1. & the Quest for Salvation
Chapter 9:
State, Society,
& the Quest for Salvation
in India

2. The Mauryan and Gupta empires 321 B.C.E.-550 C.E.

3. India Before the Mauryan Dynasty
520 BCE Persian Emperor Darius conquers north-west India
Introduces Persian ruling pattern
327 Alexander of Macedon destroys Persian Empire in India
Troops mutiny, departs after 2 years
Political power vacuum

4. Kingdom of Magadha
Most significant remaining kingdom after Alexander’s departure
Central Ganges plain
Economic strength
Agriculture
Trade in Ganges valley, Bay of Bengal
Dominated surrounding regions in north-eastern India

5. Chandragupta Maurya Took advantage of power vacuum left by Alexander
Overthrew Magadha rulers
Expanded kingdom to create 1st unified Indian empire
Mauryan Dynasty

6. The Maurya Empire
321 BCE – 185 BCE

7. Chandragupta: 321 BCE-298 BCE
Unified northern India.
Defeated the Persian general Seleucus.
Divided his empire into provinces, then districts for tax assessments and law enforcement.
He feared assassination  food tasters, slept in different rooms, etc.
301 BCE  gave up his throne & became a Jain.

8. Kautilya (or Chanakya)
Chandragupta’s advisor.
Brahmin caste.
Wrote The Treatise on Material Gain or the Arthashastra.
A guide for the king and his ministers:
Supports royal power.
The great evil in society is anarchy.
Therefore, a single authority is needed to employ force when necessary!

9. Chandragupta’s Government
Like Persia & China, built a bureaucratic administrative system.
Domestic policies
Network of spies
Legend: Chandragupta retires to become a monk, starves himself to death

10. Ashoka (304 – 232 BCE) Grandson of Chandragupta
Represents high point of Mauryan Empire, r BCE
Expanded empire to include all of Indian subcontinent except for south
Positive leadership integrated Indian society
Much better known as a governor than conqueror

11. Ashoka
Religious conversion after the gruesome battle of Kalinga in BCE.
Dedicated his life to Buddhism.
Built extensive roads.
Conflict  how to balance Kautilya’s methods of keeping power and Buddha’s demands to become a selfless person?

12. Ashoka’s law code
Edicts scattered in more than 30 places in India, Nepal, Pakistan, & Afghanistan.
Written mostly in Sanskrit, but one was in Greek and Aramaic.
10 rock edicts.
Buddhist principles dominate his laws.

14. Women Under an Asoka tree

15. Decline of the Mauryan Empire
Economic crisis follows death of Ashoka
High costs of bureaucracy, military not supported by tax revenue
Frequent devaluations of currency to pay salaries
Regions begin to abandon Mauryan Empire
Disappears by 185 BCE

16. Regional Kingdom: Bactria
Northwestern India
Ruled by Greek-speaking descendants of Alexander’s campaigns
Intense cultural activity accompanies active trade

17. Turmoil & a Power Vacuum: 220 BCE – 320 CE
Tamils
The Maurya Empire is divided into many kingdoms.

18. Regional Kingdom: Kush
Northern India/Central Asia
C CE
Maintained silk road trade network
Under Kanishka, the Kushan empire included modern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and northern India.

19. The Gupta Dynasty Based in Magadha
Founded by Chandra Gupta (no relation to Chandragupta Maurya), c. 320 CE
Slightly smaller than Mauryan Empire
Highly decentralized leadership
Foundations for studies in natural sciences and mathematics

20. Gupta Empire: 320 CE – 647 CE

21. Gupta Rulers Chandra Gupta I Chandra Gupta II Hindu revival.
r. 320 – 335 CE
“Great King of Kings”
Chandra Gupta II
r CE
Profitable trade with the Mediterranean world!
Hindu revival.
Huns invade – 450 CE

22. Fa-Hsien: Life in Gupta India
Chinese Buddhist monk traveled along the Silk Road and visited India in the 5c.
He was following the path of the Buddha.
He reported the people to be happy, relatively free of government oppression, and inclined towards courtesy and charity. Other references in the journal, however, indicate that the caste system was rapidly assuming its basic features, including "untouchability," the social isolation of a lowest class that is doomed to menial labor.

23. International Trade Routes during the Guptas

24. Extensive Trade: 4c spices silks cotton goods rice & wheat spices
horses
gold & ivory
gold & ivory
cotton goods

25. Greatly influenced Southeast Asian art & architecture.
Gupta Art
Greatly influenced Southeast Asian art & architecture.

26. Kalidasa The greatest of Indian poets.
His most famous play was Shakuntala.
During the reign of Chandra Gupta II.

27. 500 healing plants identified Printed medicinal guides
Gupta Achievements
1000 diseases classified
500 healing plants identified
Printed medicinal guides
Kalidasa
Literature
Plastic Surgery
Medicine
Inoculations
Gupta India
C-sections performed
Solar Calendar
Astronomy
Mathematics
Decimal System
The earth is round
PI =
Concept of Zero

28. Gupta Decline Frequent invasions of White Huns, 5th c. CE
Gupta Dynasty disintegrates along regional fault lines
Smaller local kingdoms dominate until Mughal Empire founded in 16th c.

