India and Southeast Asia

1500 B.C.E. – 1025 C.E.

Foundations of Indian Civilization

1500 B.C.E. – 300 C.E.

Indian Subcontinent

• 3 topographical zones:– Northern mountainous zone– Indus and Ganges basins– Peninsula

• Vindhya Mountains and Deccan plateau divide peninsula from other two zones

• 4 sub-regions in Peninsula:– Tropical Kerala coast in west– Coromandel Coast in east– Flat area of Tamil Nadu in south– Island of Sri Lanka

Map of India

Weather, Crops, and Geography

• Peninsular India and Ganges Valley have a subtropical climate and plentiful rainfall.

• Indus Valley is dry and agriculture relies on irrigation.

• Staple crop of the Ganges Delta is rice.• Staple crops elsewhere are wheat, millet,

and barley.• All of this geographic diversity made it

difficult for any political power to unify all of India for any length of time.

Indian Crops

Wheat

Rice

Barley

Millet

Beginning the Vedic Age

• Indo-European warriors migrated into India after fall of Indus Valley civilizations.

• Organized into patriarchal families or kinship groups and herded cattle in northwest.

• After 1000 B.C.E., began to push into the Ganges Valley.– Used iron tools to cultivate land and knock

down trees

Vedic Oral Tradition

• Light-skinned Arya tribes tell of a violent struggle with the darker-skinned Dravidian-speaking Dasas.

• The Arya tribes state they drove the Dasas into southern India.

Varna System

• Developed because of struggle between Dasas and Aryas.

• People were born into one of four Varna:– Brahmin (priests/scholars)– Kshatriya (warriors)– Vaishya (merchants)– Shudra (peasant/laborer)

• Fifth group, the untouchables, were outside the system and consisted of persons who did demeaning or ritually polluting work.

Varna System

"When they divided Purusa, how many ways did they

apportion him? What was his mouth? What were his arms? What were his thighs, his feet

declared to be? His mouth was the Brahmin, his arms

were the Rajanaya [Kshatriya caste], his thighs the

Vaishya; from his feet the Shudra was born."

--Rig Veda concerning the origin of the members of the

Caste System

Subdivision of the Varna

• Four Varna were subdivided into hereditary occupational groups called jati (caste).

• Jati were arranged in order of hierarchy

• Complex rules governed the appropriate occupation, duties, and rituals of each jati, including interaction between people of different jati.

Reincarnation

• Systems of Varna and Jati were rationalized by the concept of reincarnation.

• Each individual has an immortal spirit (atman) that will be reborn in another body after death.

• One’s station in the next life depends on one’s actions (karma) in this and previous lives.

Vedic Religion

• Emphasized the worship of male deities through sacrifice.

• Religious knowledge and practice was the monopoly of the Brahmin priestly varna.– Memorized rituals, prayers, and hymns– May have opposed writing of this information

to maintain their monopoly of religious information

Vedic Women

• Do not know much about status or roles of women in the Vedic period.

• Could:– Study lore– Participate in rituals– Own land

• Married in middle or late teens.

Reacting to Rigidity

• People reacted against rigid social hierarchy and religious monopoly.

• Did so by retreating to the forest to persue yoga, special diets, or meditation.

• Goal was to achieve moksha – liberation from cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.

• Ideas are reflected in the Upanishads.

Jainism

• Founded by Mahavira (540 – 468 B.C.E.)

• Jains practiced nonviolence and went to extremes not to kill any living thing– Most extreme went naked and starved

themselves to death

• Less extreme devoted themselves to commerce and banking– Did not require them to kill like agriculture did

Buddhism

• Founded by Siddhartha Gautama– Title was Buddha, which

means “Enlightened One”

• Taught the “Four Noble Truths” and the Eightfold Path that would lead individuals to enlightenment.

• Some of his followers took vows of celibacy, nonviolence, and poverty

Buddhism

• Original form of Buddhism centered on individual’s attempts to gain enlightenment through:– Moderate living– Self-discipline– Meditation

• Goal was to achieve nirvana or release from cycle of birth, death, and rebirth

• All things were composite, including the individual.– This was in contrast to the Vedic belief in the

existence of an eternal soul (atman).

Death of Buddha

• After the death of the Buddha, some of his followers organized themselves into monasteries and nunneries

• Also developed a complex, hierarchical religion complete with:– Worship of the Buddha– Reverence for bodhisattvas– Artistic representations of the Buddha

Two Branches of Buddhism

• Religion broke into two major schools:– Mahayana– Theraveda

• Mahayana incorporated new Buddhist beliefs

• Theraveda followed original teachings of the Buddha more closely.

Rise of Hinduism

• Reform of old Vedic religion because of new religions Jainism and Buddhism.

• Foundations of Vedic religion incorporated:– Intense personal religious devotion– Fertility rituals– Symbolism of the southern Dravidian cultures– Elements of Buddhism

• Sacrifice was not as important and role of personal devotion to the gods increased.

Vishnu, Shiva, and Devi

• Two formerly minor Vedic deities now had places of honor in the Hindu religion:– Vishnu, the preserver– Shiva, the destroyer

• Goddess Devi was also prominent in new religious tradition

• Other countless gods and goddesses were understood to be manifestations of a single divine force.

Vishnu, Shiva, and Devi

Shiva

Vishnu

Devi

Hindu Worship

• Centered on temples and shrines

• Included puja (service to a deity) and pilgrimage– Ganges River became a popular pilgrimage

site.

• Religious duties of an individual varied according to gender, social status, and age.

Hindu Temple

Transformation from Vedic religion to Hinduism

• So successful that Hinduism became dominant religion of India.

• Appealed to common people’s need for personal deities with whom they could have a direct connection.

• Theraveda Buddhism too austere to have popular appeal.

