We continue our consideration of ancient civilizations and today we turn our gaze to the east, namely to Ancient India. From this article you will learn about who the Dravidians are, what the city of Mohenjo-Daro was like, what the Vedas and castes are. You will also get acquainted with Hinduism and learn about the works of "Ramayana" and "Mahabharata". Get to know the science and architecture of Ancient India and many other things that this fabulous civilization brought to the world!
Who are the Dravidians?
Sindhu - this is how the inhabitants of the country that stretched along its banks called their river; it was known to the Greeks as Indos, and to the natives themselves as the Indus. Easily and naturally, while retaining a recognizable originality, it was transferred from Asia to Europe and the enchanting word India sounded in many languages.
On the territory that in ancient times bore this general name and spread out in a vast triangle between the Arabian Sea, the Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal, at the end of the 20th century. there are three independent states:India itself, Bangladesh and Pakistan, through whose lands the legendary Indus flows.
In ancient times, the expanses of Ancient India (namely, it will be discussed) were inhabited by Dravidians - short, dark-skinned, black-haired people with wide noses. Among the inhabitants of South India there are many of their descendants, surprisingly reminiscent of their distant ancestors.
Civil strife, natural disasters, epidemics, invasions were a thing of the past, becoming milestones of a leisurely time. Over the centuries, the Dravidians were replaced by numerous tribes that differed from one another in their way of life, language, beliefs, culture, degree of development and even the appearance of their representatives.
City of Mohenjo-Daro
History is reluctant to reveal its secrets. But sometimes they become known almost by accident. Once an Indian archaeologist R. D. Banerjee was excavating. Finding a wonderful monument of the II century. BC e., he was very happy and tried to finish the work as soon as possible, when suddenly, a little deeper, he discovered the remains of a more ancient culture. So the famous Mohenjo-Daro (Hill of the Dead), a whole city that existed more than 4 thousand years ago, arose from oblivion. An even more ancient city of Harappa was also found. By his name, everything created in that era is called the monuments of the Harappan culture.
Scientists have established that Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa are the two largest cities of the ancient civilization, possibly the capitals of large political associations. At the highest point in the city stood a citadel, fortified with powerful walls, where they usually escaped from floods. Inside the citadel was a huge pool for ritual ablutions. With the help of a special device, fresh water was supplied here.
The wide and straight streets of these cities are surprising, the extremely durable brick (even now it is difficult to split it), from which buildings were erected. The houses were two or even three stories high. Instead of windows, small holes were made in the thick walls for lighting:both the thickness of the walls and the tiny windows better protected from the Indian heat. Even the upper floors of the houses had running water to perform ablutions without leaving the dwelling.
Bronze, copper, stone sculptures found by archaeologists help to imagine what the inhabitants of Mohenjo-Daro looked like. Here is a dancer at the temple - young, long-legged, slender, with many bracelets on her arm. And here is the priest. He is very handsome. His eyes are half closed - the priest is immersed in prayer. His robe, thrown over his left shoulder, is decorated with an ornament in the form of a sacred shamrock. Carefully cut hair is intercepted by a wide ribbon falling down the back; on the forehead is a round buckle. The sculpture is made of white steatite (a kind of talc), which has retained traces of red paste. The eyes are made of white mother-of-pearl and this makes them seem alive.
What are the Vedas?
The Vedas are the oldest monuments of Indian writing. The most famous Vedas (which means "knowledge") are the Rigveda (Veda of hymns), the Yajurveda (Veda of sacrificial formulas), the Somaveda (Veda of chants), the Atharvaveda (Veda of incantations). Their authors are ancient poets and sages Rishi. Not everyone could study and even listen to the Vedas in Ancient India. This was the privilege of the "dvijati" - "twice-born".
