important C N U A D L to Hindus to this day, the E I N S S T Hindu faith was advanced I G H victoria and albert museum by temple building, the Bhakti Movement, holy texts and great philosophers, saints and sages. This is an 8th century South Indian bronze of Supreme God Siva as Nataraja. This divine dance depicts His five cosmic powers of creation, preservation, dissolution, veiling grace and revealing grace. Note to Students, Parents and Teachers This Educational Insight is the second chapter in our series staff of HINDUISM TODAY in collaboration with Dr. Shiva Baj­ on Hindu history intended for use in US primary schools. pai, Professor Emeritus of History, California State University, During this period, India was the richest region of the Northridge. Academic reviewers: Dr. Klaus Klostermaier, world and one of the most populous. Great agricultural Professor of Religious Studies, University of Manitoba; Dr. abundance, plus plentiful natural resources, were key to Jeffrey D. Long, Chair, Department of Religious Studies, Eliz­ the region’s prosperity. India lay in the center of the world’s abethtown College; Dr. Vasudha Narayanan, Distinguished ancient trade routes. Merchants sent spices, cotton, sugar Professor, Department of Religion, University of Florida; Dr. and exotic items east to China and west to Europe. Hindu Anantanand Rambachan, Professor of Religion, St. Olaf Col­ religion and culture and the Sanskrit language linked all of lege; Dr. T.S. Rukmani, Professor and Chair in Hindu Studies, India. Great scientific discoveries as well as major religious Concordia University. Research Assistant: Justin Stein, MA movements came out of this advanced and stable society. candidate at the University of Hawaii and former middle This lesson was written and designed by the editorial school teacher in New York. october/november/december, 2008 hinduism today I-1 S ect ION1 Of Kings and Prosperity What You Will Learn... If YOU lived then... Main Ideas You live in a village in a small kingdom in central India. One day you 1. Ancient Indians regarded the hear that the king of a neighboring realm has attacked your king and subcontinent as one country. conquered the royal city. The conquerer demands that your king pay 2. From 300 to 1100 ce, India was a land of prosperity a portion of his income. In return, he will allow your king to continue whose economic, religious to rule, and also protect the kingdom from others. and cultural influence extended across Asia. Should your king accept the offer? 3. Empires and kingdoms domi- nated most of India. Toward the end of this period, more BUILDING Bac KG R OUND The 4th-century Vishnu Purana describes regional powers emerged. India: “The country that lies north of the ocean and south of the snowy mountains is called Bharata, for there dwelt the descendants ➸ of Bharata. It is the land of works, in consequence of which people go to heaven, and ultimately attain oneness with God.” The Big Idea Hindu culture, Sanskrit lan- guage and imperial tradition unified India during this age. Understanding India The triangle-shaped Indian subcontinent is naturally bounded by ocean on two sides and the high Himalayan mountains on the third. HINDUISM TOD A Y ’S Teaching Standards Hindu tradition, scriptures and the Sanskrit language link people from one end to the other of this immense and fertile area. Our This column in each of the period, 300 to 1100 ce, was a golden age in India. There was wide- three sections presents our spread prosperity and remarkable social stability. Advances were subject outline for India and Hinduism from 300 to 1100 ce. made in science, medicine and technology. Many Hindu saints lived 1. Describe the physical and during this time and magnificent temples were built. Hinduism as linguistic geography of India, practiced today evolved over this glorious period of Indian history. along with population figures. 2. Describe the major empires Geographical regions and kingdoms, including the There are three major geographical regions in India. The first region Guptas, Vakatakas, Chalukyas, Pallavas, Rashtrakutas, is the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This vast, fertile region stretches north- Pratiharas, Palas and Cholas. east and southwest along the base of the Himalayas. During our pe- 3. Discuss the importance of riod, this area was heavily forested. The second region is the Deccan Sanskrit and the Dharma Plateau, bounded by the Vindhya mountain range in the north and Shastras in uniting India. the Nilgiri Hills in the south. It contains several major rivers and is 4. Describe India’s early Arab rich in minerals. The third region is South India, the area south of trade settlements and the the Nilgiri Hills extending to Kanyakumari at the tip of India. It has later Islamic invasions. rich agricultural farm lands. I-2 hinduism today october/november/december, 