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Chapter 5

Indian Civilization

Indus (Harappan) Civilization on the Indus River (c. 2250-

1700 BCE)
Introduction, Geographical and Chronological Settings
The first river valley civilization in South Asia
Discovered by British in the late 1850s
Harappan civilization developed in the vicinity of great river systems or Indus
River Valley in about 2250 BCE (Indus and Ganges rivers) and below the
Himalayan mountain
It emerged in north India, the place of all Indian history, the most fertile land
and the most populous land
India derived its name from Indus river
Great Cities of the Indus Valley
The civilization established on two cities situated on the banks of the Indus
proper
Harappa, in the north
Mohenjo-daro (City of the Dead), in the south
Characteristics of the cities
Cities four time size of Sumer and twice the size of Egypt during the Old
Kingdom
Population at least thirty-five thousand
Cities
Surrounded by walls
Walls made from standardized bricks, not case with other civilizations
Had well-fortified citadels in each city: great bath, college, granary,
assembly hall, large granaries
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(Cont., )
Main avenues; street 7.20 m wide
One and two story houses, which consisted of a courtyard, rooms up to
30, a bathing area, and drains that emptied into a covered city-wide
sewage system, the best in the ancient world.
Excellent urban planning/town-planning
Cosmopolitan population
Temple
Religious centre
Commercial centre

Indus and Vedic Aryan Cultures. Indus culture likely influenced the Vedic Aryans, although the
influence cannot be proved. Some scholars surmise, for example, that the fortified Aryan city of
Hariyupiya, mentioned in later texts, may have been the same site as the older Indus city of
Harappa. 4

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Ancient Mohenjo-Daro. Like most cities of the Indus Valley civilization, Mohenjo-Daro was built
principally of mud brick. The structures are laid on straight lines; streets cross each other at right
angles. The impression is one of order, prosperity, and civic discipline. 5

Political and Social Structure

Political structure
Autocratic government, having strong ruling class or theocratic
government (priestly government)
Social structure
Society dominated by a powerful priestly class
Administrative class served the priests; lower class and slaves
Production and trade
Agriculture (rivers), cultivated wheat, rice, cotton, barley
Agriculture suggests links with the Middle-East
Fishing, domestication of animals; cat, dog, elephant
Produced tools and weapons from bronze
Mastered art of pottery; produced pottery toys, knife, spears
The cities were major trading centres
Introduced measures and weights
Religion
Iconography (the art of pictorial presentation)
"Mother goddesses" appear to have been object of worship for the
common people
Priests and upper class honoured one god
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Demise of Harappan Civilization and Causes

Declined in about 1700 BCE

Precise causes a matter of dispute
Assumed causes:
Several flooding at Mohenjo-daro and short term natural disasters and
changes
Waves of Aryan migrations into the region
Too weak military to prevent coming of invaders
Priestly elite began to loose control
Probably environmental changes, administrative decline combined with the
effect of nomadic migrations gradually led to the end of South Asia's first
civilization

Vedic Aryan Civilization of Northern India

(c. 1700-500 BCE)

Arrival of the Aryans (c. 1700 BCE)

Indo-Europeans origin
Their military skills made nomadic occupation possible
Spread across the Indus plains and pushed local people to the south
Aryans settled in the south-east area around Ganges Rivers System
Characteristics of Aryans
Nomadic people
Emphasis on physical strength, material skills, and heroism
Social life
Introduced new social stratification which led to the Caste System as
dominant social order
Introduced even physical division: Aryans and Dasas
Male dominated society; Brahmins became dominant in the society

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Political structure
Small states or kingdoms
Ruled by free warrior elite or individual leaders
Elected or removed from office by a vote of the warrior's councils
Later kingship hereditary
Brahmins advisors of kings

Religion
Polytheists
Worshipped male gods
Deities; Varuna, Dyaus, Mitra, Indra, Prajapati
Influenced formation of later proper Hinduism
Contributed Vedas to Indus civilization

