1. Chapter 9 Classical India: Emergence of Buddhism and Hinduism
State, Society, and the Quest for Salvation in India
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2. The Mauryan and Gupta Empires 321 B.C.E.-550 C.E.
Chapter 9 Classical India: Emergence of Buddhism and Hinduism
The Mauryan and Gupta Empires 321 B.C.E.-550 C.E.
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3. India Before the Mauryan Dynasty
Chapter 9 Classical India: Emergence of Buddhism and Hinduism
India Before the Mauryan Dynasty
520 B.C.E., Persian emperor Darius conquers northwest India
Introduces Persian ruling pattern to India
327 B.C.E., Alexander of Macedon destroys Persian empire in India
Troops mutiny, depart after two years
Political power vacuum
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 northeastern India
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4. Chapter 9 Classical India: Emergence of Buddhism and Hinduism
Chandragupta Maurya
Took advantage of power vacuum left by Alexander
Overthrew Magadha rulers by 321 CE
Expanded kingdom to create first unified Indian empire
Mauryan dynasty- All of northern India from the Indus to the Ganges
Chandragupta’s Government
Advisor Kautalya- Ideas were recorded in Arthashastra, manual of political statecraft
Kautalya and Chandragupta created a large bureaucracy
Foreign policies, economics, taxes, war
Domestic policies
Network of spies
Legend: Chandragupta retires to become a jain monk, starves himself to death
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5. Chapter 9 Classical India: Emergence of Buddhism and Hinduism
Ashoka Maurya
Grandson of Chandragupta
Represents high point of Mauryan empire, B.C.E.
Expanded empire to include all of Indian subcontinent except for south
Major hold out was the Kalinga (which controlled key trade routes)
Waged a bloody war in 260 BCE to defeat Kalinga
Much better known as a ruler than conqueror
Using the groundwork set by his grandfather, Ashoka created a tightly controlled bureaucracy
Created Pataliputra as the center of his empire
Central treasury collected taxes
Encouraged Buddhism
Strong and clear bureaucracy allowed for a large Indian empire to emerge
Expanding economy and stable government allowed for all of India to propser
Built irrigation networks to encourage agriculture
Build roads (1,000 miles linking important cities)
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6. Decline of the Mauryan Empire
Chapter 9 Classical India: Emergence of Buddhism and Hinduism
Decline of the Mauryan Empire
Economic crisis follows death of Ashoka (232 BCE)
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 B.C.E.
India did not crumble into anarchy
Local rulers formed individual kingdoms to establish order
Similar to the Middle ages in Europe
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7. Regional Kingdom: Bactria
Chapter 9 Classical India: Emergence of Buddhism and Hinduism
Northwestern India
Ruled by Greek-speaking descendants of Alexander’s campaigns
Intense cultural activity accompanies active trade
Links Mediterranean basin to China
City of Taxila flourished from trade and cultural interaction
Regional Kingdom: Kush
Northern India/central Asia (Pakistan, Afghanistan to India)
Ca C.E.
Kanishka was the strongest ruler
Maintained silk road trade network and allowed safe travel for merchants
Supported Buddhism
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8. Chapter 9 Classical India: Emergence of Buddhism and Hinduism
The Gupta Dynasty
Based in Magadha (crucial geographic importance)
Founded by Chandra Gupta (no relation to Chandragupta Maurya), ca C.E.
Formed alliances with power families
Made Pataliputra capital again
Slightly smaller than Mauryan empire
Highly decentralized leadership- left local decisions to local rulers
Ashoka (Mauryan) wanted to know every detail of the regional governance
Foundations for studies in natural sciences and mathematics
Stability allowed for scholarly ideals to flourish
Plastic surgery, Earth rotated on an axis, introduced zero in mathematics, calculated pi, length of the solar calendar
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9. Chapter 9 Classical India: Emergence of Buddhism and Hinduism
Gupta Decline
Frequent invasions of White Huns, fifth century C.E.
Gupta dynasty disintegrates along regional fault lines
Smaller local kingdoms dominate until Mughal empire founded in sixteenth century
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10. Economy: Towns and Manufacturing
Chapter 9 Classical India: Emergence of Buddhism and Hinduism
Development of towns in 600 BCE
Manufactured goods in big demand
Saddalaputta owned 500 pottery shops
Developed in dense network of small workshops
Trade intense, capitalizes on trade routes across India
Long-Distance Trade
Persian connection since Cyrus, Darius
Massive road-building projects under Persian rule to link to India
Alexander extends trade west to Macedon
Trade routes through Kush mountains, the silk roads
Cotton, aromatics, black pepper, pearls and gems were main exports
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11. Society: Gender Relations
Chapter 9 Classical India: Emergence of Buddhism and Hinduism
Society: Gender Relations
Patriarchy entrenched
Every member had a clearly and well defined role in the family and in society
In higher caste families, several generations lived together
Indian literature gave insight to social order
Mahabharata and the Ramayana commonly portrayed women as weak, emotional creatures. Good women submitted to their husbands
Child marriage common (eight-year-old girls married to men in twenties)
Women encouraged to remain in private and focused on family life
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12. Chapter 9 Classical India: Emergence of Buddhism and Hinduism
Social Order
Caste system from Aryan times
Brahmins (priests)
Kshatriyas (warriors, aristocrats)
Vaishyas (peasants, merchants)
Shudras (serfs)
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13. Chapter 9 Classical India: Emergence of Buddhism and Hinduism
Castes and Guilds
Chapter 9 Classical India: Emergence of Buddhism and Hinduism
Guild is a group of craftsmen that control quality and price
Increasing economic diversification challenges simplistic caste system
Jati formed: guilds that acted as subcastes
Controlled most of the societal rules
Enforced social order
“Out-castes” forced into low-status employment (tanners, butchers, undertakers)
Wealth and the Social Order
Upward social mobility possible for vaishyas, shudras because of increased wealth from trade
