Title: C3'5: Ancient Indian Life and Culture The Story Continues It is a day of festival' ' ' ' the streets
1C3.5 Ancient Indian Life and CultureThe Story
Continues It is a day of festival. . . . the
streets arebroad rivers of people, folk of every
race,buying and selling in the marketplace
orsinging to the music of wandering minstrels.
This account recalls a day ofcelebration during
the Gupta Empire, an era in which Indian culture
andachievements flourished.
2I. Economy and Society
- While the highest classes in northern India
enjoyed luxury, most people barely survived
3I. Economy and Society
- The rajas drew wealth from the farmers who worked
the land and claimed one-fourth of each harvest
4I. Economy and Society
- In southern India many lived by trading, sending
luxury goods to the Far East, SW Asia, Africa,
and Europe
5I. Economy and Society
- Hindu women had few rights, were required to obey
male relatives, and could not own property or
study sacred writings
6I. Economy and Society
- Men could have more than one wife and polygyny
became widespread
Polygamy and polyandry were prevalent In ancient
India, but it is doubtful whether they were ever
popular in the public opinion. It was practiced
mostly by the warrior castes and rich merchants.
Many Hindu gods are also depicted as polygamous,
with two or more wives. Present day Hindus
consider both polygamy and polyandry primitive
and archaic, remnants of an old society that
still haunt the lives of a few unfortunate
victims. In India Hindus acknowledge polygamy as
both illegal and immoral.
7I. Economy and Society
- In a practice called suttee, widows threw
themselves on their husbands funeral pyres
Sati (or Suttee) is a rare Indian practice in
which a widow sacrifices her life by throwing
herself onto her deceased husbands funeral pyre.
It is not directly derived from or connected to
Hinduism, although spiritual beliefs play a large
part in its traditional observation
8II. Cultural Achievements
- The stories of the Panchatantra, or Five Books,
were animal fables intended to instruct the sons
of the royalty
One of India's most influential contributions to
world literature, the Panchatantra consists of
five books of animal fables and magic tales (some
87 stories in all) that were compiled between the
third and fifth centuries AD. It is believed that
even then the stories were already ancient. The
tales' self-proclaimed purpose is to educate the
sons of royalty.
9II. Cultural Achievements
- The Panchatantra has been translated into more
languages than any other book except the Bible
10II. Cultural Achievements
- Plays were often performed outside and contained
tragic scenes, but ended happily
11A. Art and Architecture
- The only paintings that survive are murals in
caves depicting the Buddha and his followers
The Ajanta Caves. Ancient Paintings of Buddhist
India
12A. Art and Architecture
- Architects designed and built great Hindu temples
and Asoka built thousands of Buddhist stupas -
13B. Education
- Education was only for higher caste children and
they studied the Vedas, astronomy, mathematics,
warfare, and government -
The ancient Gurukul system of education where the
guru imparts knowledge to the disciples
14B. Education
- Nalanda was a Buddhist university where thousands
of students attended for free
15C. Mathematics and Astronomy
- Mathematicians understood the concepts of
abstract and negative numbers, zero, and infinity
16C. Mathematics and Astronomy
- Aryabhata (late AD 400s) was one of the first to
use algebra and to solve quadratic equations
17C. Mathematics and Astronomy
- Indian astronomers identified seven planets,
understood the earths rotation, and predicted
eclipses
18D. Medicine
- Indian rulers built free hospitals for the people
19D. Medicine
- Indian physicians understood the importance of
the spinal cord, could set bones and performed
plastic surgery
20D. Medicine
- Physicians practiced cleanliness before
operations and disinfected wounds, a procedure
not practiced in Western medicine until recent
times
21D. Medicine
- Physicians developed inoculation - infecting a
person with a mild form of a disease to prevent a
more serious form
22D. Medicine
- They successfully inoculated people against
smallpox, something not accomplished in the West
until the 1700s