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Ancient India
Study Guide for Chapter 5
vocabulary | explanation |
---|---|
India | subcontinent of Asia south of China and north of the Indian Ocean |
Indus and Ganges | major rivers of the Indian subcontinent |
dharma | the Hindu and Buddhist concept requiring a person to do their religious duty based on social status |
karma | the Hindu and Buddhist force generated by a person's actions now that can affect how they'll be reborn in the next life |
Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro | cities of ancient Indian civilization; well-organized |
Vedas | ancient Indian religious texts |
nirvana | enlightenment; ultimate awareness of the meaning of life in both Hinduism and Buddhism; reunion with the Great World Soul |
4 Noble Truths and Eightfold Path | Buddhist method for reaching nirvana |
Silk Road | major trade route that helped spread Buddhism to China |
reincarnation | process of dying and being reborn; rebirth of a person's soul in a different form after death |
Siddhartha Gautama | founder of Buddhism; the Buddha |
Himalayas | natural barrier between India and China; highest mountain range in the world |
stupas | buildings that held religious relics in ancient India |
Sanskrit | language from ancient India |
caste system | rigid social hierarchy of ancient India |
moksha | release from the cycle of rebirth in Hinduism |
Asoka (also spelled Ashoka) | brutal Mauryan emperor who converted to Buddhism |
Gupta | Golden Age empire of ancient India |
yoga | training associated with Hinduism that can lead to oneness with Brahman |
pilgrim | a person who travels to a shrine or other holy place (like a stupa) |
rigid | unbending and inflexible |
welfare | something that aids or promotes well-being |