2008 • Takshashila • Kashmir Ghazni Region Sakala • Afghanistan INDI A : GE OG raph Y Multan • Himalayas YAMUNA RIVEr SINDHU RIVEr Nepal Indo-Gangetic GANPlain Mathura • G Kannauj • A RIVE Sindh Region R BRAHMAPUTRA RIVER • Pataliputra Kashi • • • Vikramashila Deval • Nalanda Ujjain • Vanga Region VINDHYA RANGE Bharuch R Tamralipti • Valabhi • • NARMADA RIVE Somnath • Ellora • Deccan Puri Plateau GODAVARI RIVEr • Arabian Sea Manyakheta • • Amaravati Badami • KRISHNA RIVER Bay of Bengal South This satellite photo shows India Kanchipuram India’s three major regions, its • principal rivers and the major NILGIRI HILLS • Puhar cities of the period 300 to 1100. KAVERI RIVE• r Thanjavur India lay at the center of the Madurai • bustling sea and land trade routes to Europe, Arabia, Persia, Kanyakumari • China and Southeast Asia Sri Lanka Language areas Empires and regional kingdoms India is divided linguistically into two major In 300 ce, an estimated 42 million peo- regions. In the north are mainly Sanskrit- ple lived in India, 23% of the world’s Sanskrit based languages, such as Hindi. In the population of 180 million. Approxi- south are the Dravidian languages, such mately 60% of the Indian people lived as Tamil, which include many Sanskrit in the Indo-Gangetic Plain. There were Dravidian words. This division cuts across the middle many towns and cities, but more than of the Deccan Plateau. Often today when 90% of the population lived in villages. Linguistic Regions people speak of South India, they mean the As our period began, the Indo-Gangetic Dravidian-speaking areas. These are the Plain again became the most important modern-day states of Andhra Pradesh, Kar- region of India, as it had been in the past. nataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. During our From 300 to 550, the Imperial Guptas period, regional dialects developed within established an extensive empire from the Aca D E MI C both the Sanskrit and Dravidian areas. Himalayas deep into the south of India. VO cab UL ar Y Sanskrit was the language of religion, law Samudra Gupta (335-370) was the most autonomy and government throughout India. Trav- heroic conqueror. The reign of his son, self­rule, elers could use Sanskrit to communicate Chandra Gupta II Vikramaditya (375-414), independence wherever they went on the subcontinent. was the most brilliant in the entire Hindu october/november/december, 2008 hinduism today I-3 history. The Gupta kings granted local and the major empires of the South. and regional autonomy. The frontier states In the 8th century, the Rashtrakutas Pataliputra were nearly independent. The empire was took control of the entire Deccan, parts responsible for security, major roads, irriga- of West Central India and much of the tion projects and common welfare. South. Between the 8th and 10th centu- The Guptas created both political and ries, they competed with the Pratiharas cultural pan-India unity. India made original and Palas for pan-India dominance. The Gupta Empire: literary, religious, artistic and scientific con- Pratiharas at their peak ruled much of 300-550, with its capital at Patali- tributions that benefitted the entire known northern India. They were the first to putra (present-day Patna) world. Chinese Buddhist monk Fa-hsien effectively stop Arab Muslim invasions (Faxian) reported in the early 5th century, into western India, holding them in check Aca D E MI C “In the cities and towns of this country, the until the 10th century. The Palas, a Bud- VO cab UL ar Y people are rich and prosperous.” Hindu- dhist dynasty centered in eastern India, pan-India ism thrived under the Guptas, taking forms reached their zenith in the early ninth cen- relating to the which endure until today. Gupta culture and tury. Then the Pratiharas displaced them whole of India economy influenced much of Eurasia, nota- from much of the Gangetic Plain. sack bly China and Southeast Asia. There were several large Hindu king- to seize all valuables and The Gupta Empire declined in the late doms in the Deccan and South India in destroy buildings 5th century because of internal strife and our period. They included the Vakatakas, empire invasions by fierce Central Asian Hunas Chalukyas, Pallavas and Pandyas. Rajendra a group of who ruled areas west of the Indus. The Chola I, who ruled from 1014-1044, unified kingdoms under Hunas were driven back in the mid-6th the entire South. The Cholas had a large one authority century by emerging Hindu rulers. army and navy. In an effort to protect their imperial During his 17-year journey through India, trade routes, they subdued kingdoms as of, or relating to, 7th century Chinese monk-scholar Hsuan- far away as Malaysia and Indonesia. Their an empire tsang (Xuanzang) wrote that there were expeditions are unique in Indian history.
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