1. India’s Social Structure: Caste System
Ap world CH 9

2. Caste System in India Similarities with China’s Social System:
Social status determined at birth
Little (if any) social mobility
Sharp class distinctions and great inequalities
Inequalities justified by religious/cultural traditions as natural and inevitable

3. Caste System in India
“Caste” = comes from Portuguese word casta, which means “race” or “purity of blood”
4 varnas = ranked classes in the Indian caste system
Each varna had its own duties
Born into and remained in your varna for life

4. Caste System Focus: Economic specialization and culture
4 ranked classes
Brahmin – priests
Kshatriya – Warriors and Rulers
Protect and govern society
Vaisya – Commoners
those who farmed the land
Merchants and artisans
Sudras
Servants of their social betters
Unskilled laborers

5. Caste System 1-3 pure Aryans “Twice Born” Physical Birth
Formal initiation into respective varnas and Aryan descent
4 Not allowed to hear or repeat Vedas or take part in rituals and ceremonies

6. Caste System in India These 3 classes = regarded as pure Aryans
Brahmins = Priests
Study & teach the Vedas; perform religious ceremonies to please the gods & ensure welfare of people
Kshatriyas = Warriors; Rulers
Study the Vedas; lead government; head army
These 3 classes = regarded as pure Aryans
Vaisyas = Common people: merchants, artisans, farmers
Tend herds, care for land; make & sell useful products
Sudras = Native, non-Aryan people = Unskilled laborers, servants
Serve other varnas
Untouchables = Outside of Caste System
Perform tasks considered unclean

7. Caste System in India: Formed from the Body of Purusha
Brahmins = from the head
Kshatriya = from the shoulders
Vaisya = from the thighs
Sudras = from the feet

8. The Untouchables Outside of the Varna system
Lower than the Sudras
It was believed that if people in higher castes came into contact with the untouchables, then their ritual purity would be “polluted”
Untouchables used separate wells, separate bathrooms, separate temples for worship, etc.
Many untouchables had to wear wooden clappers to alert others when they were approaching

9. Caste System in India
Each varna was further divided into sub- castes called jatis
Jatis were typically formed according to occupation
--> ex: shoemakers, weavers, etc.
Each jati had its own rules for daily life -- including diet, marriage, and social customs
“It was better to do one’s own duty badly than another well”

10. Caste System in India
Being born into a particular caste reflects good or bad Karma
Dharma = the faithful and selfless performance of one’s present caste duties
Any hope for rebirth into a higher caste rested on faith and selfless performance of one present caste duties
Karma = determined which caste you would enter at birth
Adhering to dharma and subduing your ego ensured spiritual progress, good karma, and possible birth into a higher caste when reincarnated
Individuals own responsibility

11. Different from China and Greco-Roman World
Caste
Many different distinctions
Unique set of ideas that justify and explain the social system

12. Caste Polluted Ritual unclean Rituals teach about permanent impurity
Aides the ideology
Threat of Ostracism
Jati could kick you out
Not social life
Loss of social support

13. caste All most impossible to raise social status.
Raise the status of the entire Jati
- Aquire land
- Wealth
- adopting behaviors of higher caste groups
- Find a previously over looked Ancestor
Result: You may be redefined in a high Category

14. India VS China I: Priority to religious and ritual purity
C: Elevated political officials
C: Fewer but broader categories of society
Scholar-gentry
Landlords
Peasants
Merchants
I: Far more rigid, less opportunity for social mobility than china

15. Belief Systems of Classical India
AP world Chapter 9

16. Language & Traditions
Traditions were passed down verbally for centuries because there was no written language
People sang songs & recited epics = long poems celebrating their heroes
Texts eventually written down in Sanskrit

17. Hinduism
Many deities
Based on different beliefs & practices -- not founded by one person
Doesn’t have one, single holy book
3 gods are most important = Brahma (creator), Vishnu (preserver), and Shiva (destroyer)

18. Vishnu = Preserver
Brahma = Creator
Siva = Destroyer

19. The Vedas
Priests called Brahmins collected hymns, poems, prayers, and rituals into holy books known as Vedas
Brahmins performed rituals and sacrifices, which gave them power and wealth

20. The Upanishads
Upanishads = religious writings compiled by anonymous thinkers
All humans have a soul = the atman
All souls are part of 1 eternal & universal spirit = Brahman
Goal in life = union with the Brahman = liberation or moksha

21. Cycle of Rebirth
Believed in samsara = reincarnation/rebirth of the soul
Soul passes through many lifetimes and continues until spiritual liberation = moksha
Karma = how a person lives in this life determines what form the person will take in the next life
Liberation achieved through a life of prayer, strict self-denial, and rejection of all worldly possessions

