1. Aryans & The Vedic Age (1500-500 BC)
Goal  How did the Aryans change early Indian society & culture?

2. What is being described in the passage?
“When they divided Purusha, in how many different portions did they arrange him? What became of his mouth, what of his two arms? What were his two thighs and his two feet called? His mouth became the Brahman [priests]; his two arms were made into the rajanya (or kshatriya) [warriors]; his two thighs the vaishyas [business people]; from his two feet the shudra [person of the lower working class] was born.”

3. Aryans & The Vedic Age (1500-500 BC)
Aryan Migration – Indo-Europeans
- Pastoral  cattle, sheep
- Agriculture
- Wheels, carts, chariots

4. Indo-European Migrations
The Indo-Europeans - nomadic peoples who came from the steppes

5. Indo-European Languages
English, Spanish, Persian, and Hindi all have origins linked to Indo-European languages
We can tell where certain tribes settled through their different languages
Numerous similarities among languages

8. Sanskrit writing

9. The Vedas
Sacred literature – four collections of prayers, spells, & instructions
Rig Veda  hymns to Aryan gods

10. The Caste System Develops
Aryan means “noble” (Sanskrit)
Viewed themselves as superior to native “dasas”

11. Varna (Social Hierarchy) Pariahs [Dalits]  Untouchables
Brahmins
Kshatriyas
Vaishyas
Shudras
Pariahs [Dalits]  Untouchables

12. The Caste System WHO IS… Brahmins The mouth? The arms? Kshatriyas
The legs?
The feet?
Kshatriyas
Vaishyas
What is a JATI?
Shudras

13. Aryan Kingdoms Arise
At first, Aryan chiefs were elected by the entire tribe
Minor kings struggled for land & power
As a result, the major kingdom of Magadha developed & expanded

15. One of the great epics of India, “Mahabharata”
- Reflects the struggles that took place in
India as the Aryans expanded south
This epic indicates that a blending of cultures
between Aryans & non-Aryans was taking place

16. Krishna was a semi-divine hero described as “dark-faced”, and therefore non-Aryan
Goals of Life = “purusharthas”
Dharma (right action)
Artha (Purpose)
Kama (pleasure)
Moksha (liberation)
Statue of Krishna

17. Excerpt from Mahabharata in which Krishna instructs a young warrior on the proper way to live, fight, and die:
“He who thinks this Self [eternal spirit] to be a slayer, and he who thinks this Self to be slain, are both without discernment; the Soul slays not, neither is it slain…

18. …But if you will not wage this lawful battle, then will you fail your own [caste] law and your honor, and incur sin…The people will name you with dishonor; and to a man of fame dishonor is worse than death”

19. How did the Aryans Transform Society in India?