1
The Upanishads This site provides a general discussion of the Upanishads.
http://campus.northpark.edu/history/WebChron/India/Upanishads.html Question for exploration:
What is the difference in the way in which many Hindus regard the Vedas and the Upanishads?
2
The Mahabharata This site examines the text of the great Hindu Epic, the Mahabharata.
http://web.utk.edu/~jftzgrld/MBh1Story.html Questions for exploration:
Why is the Mahabharata considered a study in moral ambiguity? Why and how does Krishna Vasudeva (Divinity incarnated, but lacking supernatural powers) only make more difficult the job of choosing good over evil? Why does Krishna urge the heroes to use trickery and war to defeat the villainous clan of Dhartarashtra? Why does the hero Yudhishtira, unknowingly the son of dharma or moral law, find the courses that Krishna suggests to be questionable and troubling? Can two wrongs make a right, even in order to defeat evil? What tests does Yudhishtira have to pass before the story is complete and the true, hard path of righteousness is revealed for all mankind?
3
The Bhagavad Gita This site illuminates the Bhagavad Gita, a chapter of the Mahabharata and a mainstay of Hindu thought and belief regarding bhakti, or the yoga of spiritual devotion.
http://www.san.beck.org/Gita.html#8 Questions for exploration:
Read the text of the Gita provided. Hindus believe that there are many pathways to salvation. By the end of this reading, it is made clear by Krishna Vasudeva that there is a certain pathway that cannot, in the end, fail. What is that pathway?
4
The Arthashastra This site provides text and textual analysis of the classic Hindu text on government, the Arthashastra.
http://www.humanities.ccny.cuny.edu/history/wciv.html Questions for exploration:
According to the Arthashastra's chapter on kingship, what was the one characteristic necessary to be a successful king? In what should the King find the greatest happiness and consider in his own best welfare? An ideal king's suggested round of daily activities indicate that he was expected to have a command of, or participate in, many kinds of knowledge. What were some of these? Were science and religion among them?
5
Buddhism This site uses an early piece of Buddhist Art, The Buddha and Four Disciples, in order to introduce Buddhism.
http://www.prs.k12.nj.us/~ewood/World_History/buddha/Lesson.html Questions for exploration:
What are the four Noble Truths? What is the eightfold path? What is a "mudra?" Why did images of the Buddha not appear until about a century after his death?
6
Bodhgaya This site explores the sacred nature of the place where the Buddha set the wheel of dharma, or Buddhist teachings, in motion.
http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/sacredplaces/bodhgaya.html Questions for exploration:
Why are trees often considered sacred? What is the Bo Tree? What is the Diamond Throne?
7
Jainism This site attempts to provide an overview of Jain life.
http://www.umich.edu/~umjains/overview.html Questions for exploration:
What are the five principles of Jain life? How are they realized? What happens on Jain "holy week?" In what ways is this period similar to the Jewish observance of Yom Kippur? (Compare with the treatment of Yom Kippur offered at http://www.torah.org/learning/yomtov/yomkippur/
8
Ashoka This page describes the life and achievements of the Indian Emperor Ashoka Maurya.
http://www.csuchico.edu/~cheinz/syllabi/asst001/spring98/Ashoka.htm Questions for exploration:
What was Ashoka attempting to do with his religious policy or dharma? Why has Ashoka been remembered when other rulers have been forgotten? Why do some believe Ashoka should be remembered?
9
Democracy in Ancient India This is an essay that examines republican forms of government in ancient India. It addresses directly the political overtones of these issues that cast a long shadow over the Indian nationalist movement.
http://www.unipissing.ca/department/history/histdem/indiadem.htm Questions for exploration:
What were the characteristics of republican forms of government in India? Were these forms of government more widespread than those in ancient Greece? Why have western and Indian historians struggled over the significance and meaning of data about India's ancient republics?
10
Women in Ancient India This site offers a description of the status and role of women in ancient India taken from the Laws of Manu. For comparison purposes, it also has a link to a document discussing sati, or the immolation of widows.
http://www.humanities.ccny.cuny.edu/history/Q/qwomen/indiawomen.htm Questions for exploration:
Do the Laws of Manu suggest that women were important members of society? What specific duties did they have? What was the relationship between a woman and her family members? How important were women to the welfare of their families? Why would the text provided in the link to "Sati" suggest that a woman should follow her husband by walking onto his funeral pyre?
11
Daily Life in Ancient India This site is devoted to the study of daily life in the ancient world.
http://members.aol.com/Donnclass/Indialife.html Questions for exploration:
Daily life during the Mauraya and Gupta empires was rich and varied. What distinguished India's intellectual life? Diet? Sports? Fashion was also significant. What is a dhoti? A sari?
12
Aryabhata This site is devoted to the study of the achievements of the world's mathematicians.
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Aryabhata.html Questions for exploration:
What were some of the achievements and errors of Aryabhata the Elder in mathematics and astronomy? Discuss the ways in which his conclusions about the planets and the sun were more than a thousand years ahead of western scientists.
13
Cave Paintings of Ajanta and Ellora This is one of many sites exploring the splendor of the Buddhist cave paintings in western India.
http://saigan.com/heritage/painting/ajanta.htm Questions for exploration:
What element helped insure that the artistic heritage of Ajanta would be spread throughout Asia? What characteristics of the Ajanta-Ellora painting style are so distinct and considered so beautiful?