22. Buddhism vs. Hinduism Similarities
Karma
Rebirth/reincarnation
Practice of meditation
Final release from cycle of rebirth

23. Buddhism vs. Hinduism Differences
Buddhism rejects:
Religious authority of Hindu Brahmins
Hindu caste system
Hindu deities

24. Buddhism Founder = Siddhartha Gautama Prince from northern India
Lived a sheltered and luxurious life
Asked his charioteer to drive him around the city outside of the palace walls
Was shocked to see the violence, old age, sickness, disease, and hardship that existed

25. Siddhartha Gautama
Set out on a 6-year quest to find spiritual enlightenment and an answer to why this suffering existed
Taught what he learned --> his followers renamed him the Buddha = the Enlightened One

26. Four Noble Truths All people suffer and know sorrow.
People suffer because they desire.
People can end their suffering by eliminating their desires.
People can eliminate their desires by following the Eight-Fold Path.

27. Eight-Fold Path Know the truth Resist evil Say nothing to hurt others
Respect life
Work for the good of others
Free your mind of evil
Control your thoughts
Practice meditation

28. Nirvana Following this path would lead to
nirvana = state of enlightenment
Not a place (like Heaven)
State of peace and serenity

29. Buddhism: Different Expressions
Theravada Buddhism = believe the Buddha is a wise teacher and model, but he isn’t divine
A philosophy, not a religion
Mahayana Buddhism = Buddha became a god who postponed his own entry into nirvana to help others
Means the reincarnation of future Buddhas
A religion, not a philosophy

30. Buddhism’s Decline in India
Wealth of Buddhist monasteries and leading monks separated them from ordinary people
Competition from Islam after 1000 CE
People turned toward more popular form of Hinduism

31. New Wave of Hinduism
More focus on individual action as a means of achieving spiritual liberation
Less emphasis on rituals and sacrifices made by the Brahmins
Stressed devotion to one of the gods/goddesses

32. Bhakti (Worship) Movement
Intense adoration of and identification with a particular deity
Resulted in many bhakti cults

33. India’s Great Civilization
AP Notes: Chapter 9 Classical India
India’s Great Civilization

34. Aryans Developed a new civilization in modern- day India
Located in the Ganges Plain & the Indus River Valley

35. Ways of Life Loosely organized into tribes of nomadic herders
Each tribe was led by a rajah = chief
Cattle were the basis of their diet & economy
Also served as money
Tribes were often at war; raided each other’s cow herds
Ways of Life

36. Ways of Life
Indus River Valley was ideal for farming --> so people eventually settled down into agricultural communities
People also hunted game; ate bananas & cucumbers
Men dominated the society
Women didn’t challenge their authority
Boys & girls of high rank attended school

37. Mauryan Empire Led by Chandragupta Maurya Strong leader
Developed a postal system
Maintained a strong army
Located in northern & central India

38. Mauryan Empire Ashoka = Chandragupta’s grandson
Indian civilization blossomed under his reign
His empire covered 2/3 of the subcontinent
Gained this land with fierce wars of conquest & merciless armies
After witnessing the horrors of battle, he vowed to never go to war again
Followed the teachings of Buddha

39. Ashoka
Created laws called the Rock Edicts --> laws were carved on rocks throughout the empire
Stressed concern for other human beings
Set up free hospitals, roads, and rest houses

40. Mauryan Empire Empire declined after Ashoka’s death
His successor’s charged heavy taxes
Also took crops from poor workers
People turned against them

41. Gupta Empire
Developed 500 years after the Mauryan Empire (around 310 AD)
Started by Chandragupta I (no relation to the other)
Ruled northern India for more than 200 years
This period is called India’s Golden Age
Arts & sciences flourished
Maintained authority with trained soldiers, spies, & assassins

42. Gupta Religion Hinduism was the official religion Built Hindu temples
Temples decorated with brightly painted sculptures of Hindu epic tales

43. Gupta Life
Empire reached its height under Chandragupta II who gave people more freedom
However, status of women declined
Parents chose husbands/wives for their children
Child marriages were common

44. Gupta Achievements
Court welcomed poets, playwrights, philosophers, and scientists
Learning & education promoted
Writing focused on religion & folktales

45. Gupta Achievements Made advances in mathematics --> mostly algebra
Invented concept of zero
Explained concept of infinity
Created Arabic Numerals (#s 1-9)

46. Gupta Achievements Astronomy Said the Earth was round
Had some knowledge of gravity
Medicine
Set bones, performed surgery, invented instruments

47. End of the Gupta Empire
Empire failed after Chandragupta II’s death in 415 CE
As government weakened, the empire faced invasions