Casts of Ancient India
The society of ancient India was divided into castes (the Indians call them "jatis", and scientists - "varnas"). Belonging to a caste was determined by the birth of a person and was inherited. Representatives of each caste were engaged from generation to generation in the same profession, worshiped the same gods, strictly followed the established rules in relation to each other and members of other castes. One of the hymns of the Rig Veda describes the emergence of castes as follows. There was a mythical first man Purush. From his mouth came the Brahmins, out of hand — kshatriyas, from the thighs - vaishyas, and from the feet - sudras. Shudras were considered "ekajati" - "once born." How could members of the first three castes be born twice? In childhood, over the boys of the first three castes, a complex rite of "upanayana" was performed, accompanied by a solemn putting on of the sacred thread "upavita". After that, the boy was considered born a second time. The Shudras were not honored with such a rite.
The most honorable place in society was occupied, of course, by the Brahmins, who performed priestly duties, as they knew the sacred doctrine. They were called "avadhya" - "inviolable". The murder of a Brahmin was considered the greatest crime.
The kings, the military nobility were represented by kshatriyas - "endowed with power." The well-known word “raja” (king, leader) refers specifically to kshatriyas.
Free community members - farmers, cattle breeders, artisans, merchants - belonged to the Vaishyas.
The position of the Shudras in ancient Indian society was very difficult. They were not supposed to do anything but hard work everyday and humble service to the “twice-born”.
What is Hinduism?
India is also the birthplace of Hinduism - one of the oldest religions on earth, which originated in the 4th millennium BC. e. A distinctive feature of Hinduism is polytheism. The ancient Indians believed that the gods, like people, love delicious food, beautiful clothes, they are also friends and quarrel. Surya (god of the sun), Dyaus-Pitar (god of the sky), Ushas (goddess of the dawn), Parjanya (god of thunder), Sarasvati (goddess of the river of the same name), Agni (god of fire) are considered the gods of the most ancient origin. Indra was especially revered - the lord of rain, who defeated Vritra - the demon of drought. Later, the main gods of the Indians were Brahma (the beginning of all beginnings in the world), Shiva (the destroyer) and Vishnu (the guardian).
The ancient Indians imagined Vishnu as a beautiful young man reclining on the mythical snake Shesha, which swims in the waters of the cosmic ocean. Vishnu has four arms, in which he holds a conch, a wheel, a club and a lotus flower. Vishnu has the gift of transforming himself into animals and humans. Once, turning into a dwarf, Vishnu came to the demon king Bali and asked him to give him as much land as he could cover in three steps. Laughing, Bali willingly gave permission, but soon regretted it:the dwarf grew to a gigantic size and covered the sky with the first step, and the earth with the second. Seeing the horror of Bali, the magnanimous Vishnu did not take the third step.
High in the Himalayas on Mount Kailash, the god Shiva lives. His appearance is formidable - Shiva is entwined with cobras, dressed in a tiger skin, wears a necklace of skulls. He is many-sided and many-armed, on his forehead is an all-withering third eye. As the legend says, saving people, Shiva drank poison, and his neck turned blue. Therefore, it is often called "Blue-throated". Shiva has a trident in his hand, and he always performs accompanied by the bull Nandin. Shiva and his wife Parvati, which means "Goryanka", have two sons. The first is the four-armed Ganesha, an elephant-headed man riding a rat. Until now, Ganesha is revered as the god of wisdom and good luck. His brother, the war god Skanda, has six heads. He rides a huge peacock, holding a bow in one hand and arrows in the other.
The ancient Indians deified animals. The sacred cow Surabhi, which in translation means “Good-smelling”, was especially revered. According to legend, this cow resides in the paradise of the god Indra. The Indians also worshiped snakes - nagas. In modern India, there is a state called Nagaland - "Land of Serpents".
