Geography
This mountain range forms the northern border of the Indian subcontinent.
What are the Himalayas?
Two of the major world religions that trace their origins back to Ancient India.
What are Hinduism and Buddhism?
This is the ancient writing and language of India, brought by the Aryans.
What is Sanskrit?
Chandragupta Maurya can be described as...
What is cruel, hated, unpopular, etc.
These individuals were born into the highest caste level (the priestly class).
Who were the Brahmins?
A large landmass is part of a continent but is distinct from it, often separated by mountains.
What is a subcontinent?
Vishnu was known as the ______ of the universe.
What is the preserver?
This is a dome-shaped Buddhist shrine or monument.
What is a stupa?
This period is famously referred to as "India’s Golden Age".
What is the Gupta empire?
These are the four specific varnas in order of rank: the Brahmins (priests), the Kshatriyas (warriors/rulers), the Vaishyas (merchants/landowners), and this fourth group of laborers and servants.
Who are the Shudras?
This seasonal wind pattern causes wet and dry seasons, often bringing heavy rain to India.
What is monsoon?
The belief that a person's actions determines how the person will be reborn in the next life.
What is karma?
What is a guru?
This group of people is credited with bringing Sanskrit literature to Ancient India.
Who were the Aryans?
This group existed completely outside of the varna system/social class pyramid and was often tasked with work that others considered "unclean."
Who are the Dalits/Untouchables?
The specific river/valley where the Harappan civilization first arose.
What is the Indus River/Valley?
This term describes the continuous cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.
What is samsara?
In Hinduism, the divine law that allows people to perform the duties of their caste.
What is dharma?
India was broken into 16 kingdoms until these two groups came into power.
Who are the Guptas and Mauryans?
The warrior/ruling class
Who are the Kshatriyas?
This is the holy river that flows across northern India and into the Bay of Bengal.
What is the Ganges River?
According to Hinduism, everything in the universe comes from this one universal spirit.
What is Brahman?
A social group, based on occupation, that a person is born into.
What is varna?
What happened to Ashoka after he conquered the kingdom of Kalinga?
He rejected violence and became a Buddhist.
The merchants and landowners
Who are the Vaishyas?