Indus River Vally Civilization
Terms
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- Aurangzeb
- Mughal emperor in India and great-grandson of Akbar 'the Great', under whom the empire reached its greatest extent, only to collapse after his death
- Nirvana
- the ineffable ultimate in which one has attained disinterested wisdom and compassion
- Brahman
- a member of the highest of the four major castes of traditional Indian society, responsible for officiating at religious rites and studying and teaching the Vedas
- Buddism
- teaching of Buddha that life is permeated with suffering caused by desire, that suffering ceases when desire ceases, and that enlightenment obtained through right conduct, wisdom, and meditation releases one from desire, suffering, and rebirth
- Gupta Empire
- one of the largest political and military empires in ancient India
- Vardhamana Mahavira
- an Indian ascetic philosopher and the principal founder of Jainism - one of the major religions of the Indian subcontinent
- Four Noble Truth
- (1) existence is suffering; (2) desire, or thirst, is its cause; (3) the cessation of suffering is possible; and (4) the way to accomplish this is to follow the Eightfold Path
- Mahabharata
- numerous subplots, and interpolations on theology, morals, and statecraft
- Mauryan Empire
- a state centred at Pataliputra (later Patna) near the junction of the Son and Ganges (Ganga) rivers
- Hinduism
- a diverse body of religion, philosophy, and cultural practice native to and predominant in India, characterized by a belief in reincarnation and a supreme being of many forms and natures, by the view that opposing theories are aspects of one eternal truth, and by a desire for liberation from earthly evils
- Jainism
- an ascetic religion of India, founded in the sixth century B.C., that teaches the immortality and transmigration of the soul and denies the existence of a perfect or supreme being
- Literature
- the body of written works of a language, period, or culture
- Mohenjo-Daro
- a city located in the south of Modern Pakistan in the Sind Province, on the right bank of the Indus River
- Aryan Migration
- a large group of speakers of Indo-European languages who migrated across Europe and Asia
- Akbar
- Greatest of the Mughal emperors (see Mughal dynasty) of India (r. 1556 - 1605)
- Bhagavad-Gita
- a sacred Hindu text that is incorporated into the Mahabharata and takes the form of a philosophical dialogue in which Krishna instructs the prince Arjuna in ethical matters and the nature of God
- Sikhism
- a monotheistic religion founded in northern India in the 16th century by the guru Nanak. Sikhism rejects caste distinctions, idolatry, and asceticism and is characterized by belief in a cycle of reincarnation from which humans can free themselves by living righteous lives as active members of society
- Samsara
- the eternal cycle of birth, suffering, death, and rebirth
- Indus River Valley Civilization
- a civilization that flourished in the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra river valleys mostly in what is now Pakistan and Western India
- Ahimsa
- doctrine expressing belief in the sacredness of all living creatures and urging the avoidance of harm and violence
- Varnas/jatis (caste system)
- a social structure in which classes are determined by heredity
- Harappa
- a large ancient city of the Indus civilization, created in present-day Pakistan
- Asceticism
- the doctrine that the ascetic life releases the soul from bondage to the body and permits union with the divine
- Vedic Age
- the Vedas, which gave the period its name. The Vedas recorded not only the religion of the Vedic people, but also details of their lives that give us a look at their culture and world view.
- The Noble Eightfold Path
- the eight pursuits of one seeking enlightenment, comprising right understanding, motives, speech, action, means of livelihood, effort, intellectual activity, and contemplation
- Karma
- the total effect of a person's actions and conduct during the successive phases of the person's existence, regarded as determining the person's destiny
- Siddhartha Gautama
- the North Indian prince who became the Buddha, 'the Enlightened One,' required his followers to isolate themselves from worldly life
- Shah Jahan
- the fifth Mogul emperor of India. During his reign, from 1628 to 1658, the Mogul Empire reached its zenith in prosperity and luxury. He is remembered as the builder of the Taj Mahal.
- Rig-Veda (Vadas)
- oldest religious scripture in the world and most revered of the Vedas
- Mughal Empire
- Muslim empire in India, 1526-1857
- Moksha
- the ultimate spiritual goal, the soul's release from the bonds of transmigration
- Chandragupta
- indian emperor, founder of the Maurya dynasty and grandfather of Asoka
- Ramayana
- traditionally attributed to Valmiki, that concerns the banishment of Rama from his kingdom, the abduction of his wife Sita by a demon and her rescue, and Rama's eventual restoration to the throne
- Dharma
- in Hindu religion is the doctrine of the duties and rights of each caste in the ideal society, and as such the mirror of all moral action
- Atman
- the essence that is eternal, unchanging, and indistinguishable from the essence of the universe
- Upanishads
- any of a group of philosophical treatises contributing to the theology of ancient Hinduism, elaborating on the earlier Vedas
- Ashoka
- third emperor of the Maurya dynasty, is considered ancient India's greatest ruler. He combined the piety of a saint with the practical qualities of a king, and in the history of Buddhism he ranks second only to Buddha