Ramayana and Mahabharata
The invaluable heritage of the great Indian culture is the Mahabharata - a huge collection of legends, fairy tales, traditions, religious and philosophical texts. The author of this grandiose work is unknown. There are many stories in the Mahabharata, the main one of which tells about the struggle of two royal families - the Pandavas and the Kauravas. In a long dispute, the Pandava brothers won, but not without divine help:the chariot of one of them, the brave and powerful Arjuna, was ruled by his mentor the great Krishna. The conversation between Krishna and Arjuna before the battle is depicted in the Bhagavad Gita (Divine Song), which is considered the most sacred part of the Mahabharata. Some parts of the Bhagavad Gita sound quite modern.
The epic poem Ramayana, in contrast to the Mahabharata, is a single and coherent work attributed to the poet Valmiki. The Ramayana tells about the eldest son of King Dasaratha, Rama, who, due to the deceit of one of the royal wives, is forced to go into exile with his brother Lakshman and his faithful wife Sita. They lived in the forest, eating roots and fruits. The king of demons, the evil Ravana, kidnapped Sita and carried him away. In a terrible rage, Rama, united with the monkey leader Hanuman, kills the kidnapper and frees the beautiful Sita. Returning to the capital, Rama becomes king.
"Ramayana" and "Mahabharata" can be called an encyclopedia of the life of Ancient India:there is so much information about the country, people's customs, government and culture.
Ancient India and Alexander the Great
This fabulous country also attracted the great conqueror of antiquity, Alexander the Great. His army crossed the Hindu Kush and split up in the valley of the Coffen River (now Kabul). One part of it, led by Alexander, moved north, the other, under the command of Perdikkas and Hephaestion, crossed the Indus and prepared to give battle. However, the warriors were expected to have a plentiful meal and rest. The local raja Taxil not only did not intend to fight the Greek-Macedonians, but even gave them horses and elephants.
Along with King Taxil, history has preserved the name of the brave King Pora, the ruler of a powerful state in northwestern India, who, despite the numerical superiority of the aliens, decided to give them an open battle. In 326 BC. e. there was a fierce battle. The Indian army was defeated. Bleeding, Por stood before the conqueror and demanded that he be treated as a king should be treated. Alexander, admired by his courage, not only returned Porus his possessions, but even presented new lands.
Alexander failed to conquer all of India. In the conquered territories, he left governors. The last of them, Eudemus, left India in 317 BC. e., that is, already 6 years after the death of Alexander the Great. The contact of the two cultures turned out to be short-lived, but it did not go unnoticed:the influence of Greek culture is noticeable in the beautiful images of North Indian Gandharian sculpture.
Science of Ancient India
The ancient Indians were knowledgeable not only in literature, but also in mathematics, astronomy, and medicine. It was they who gave the world chess. The science of healing was called Ayurveda - "the science of long life." The ancient Indian physician was at the same time a botanist, a pharmacologist, a biologist, and a psychologist. Skilled surgeons, they not only removed arrows from wounds almost painlessly for the patient, but even restored the correct shape of noses and ears crippled in battle, i.e. did plastic surgery. Well, in the treatment of snake bites, Indian doctors knew no equal!
Architecture of Ancient India
The most interesting monuments of architecture have come down to us from ancient times. Buddhist sanctuaries-stupas outwardly very much resemble a bell. When looking at them, thoughts about their cosmic origin unconsciously arise - they are so unusual. Their basis is an artificial mound, lined with bricks or covered with whitewashed plaster. The top of the building is crowned with a square terrace "harmika" ("palace of the gods"). A spire rushes upward from its center, on which umbrellas (three or seven), called "amalaka", are strung. Seven umbrellas symbolize seven steps from earth to heaven, and three - the number of heavenly spheres. Inside there is a small chamber (sometimes more than one) with the remains of the Buddha or Buddhist saints. All prayers and rituals are performed only outside.
The most famous is the stupa sanctuary in Sanchi, which was built from the 3rd to the 1st century BC. BC e. On its famous four gates, called "torana", the whole of India is represented:nature, architecture, traditions and legends associated with the life of gods and people, fantastic creatures, wildlife, trees and flowers, the biography of the Buddha. You can look at the gate for hours - how to read a fascinating book.
According to the Historical Encyclopedia