Arrival of Alexander the Great to India in 326 BCE

Invasion in 326 BCE across the Hindu Kush

Reasons not known
Soldiers refused to go further
Alexander led his forces back to Persia in 324 BCE
He died in Babylon in 323 BCE
Empire divided among generals
Impact of his campaign
Stimulated trade
Cultural exchange
Flow of Greek astronomical and mathematical ideas to India
India influenced Mediterranean in regard to thinking and religions

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Mauryan Empire (321-185 BCE)

Founded by Chandragupta Maurya (r. 321-297 BCE)

Defeated all warring states after the departure of Alexander the Great
Developments
New imperial style, emperor guarded and claimed absolute supremacy
Kautilya was his political advisor. He is often called Indian
Machiavelli
Army established
Replaced regional warlords with his own administration
Successors
Bindusara (r. 297-272 BCE) and Asoka (r. 272-232 BCE)
They extended empire
India enjoyed time of unprecedented political unity, prosperity and
cultural splendour
Asoka converted to Buddhism and facilitated spread of Buddhist
teachings
Mauryan empire declined in 185 BCE

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Southwest Asia and India ca. 250 BCE. This map shows not only the major cities and regions of
greater Iran and the Indian subcontinent, but also the neighboring eastern Mediterranean world.
Although the Mediterranean was closely tied to Iran from Achaemenid times onward, its contacts
with India in the wake of the conquests of Alexander the Great were many and varied. 12

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Gupta Empire (c. 300-450 CE)

First Gupta king was Chandragupta (r. 320-330 CE)
Emerged in eastern Ganges plains
During his grandson Chandragupta II (r. 375-415 CE) India reached its golden
age
Later developments
Did not have full control over the regional lords and villages
Did not have genuine bureaucracy
Warlords were autonomous governors
This resulted in periodical revolts and wars between warlords
Gupta emperors were patrons of Brahmins
For nearly 250 years the Guptas held together the collection of vassal
kingdoms but in around 440 CE the Huns, invaders from Central Asia, ended
Gupta Empire
India from c. 300-1000 CE
Various small kingdoms and divisions among people in India
Rigid implementation of the Caste System
Further development of Hinduism as a religion
From the 7th century until 13th century invasions and chaos
13th century Delhi Sultanate
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Religious History: Hinduism and Buddhism

India a place of religious diversity
Dravidians and Aryans and establishment of Vedic Hinduism
Brahmins emerged as the dominant force
Religion of early Hinduism:
Rituals associated with sacrifices to the gods
Power-seeking and materialism of the priestly class
Caste system and rigorous practices enforced
Rise of philosophies in Eurasia in the 6th and 5th century
Buddhism as a challenge
The Buddha spread his message and challenged the Brahmins
Offered alternative worship and path to salvation
Retained the ideas of karma and reincarnation
Rejected the Vedas as divinely inspired teachings
Ridiculed Brahmins sacrifice
He tried to do away with Brahmins and caste system
After the death of the Buddha, his monks spread his message
They also held councils
Disagreements at these councils
Buddhism divided into two major streams: Theravada and Mahayana 14

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Maurya Empire, Asoka and spread of Buddhism

After conversion, Asoka strove to:
Serve his people and promote their welfare
He initiated religious tolerance and acted as Constantine
He was patron of the Sangha
Reduced slaughtering of animals and encouraged vegetarianism
Spread of great monastery and missionaries sent throughout Asia
Decline of Mauryan Empire and Brahmin's revival
Brahmins supported by Gupta emperors
Reasons for decline of Buddhism in India:
Monks concentrated in monasteries
Isolated from villages and urban life
The monks grew obsessed with philosophy
Did not develop rituals and folk festivals
Reasons for re-emergence of Hinduism in India:
Changes in belief and worship
Hinduism made more appealing to ordinary people
Reduced sacrifice and emphasised devotion
Emphasis on devotion of main deities
Caste rules restricted
Enrichment of festivals and rite-of-passage ceremonies
The Buddha as another deity under Hinduism
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Religious World of Ancient India

