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37 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Reincarnation
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The successive attachment of the soul to some animate form according to merits earned in previous lives
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Dharma
[dŠr muh, dur-] |
The caste position and career determined by a person's birth; Hindu culture required that one accept one's social position and perform occupation to the best of one's ability in order to have a better situation in the next life
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Caste system
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Rigid system of social classification first introduced into Indian subcontinent by Aryans
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Nirvana
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The Buddhist state of enlightenment, a state of tranquility
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Buddha
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Creator of a major Indian and Asian religion; born in 6th century B.C.E. as son of local ruler among Aryan tribes located near Himalayas; became an ascetic; found enlightenment under bo tree; taught that enlightenment could be achieved only by abandoning desires for all earthly things
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Sanskrit
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The sacred and classical Indian language
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Chandragupta Maurya
[chun druh gUp tuh mour EE uh] |
Founder of Maurya dynasty; established first empire in Indian subcontinent; first centralized government since Harappan civilization
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Ashoka
[uh sO kuh] |
Grandson of Chandragupta Maurya; completed conquests of Indian subcontinent; converted to Buddhism and sponsored spread of new religion throughout his empire
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Shiva
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Hindu, god of destruction and reproduction; worshipped as the personification of cosmic forces of change
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Miscegenation
[mi se juh nAY shuhn, misi juh-] |
Practice of interracial marriage or sexual contact; found in virtually all colonial ventures
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Harappa
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Along with Mohenjo-daro, major urban complex of the Harappan civilization; laid out on planned grid pattern
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Karma
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The sum of merits accumulated by a soul at any given point in time; determined the caste to which the soul would be assigned in the next life
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Vishnu
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The Brahman, later Hindu, god of sacrifice; widely worshipped
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Upanishads
[U pan i shad, U pŠ ni shŠd] |
Later books of the Vedas; contained sophisticated and sublime philosophical ideas; utilized by Brahmans to restore religious authority
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Untouchables
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Outcaste in Hindu society; performed tasks that were considered polluting, street sweeping, removal of human waste, and tanning
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Mahabharata
[muh hŠ bŠr uh tuh] |
Indian epic of war, princely honor, love, and social duty; written down in the last centuries B.C.E.; previously handed down in oral form
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Mauryas
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Dynasty established in Indian subcontinent in 4th century B.C.E. following invasion by Alexander the Great
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Indus River valley
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River sources in Himalayas to mouth in Arabian Sea; location of Harappan civilization
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Aryans
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Indo-European nomadic pastoralists who replaced Harappan civilization; militarized society
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Mohenjo Daro
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Along with Harappa, major urban complex of the Harappan civilization; laid out on planned grid pattern
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Stupas
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Stone shrines built to house pieces of bone or hair and personal possessions said to be relics of the Buddha; preserved Buddhist architectural forms
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Guptas
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Dynasty that succeeded the Kushans in the 3rd century C.E.; built empire that extended to all but the southern regions of Indian subcontinent; less centralized than Mauryan Empire
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Dasas
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Aryan name for indigenous people of Indus valley region; regarded as socially inferior to Aryans
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Ramayana
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One of the great epic tales from classical India; traces adventures of King Rama and his wife, Sita
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Kamasutra
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Written by Vatsayana during Gupta era; offered instructions on all aspects of life for higher caste males, including grooming, hygiene, etiquette, selection of wives, and instruction on lovemaking
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Rama
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Major figure in the popular Indian epic Ramayana
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Monsoons
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Seasonal winds crossing Indian subcontinent and southeast Asia; during summer bring rains
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Signet Ring of Rakshasa
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One of great Sanskrit dramas produced during the Gupta Empire; dramatized authority of Brahmans
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Harappan civilization
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First civilization of Indian subcontinent; emerged in Indus River valley c. 2500 B.C.E.
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Kautilya
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Political advisor to Chandragupta Maurya; one of the authors of Arthashastra; believed in scientific application of warfare
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Gurus
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Originally referred to as Brahmans who served as teachers for the princes of the imperial court of the Guptas
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Indra
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Chief deity of the Aryans; depicted as a colossal, hard-drinking warrior
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Vedas
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Aryan hymns originally transmitted orally but written down in sacred books from the 6th century B.C.E.
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Arthashastra
[Šr thŠ shŠs trŠ] |
Political treatise written during reign of Chandragupta Maurya; advocated use of spies and assassins, bribery, and scientific forms of warfare
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Varnas
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Clusters of caste groups in Aryan society; four social castes' Brahmans (priests), warriors, merchants, and peasants; beneath four Aryan castes was group of socially untouchable Dasas
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Himalayas
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Mountain region marking the northern border of the Indian subcontinent; site of the Aryan settlements that formed small kingdoms or warrior republics
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Skanda Gupta
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Last of the able rulers of the Gupta dynasty; following his reign the empire dissolved under the pressure of nomadic invasions
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