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Siddartha Gautama founds Buddhism- What is Buddhism? How does it differ from Hinduism?
Buddhism is a path of practice and spiritual development leading to Insight into the true nature of reality. Hinduism strongly believes in ‘Atman’, the soul and ‘Brahman’, the eternity of self. As per Buddhism, there is no concept of the self or I and salvation involved in realizing this concept. Hindus worship several gods and goddesses. While Buddha did not deny the existence of any god, he preached that it is futile to search or seek something, which an individual is not even aware of. -
Maurya Empire- Who were the two main leaders of the Mauryan Dynasty? Why did it eventually fall?
Kautilya: he marched across India, drove Alexander's successors out of the region, and established his domain in 321 BCE. Bindusara: he ascended to the throne in 298 BCE and reigned until 272. During this time, he extended the empire even further, taking the lands of central India. About 50 years after Ashoka's death, the Mauryan king was killed by his general-in-chief, The empire started shrinking under Ashoka's successors. -
Reign of Asoka- What is Asoka most famous for doing? How did he accomplish this?
Asoka is considered ancient India's greatest ruler. He combined the piety of a saint with the practical qualities of a king, and in the history of Buddhism he ranks second only to Buddha. In 261 he annexed Kalinga, a vast tract between the Mahanadi and Godavari rivers, killing over 100,000 people and taking 150,000 captives. This was the only aggressive war of his reign and so shocked the King's conscience that 4 years later he publicly recorded on various edicts his profound sorrow and remorse. -
Battle of Kalinga- How did this affect Asoka?
The Modern day Orissa and Ganjam was the Ancient Kalinga. The exact reason of invading Kalinga is not known. It is known that Kalinga was a part of Magadhan Empire during the time of the Nandas. Then what led Ashoka to re-conquer it.The invasion of Kalinga was a big milestone in the history of Magadha, and of India. It had influential consequences. It had incredible influence on the personal life and policy of Asoka. -
Aryan Invasion- From where did the Aryans migrate? What geographical feature did they use to enter India? Where did they move the seat of power and influence?
India was invaded about 1500 B.C, by a tribe of European origins called the Aryans who composed the Rig Vedas. The oldest inscriptions in Old Indic is found in northern Syria in Hittite records regarding the Hurrian-speaking Mitanni. The excavation of the Harappa, Mohenjo-daro and Lothal sites of the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) in the 1920, showed that northern India already had an advanced culture when the Indo-Aryans migrated into the area. -
Gupta Dynasty- What were some accomplishments during the dynasty? Why do we call this the "Golden Age?"
Great scholars, Art and Architecture, Science, Medicine. The Gupta Empire was considered India’s Golden Age due to mathematics advances, such as the concept of zero, medical remedies, plastic surgery and vaccinations. The Gupta Empire was also known for flourishing creative arts, including stories that inspired later works like “Aladdin and his Magic Lamp". -
Decline of Mohenjo Daro and Harappa- Along which river were these settlements located? What was the reason for the decline?
These settlements were located next to Indus River.
1. Law of Nature
2. Floods
3. Earthquakes
4. Change of the Course of the Indus
5. Plague
6. Foreign Invasion
