Indus Valley
The two mountain ranges that border India to the north.
What are the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush?
The people who moved into the Indus Valley after the Harappan civilization died out.
Who were the Aryans?
The core belief in Hinduism that is considered fundamental truth and the source of life.
What is Brahman?
A name or title that means "enlightened one".
What is the Buddha?
This person conquered India after Alexander the Great destabilized the kingdoms there.
Who was Chandragupta Maurya?
The two river systems in the north of the Indian subcontinent.
What are the Ganges and Indus river systems?
The language spoken and written in during the Vedic Period.
What is Sanskrit?
The cycle of rebirth for the spirit.
What is reincarnation?
The name of the man who became the Buddha.
Who was Siddhartha Gautama?
This was the first major empire founded in ancient India.
What was the Mauryan Empire?
The two biggest cities founded in the Indus Valley civilization.
What are Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa?
The social classes or hierarchy of ancient India.
What was the caste system?
The force generated by doing good and evil in one's life.
What is karma?
The founders of early Jain communities.
What are the Jinas?
This person was the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya and expanded the Mauryan Empire.
Who was Ashoka?
A beautiful red stone of high value in the Indus Valley civilization.
What is carnelian?
Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Sudras.
What are the varnas?
The concept of duty that applied to one's varna.
What is dharma?
The concept of perfect peace through spiritual growth and meditation.
What is nirvana?
This empire lasted for a few hundred years and declined in the 700s AD.
What was the Gupta Empire?
The language family that many modern languages originated from.
What is Indo-European?
The untouchables. The people outside of society.
What are the Dalits?
The two epics of the Vedic Period.
What are the Ramayana and the Mahabarata?
The branch of Buddhism that believes that the Buddha is a god.
What is Mahayana Buddhism?
This person founded the Gupta Empire.