29. Economy: Towns and Manufacturing
Manufactured goods in big demand
Developed in dense network of small workshops
Trade intense, capitalizes on trade routes across India

30. Long-Distance Trade Persian connection since Cyrus, Darius
Massive road-building projects under Persian rule
Alexander extends trade west to Macedon
Trade routes through Kush mountains, the silk roads

31. Trade in the Indian Ocean Basin
Seasonal sea trade expands
Spring/winter winds blow from south-west, fall/winter winds blow from north-west
Trade from Asia to Persian Gulf and Red Sea, Mediterranean

32. Society: Gender Relations
Patriarchy entrenched
Child marriage common (8 year old girls married to men in 20s)
Women encouraged to remain in private sphere
Mahabharata & Ramayana portrayed women as weak-willed and overly emotional

33. Social Order Caste system from Aryan times Brahmins (priests)
Kshatriyas (warriors, aristocrats)
Vaishyas (Peasants, merchants)
Shudras (serfs)

34. Castes and Guilds
Increasing economic diversification challenges simplistic caste system
Jatis formed: guilds that acted as sub-castes
Enforced social order
“outcastes” forced into low-status employment

35. Wealth and the Social Order
Upward social mobility possible for Vaishyas, Shudras
Wealth challenges varna for status as lower castes often accumulated more wealth than their brahmin & kshatriya contemporaries

36. Religions of Salvation in Classical India
Social change generated resentment of caste privilege
e.g. Brahmins free from taxation
6th-5th c. BCE new religions and philosophies challenge status quo
Charvakas: atheists whose beliefs reflected the increasingly materialistic character of Indian society and economy

37. Jainism Vardhamana Mahavira, 540-468 BCE
Abandoned privileged family to lead ascetic life
Promotes 7th c. movement based on Upanishads
Emphasis on selfless living, concern for all beings

38. Ahimsa Principle of extreme non-violence
Jainists sweep earth, strain water, use slow movements to avoid killing insects
Ahimsa continues to inspire modern movements (Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr.)

39. Appeal of Jainism Rejected caste, jati distinctions
Obvious appeal to underprivileged groups
But asceticism too extreme to become a mass movement
2 million Jainist Indians today

40. Early Buddhism Siddhartha Gautama, c. 563-483 BCE
Encountered age, sickness, death, then monastic life
Abandoned comfortable life to become a monk

41. Gautama’s Search for Enlightenment
Intense meditation, extreme asceticism
49 days of meditation under bo tree to finally achieve enlightenment
Attained title Buddha: “the enlightened one”

42. The Buddha and his Followers
Begins teaching new doctrine c. 528 BCE
Followers owned only robes, food bowls
Life of wandering, begging, meditation
Establishment of monastic communities

43. Buddha and his Disciples

44. Buddhist Doctrine: The Dharma
The Four Noble Truths
all life is suffering
there is an end to suffering
removing desire removes suffering
this may be done through the eight-fold path
(right views, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, concentration)

45. The Eightfold Path Right views Right intention Right speech
Right conduct
Right livelihood
Right effort
Right mindfulness
Right meditation

46. Appeal of Buddhism Less dependence on Brahmins for ritual activities
No recognition of caste, jati status
Philosophy of moderate consumption
Public service through lay teaching
Use of vernacular, not Sanskrit
Monasteries became important institutions in Indian society.

47. A Buddhist Monastery

48. Stupas
A stupa (from Sanskrit literally meaning "heap") is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the remains of a Buddha or saint.

49. Ashoka’s Support of Buddhism
Personal conversion to Buddhism
Saddened after violent war with Kalinga
Banned animal sacrifices, mandated vegetarianism in court
Material support for Buddhist institutions, missionary activities

50. Changes in Buddhist thought
3rd c. BCE – 1st c. CE
Buddha considered divine
Institution of Boddhisatvas (“saints”)
Charitable donations to monasteries regarded as pious activity

51. Spread of Mahayana Buddhism
Mahayana (“greater vehicle”), newer development
India, China, Japan, Korea, central Asia
Hinayana (“lesser vehicle,” also Theravada), earlier version
Ceylon, Burma, Thailand

53. Nalanda Buddhist Monastery
Quasi-university: Buddhism, Hindu texts, philosophy, astronomy, medicine
Peak at end of Gupta dynasty
Helped spread Indian thought
e.g. mathematical number zero

54. Emergence of Popular Hinduism
Composition of epics from older oral traditions
Mahabharata
Ramayana
Promotes Rama and Sita as the ideal Hindu couple, devoted to each other though hardship
Emphasis on god Vishnu and his incarnations

55. The Bhagavad Gita “Song of the Lord”
Centuries of revisions, final form c. 400 CE
Dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna during civil war

56. Hindu Ethics Emphasis on meeting class obligations (dharma)
Pursuit of economic well-being and honesty (artha)
Enjoyment of social, physical and sexual pleasure (kama)
Salvation of the soul (moksha)

57. Popularity of Hinduism
Gradually replaced Buddhism in India
Gupta dynastic leaders extend considerable support