Vaishyas and shrudras could have more wealth than their higher caste members like Brahmin/Kshatriya which would challenge Classical Indian structure
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14. Religions of Salvation in Classical India
Chapter 9 Classical India: Emergence of Buddhism and Hinduism
Religions of Salvation in Classical India
Social change generated resentment of caste privilege
e.g. brahmins free from taxation, charged high fees for religious services
The increase of wealth changed Indians’ view on the rigid caste system
Sixth-fifth century B.C.E., new religions and philosophies challenged traditional Indian society
Charvakas: atheists who believed Brahmins to be fake. Very materialistic
Jainists, Buddhists, Hindus began as an alternative to the Brahmins’ spiritual practices
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15. Chapter 9 Classical India: Emergence of Buddhism and Hinduism
Jainism
Vardhamana Mahavira, B.C.E. “the great hero”
Abandons privileged family to lead ascetic life
Promotes seventh century movement based on Upanishads
Ascetic living- emphasis on selfless living, concern for all beings
Non materialistic
Everything has a soul- humans, animals, plants, water
Souls experienced suffering trapped in terrestrial bodies
Only through purification from selfish behavior could souls gain release from their imprisonment to attain a state of bliss
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16. Chapter 9 Classical India: Emergence of Buddhism and Hinduism
Jainism-Ahimsa
Principle of extreme nonviolence to achieve purification
Jainists sweep earth before they walked upon ground, strain water, use slow movements to avoid killing insects
Only devout monks practiced Jainism. Everyday life unavoidably harmed something, therefore most people didn’t follow it
Jainist values and ethics were very appealing but difficult to maintain
If everything had value… then how could you put people into caste that devalue groups of people
Jainist ideas became popular to the lower caste members
Ahimsa continues to inspire modern movements (Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr.)
Social change through non violent means
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17. Chapter 9 Classical India: Emergence of Buddhism and Hinduism
Early Buddhism
Siddhartha Gautama, ca B.C.E.
Encountered age, sickness, death, then monastic life (thought monk had it figured out)
Abandoned comfortable life to become a monk
Gautama’s Search for Enlightenment
Intense meditation, extreme asceticism
Forty-nine days of meditation under bo tree (Bodh Gaya) to finally achieve enlightenment
Attained title of Buddha: “the enlightened one”
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18. The Buddha and His Followers
Chapter 9 Classical India: Emergence of Buddhism and Hinduism
The Buddha and His Followers
Begins teaching new doctrine ca. 528 B.C.E. at Deer Park of Sarnath
Led his disciples for 40 years, died in 483 BCE
Followers owned only robes, food bowls
Life of wandering, begging, meditation
Establishment of monastic communities
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19. Buddha and His Disciples
Chapter 9 Classical India: Emergence of Buddhism and Hinduism
Buddha and His Disciples
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20. Buddhist Doctrine: The Dharma
Chapter 9 Classical India: Emergence of Buddhism and Hinduism
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
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 become important institutions in Indian society
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21. Chapter 9 Classical India: Emergence of Buddhism and Hinduism
A Buddhist Monastery
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22. Ashoka’s Support of Buddhism
Chapter 9 Classical India: Emergence of Buddhism and Hinduism
Ashoka’s Support of Buddhism
Personal conversion to Buddhism in 260 BCE
Saddened after violent war with Kalinga
Wanted to right the wrongs from war
Banned animal sacrifices, mandated vegetarianism in court
Material support for Buddhist institutions, missionary activities, land grants
Made personal pilgrimages to Buddhist stupas
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23. Changes in Buddhist Thought
Chapter 9 Classical India: Emergence of Buddhism and Hinduism
Changes in Buddhist Thought
Third century B.C.E. to first century C.E.
Buddha considered divine (but not by Buddha himself)
Institution of boddhisatvas (“saints”)
Charitable donations to monasteries regarded as pious activity
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
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24. Nalanda- Best known monastary
Chapter 9 Classical India: Emergence of Buddhism and Hinduism
Nalanda- Best known monastary
Buddhist monastery offered regular education
Quasi-university: Buddhism, Hindu texts, philosophy, astronomy, medicine
Peak at end of Gupta dynasty
Helped spread Indian thought
e.g. mathematical number zero
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25. Emergence of Popular Hinduism
Chapter 9 Classical India: Emergence of Buddhism and Hinduism
Composition of epics from older oral traditions
Mahabharata – dealt with bloody civil war between two cousins
Ramayana- love and adventure story (ideal husband and wife)
Emphasis on god Vishnu and his incarnations
The Bhagavad Gita
“Song of the lord”
Shows the expectation and promise of salvation to Hindus
Centuries of revisions, final form ca. 400 C.E.
Shows the cultural climate of Mauryan and Guptan dynasties
Dialogue between Arjuna (Kshatriya warrior) and Krishna during civil war
Arjuna did not want to fight- Krishna talked him into fighting by saying killing does not kill the soul
Krishna stated Arjuna had a specific role to fulfill because of his caste (failure to do so was a grievous sin)
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26. Chapter 9 Classical India: Emergence of Buddhism and Hinduism
Hindu Ethics
Hindus achieved salvation through careful fulfillment of caste duties
Obedience to religious and moral laws (dharma)
Pursuit of economic well-being and honesty (artha)
Enjoyment of social, physical pleasure (kama)
Salvation of the soul (moksha)
Proper balance of the 3 laws would help achieve salvation (moksha)
Popularity of Hinduism
Gradually replaced Buddhism in India
Buddhist monks weren’t working as hard to spread religion
Gupta dynastic leaders extend considerable support
Gave land
Supported education that supported Hindu values
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Period 2