Hinduism
Diversity, plurality and tolerance
Sanatana Dharma = Hinduism
Hindu "Sindhu" from Indus River
Main sacred writings divided into
Shruti "revelations"
Smriti "traditions
Main scriptures Vedas
Rig Veda "Veda of Praise"
Sama Veda "Veda of Chants"
Yajur Veda "Veda of Sacrifice"
Atharva Veda "Instruction for Daily Life"
Theology, Triadic (Trimurthy) Idea of God
Brahman (Absolute Being)
Brahma (Creator)
Shiva (destroyer)
Vishnu (Preserver)

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Basic Doctrines
Atman-Brahman
Dharma "Laws"
Maya "illusion"
Avidya "ignorance"
Karma "action"
Samsara "cycle"
Moksha "liberation"
Four ways to Moksha
Knowledge
Love
Work
Meditation "psychological"

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Bronze figure of Shiva. This exquisitely crafted bronze figure of Shiva dating from the 11th century
c.e. depicts him as Lord of the Dance. He is surrounded by a circle of fire, which symbolizes both
death and rebirth. 18

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Buddhism

Founder the Buddha, Sidhartha Gautama (563-483 BC)

The life of the Buddha
The Great Awakening
Great Renunciation
The Quest
The Great Enlightenment
The Ministry
The End of Gautama
Buddhism no-theistic religion
Buddhist scriptures Tripitaka "Three Baskets of the Law" written in the first
century BC
Tripitaka divided into:
Basket of Discipline
Basket of Discourses
Basket of Teachings

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Buddhist doctrines:
The Four Noble Truth
Life is Suffering
Desire Cause of Suffering
There is a State of no Suffering
The ways Leading to the End of Suffering
The Noble Eightfold Paths
Right Understanding; Right Thinking
Right Speech; Right Action
Right Livelihood; Right Effort
Right Mindfulness; Right Concentration
Ten Precepts and Values
Main denominations
Theravada, "Lesser Vehicle" (Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and
Laos)
Mahayana, "Great Vehicle" (China, Tibet, Korea, Vietnam and Japan)
Basic Concepts
Impermanence; Suffering "thirsting; Karma; No-Self and Nirvana

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Fasting Buddha. Before Gautama arrived at the "Middle Path," he practiced severe austerities for
six years. This fourth to second-century b.c.e. statue of a fasting Buddha from Gandhara (in present-
day Pakistan) reflects the Greek influence on early Buddhist sculpture.
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The Buddha Preaching His First Sermon. This seated, high-relief figure of the Buddha, found in the
ruins of Sarnath, is one of the finest pieces of Gupta sculpture. In Gupta times Sarnath was a thriving
monastic center as well as one of the major schools for the best sculpture of the day.
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The Caste System

Developments, Aryan period and later formation
Caste means a social division into which a person is born
Jatis = subdivisions
Derived from Purusha = mythological person
Mouth = Brahmin (seers, intellectual and spiritual leaders, priests)
Two arms = Kshatriyas (administrators)
Two thighs = Vaishyas (producers and workers)
Feet = Shudras (followers or servants)
Untouchables "Kharijis
The caste answer the question "who am I "
Justification of social order based on dharma and karma
Characteristics:
Marrying within own caste
Restriction of intimate social contacts, e.g.,
Eating and sleeping
Touching/separate streets and bazaars, temples
Clean and unclean
Industrialization and global economy brought many changes and secular
practices
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Contributions to Civilization

Languages
Literature
Tripitaka (100 BC)
Vedas (1500-900 BC)
Bramanas (800 BC) "Sacrificial Manuals"
Upanishads (600-200 BC) "On philosophical aspects"
Epics (200 BC-300 CE):
Mahabharata, (100 BC)
Bhagavadgita
Ramayana
Some contributions in sciences:
Calculated the circumference of the globe
Used the concept of zero
Devised decimals
Formulated Arabic numeral system
Developed hospitals and surgical techniques

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