• Mahayana Buddhism so close to Hinduism its beliefs could be easily absorbed by larger religion.

Imperial Expansion and Collapse

324 B.C.E. – 650 C.E.

Mauryan Empire

• 324 B.C.E. – 184 B.C.E.

• Core of empire was the Kingdom of Magadha.– Plentiful agriculture and iron resource

• Founded by Chandragupta.

• Expanded by him, Vindusara, and Ashoka until it included most of subcontinent.

Mauryan Emperors

Chandragupta

Ashoka

Map of Mauryan Empire

Mauryan Government

• Capital at the walled and moated city of Pataliputra.

• Establishment, including a large army, was paid for by:– 25% tax on agricultural products of the empire– State monopolies on mines, shipbuilding, and

armaments.

Ashoka

• Most famous Mauryan emperor

• Ruled from 269 – 232 B.C.E.

• Converted to Buddhism after seeing effects of warfare in south

• Buddhist policies of government are preserved in edicts inscribed on rocks and pillars throughout his empire.

Pillar with Inscription

Collapse of the Mauryan Empire

• Collapsed in 184 B.C.E.

• Northern India fell into a period of political fragmentation– Included rule of Northwest by the Shakas and

Kushans– Accompanied by economic development in

which guilds of artisans and merchants played a dominant role

Literature

• Period of political fragmentation also characterized by cultural development that included the writing of the:– Ramayana– Mahabharata

• Includes Bhagavad-Gita

• Period also saw developments in herbal medicines and linguistics

Bhagavad-Gita

• Addresses contradiction between duty to society and duty to one’s own soul.

• Suggests this contradiction can be resolved when one is aware that any form of disciplined action taken without regard for personal benefit is a service to the gods.

New Dynasties

• Andhra dynasty established in an independent state in the Deccan (2nd century B.C.E. to 2nd century C.E.)

• Southern India divided among 3 Tamil kingdoms:– Cholas– Pandyas– Cheras

• Period of great artistic achievement

Gupta Empire

• Began with the kingdom of Magadha

• Brought northern and central India under their control, but not the southern part.

• Guptas controlled iron deposits, established state monopolies, and collected a 25% agricultural tax.

• Never were as strong as Mauryan Empire.

Gupta Control

• Used army to control core of the empire.• Provincial administration was left to governors

who often made posts into hereditary and subordinate kingdoms and kingship groups.

• Exercised power as a “theater-state”– Redistributed profits and luxury goods from trade– Dazzling dependents with elaborate ceremonies in

return for gifts and other favors

About the Gupta

• Very little archaeological data and few contemporary accounts from which we can learn about the Gupta.

• Court supported mathematics and astronomy

• Gupta invented our “Arabic” numerals and the concept of “zero”.

Women in the Gupta period

• Lost right to inherit and own property• Could not participate in key rituals• Treated like lowest varna (Shudra)• Married very young• In some places, a widow was required to burn

herself on her husband’s funeral pyre.• Ways to escape low status:

– Join religious community– Be a courtesan

Hinduism in the Gupta period

• Development of the classic form of Hindu temples.

• Featured:– Exterior courtyard– Inner shrine– Wall decorations

Trade and Collapse

• Gupta India was linked to the outside world by extensive trade networks.

• Trade with southeast and east Asia was particularly flourishing.

• Gupta empire collapsed under the financial burden of defense against the Huns.

Southeast Asia

50 – 1025 C.E.

Geography

• Three geographical zones:– Indo-China mainland– Malay peninsula– Islands

• The area stands in between India and China.– It has been influenced by both cultures

Resources

• Fertile agricultural lands

• Dependable monsoon rains

• Several growing seasons a year– Allowed area to

support a large, dense population

Early Civilization

• Practiced swidden agriculture

• Domesticated important crops and animals– Rice– Soybeans– Sugar Cane– Chickens– Pigs

Migrations

• Southeast Asia received waves of migration of Malay peoples from southern China.

• Continued into Pacific islands and into the Indian Ocean.

• Early Malay groups in Southeast Asia lived in small villages, manufactured bronze tools, and were organized in small political units.

First States

• First large states in Southeast Asia emerged in the early centuries C.E. in response to the position of Southeast Asia as a crossroads for trade and travel between India and China.

• Trade brought business as well as the Hindu and Buddhist cultures.

Funan

• First major state to appear in Southeast Asia in the Mekong delta area.– First through sixth centuries B.C.E.

• Thrived due to its domination of the Isthmus of Kra.

• Decline in the sixth century may be related to the opening of new trade routes that bypassed Funan.

Srivijayan Kingdom

• Located on Sumatra

• Dominated the new southern trade route through the Strait of Malacca as well as other shipping routes through the area of modern Malaysia and Indonesia.

Politics

• Political system knit together four ecological zones and their local rulers under the authority of the Srivijayan king.

• Four zones were:– Core area along the Musi River– Upland Sumatran interior– River ports– Fertile rice lands of central Java

Srivijayan Kings

• Maintained their control over this complex system through a combination of:– Military power– Diplomacy– Control of trade– Techniques of the “theater-state”

• Kings used splendor of capital to attract resources and labor

Srivijayan Kings

• Power of kings enhanced by popular belief in their “magical powers”

• Kings associated with forces of fertility

• Patronized Buddhist monasteries and schools

Indian Influence

• Indian culture exercised a powerful influence on Srivijayan concepts of kingship and government

• Hindu and Buddhism became dominant faiths of the region

• The Srivijayan did not simply imitate India, they borrowed selectively from Indian civilization and adapted what they borrowed to their own culture and needs.

Decline of Srivijayan Kingdom

• Changes in trade routes led to the decline of the Srivijaya in the eleventh century.

• Capital was destroyed in 1025 by the Chola kingdom.