South Asia: Vocabulary Study Guide

subcontinent landmass -a landmass separated by water and land from other land areas which may once have been part of a huge continent Mountains Lots of water!

monsoon season time of year a time of year when heavy rains fall which the farmers depend on for growing crops

subsistence farming process a type of farming where families grow food just for themselves there is very little extra to sell or trade

Sanskrit language A language that was spoken by the Aryan people who migrated to the Indus River Valley.

social group caste priests and teachers = brahmins rulers and warriors farmers and merchants servants to all others = sudra *some may be considered “untouchables” a social group into which a person is born and belongs in his whole life

brahmin social class the caste that has the highest position in society (made up of teachers and priests)

social class sudra except for the Untouchables, sudra is given the lowest position in ancient Indian society also called serfs

India’s main religion and one of the oldest religions in the world Hinduism India’s main religion and one of the oldest religions in the world there is no founder

The Vedas are Books of Knowledge that contain Aryan stories and songs. writings The Vedas are Books of Knowledge that contain Aryan stories and songs. the Rig Veda is a collection of more than 1,000 hymns from which faithful Hindus recite verses every day

universal truth Brahman Brahman is believed by the Hindus to be the source of everything and to have three main forms

dharma the order of the universe belief dharma the order of the universe Dharma is believed to be maintained by Vishnu

the process through which a spirit or soul goes from one life to the next reincarnation process

religion Buddhism a religion started by Siddharta in India in the 4th century B.C. Emperor Ashoka spread the religion throughout Asia Siddharta became known as the Buddha which means “The Enlightened One”

beliefs Four Noble Truths beliefs that say that suffering is a part of everyone’s life and is caused by wanting too many things

Eightfold Path way of living a way of living that the Buddhists believe can help people find relief from their suffering

a technique that Buddhists believe clears a person’s mind meditation a technique that Buddhists believe clears a person’s mind

goal enlightenment Buddha said that ALL people, not just priests, could reach the goal of enlightenment which is a state of pure goodness