The faith of reincarnation and
karma has inspired some of the grandest structures ever built
MAHAVIRA
Mahavira
means 'great hero' in Sanskrit and this one prepared the central
tenents of Jainism. Why are there no early Vedic / Hindu names?
If this list had gods on it, they would be earlier than Mahavira,
but it does not and actual people do not figure into the early stories
very well. Mahavira established a powerful doctrine and is the earliest
Indian figure of import for us.
599-527
Founder
of Jainism
THE
BUDDHA
Siddhartha
Gautama, a local prince in northern India (recall India, unlike
China, has usually had a decentralized political character) went
on a journey of curiousity and self-discovery which led to his becoming
enlightened, reaching a state of bliss called Nirvana.
563-483
Founder of
Buddhism
CHANDRAGUPTA
MAURYA
Began
the Maurya Dynasty.
284-238
Emperor of
India
ASHOKA
MAURYA
Probably
the most famous king in the history of India, Ashoka has had movies
made about him by Bollywood, and maintains a legendary authority.
As a Mauryan ruler, he centralized the country and provinces.
284-238
Emperor of
India
INDIA
***MAURYAN CONQUESTS*** Sides: Mauryan Allies vs. Magadhan Kingdom Time: 305 BC Place: Northwest India including Pakistan and Afghanistan Action: Having allegedly met Alexander the Great and drafted some of
Alexander's soldiers as mercenaries in exchange for a high place in India, Chandragupta Maurya gathered a coalition
and attacked the regional kingdoms of northern India using elephants as battering
rams and as shock troops. The Magadhans were defeated, and from there, he did
battle to the northwest, where the Seleucids relinquished Afghanistan. Casualties: unknown Consequence: The Mauryan dynasty of India was born.
***INVASION OF KALINGA*** Sides: Mauryan India
vs. KalingaKingdom Time: 262 BC Place: Eastern India Action: Chandragupta's grandson Asoka went to extend the Mauryan realm.
The KalingaKingdom did not submit to Mauryan
demands for tribute, so Asoka attacked. His force was defeated unexpectedly by
the Kalingans. With wounded pride, Asoka gathered a huge force and laid waste
to the Kalingan countryside. Casualties: Up to 100,000 Kalingas were slaughtered. Consequence: At the moment of its greatest expansion, Asoka converted to
Buddhism, gave up war, and the Mauryan dynasty began a welfare state system of
state-funded infrastructure and health programs that bankrupted it. Political
fragmentation resulted lasting 500 years.
***GUPTA CONQUESTS*** Sides: Gupta Allies vs. North Indian kingdoms Time: 330 Place: Northern and Central India Action: The Guptas under Chandragupta (named after the Mauryan) and his
son Samudragupta built the next big Indian empire by subduing their
neighbor-provinces and getting them to pay tribute. Casualties: unknown Consequence: The Guptas are considered 'classical India,' and
under them, the usually divided country was largely unified. The numerals we
use 1, 2, 3 and on were written in the form they are at this time.
***WHITE HUN RAIDS*** Sides: White Huns vs. Gupta Dynasty Time: 457 Place: Northwest India Action: Mongolian nomads (probably with some Cossack blood- hence the
'white') from the northern steppes established a base in Central Asia, from
which they raided Sassanian Persia
and captured the king. They were quick horsemen and terrorized settled peoples.
When they raided the Gupta domains, they encountered resistance from
Skandagupta, but this they defeated and took the Punjab.
When the emperor died, they burned Buddhist shrines all along the Ganges and destroyed the Gupta capital, Pataliputra. Casualties: unknown Consequence: The White Huns collapsed the Gupta Dynasty. They set
up a kingdom of their own that was destroyed 20 years later by the Persians
under Chosroes I, and disappeared from history. They mingled with the locals
and probably were the ancestors of the later Rajputs.
Traditional Hindu
1300s B.C.
The Rig-Veda
A book of hymns brought to the natives of the Indian subcontinent by Aryans
arriving from the north, these stories are
the foundation works of the Hindu faith. In about a thousand separate
chapters (stories) people and gods wrestle with primordial questions
of existance. Brahma, Indra, Vishnu (Krishna), Siva, and other gods. interact
with humans, much like Greek gods would.
India
Sanskrit
Traditional Hindu
500s B.C.
The Bhagavad Gita
A book concerning the journey of a human soul to fulfillment
in life, love and light, the Bhagavad Gita is the other major work
of the Hindu religion. Vishnu comes to a soldier to comfort him
as he struggles with the problems of not wanting to kill and surprisingly
tells him that 'action is better than inaction' and reminding him
that the soul will be re-incarnated as is believed in the Hindu
faith.
Act wisely, for how you behave in this life-cycle determines your
future as a re-incarnated soul in a new body.
India
Sanskrit
India's great Hindu temple of
Benares on the Ganges River
The faithful swim in the Ganges
during their pilgrimage to Benares, now called Varanasai
The Amritsar Palace of India,
with its famous golden building and bridge
The largest Hindu temple in
the world is this, where millions visit every year
The Jagannath Hindu Temple in
India
The stunningly detailed Hindu
shrine at
Greatest of all India's buildings,
the Taj Mahal of Agra- built as a tomb and shrine
BUDDHIST SHRINES: SOUTHEAST
ASIA
The famous faces of Angkor Wat,
in Cambodia
Buddhist Temples in Bali, Indonesia
Grand scenery of Buddhist shrines
in Burma
A closer look at the shrines
in Burma, one of the great religious centers of all Asia
The Burmese shrine of Bagan,
one of Buddhisms holy places
The Mahabodi Buddhist Shrine
in India and Nepal's equivalent, high in the Hemalaya Mts.
Afghanistan's greatest relic
was this huge sculpture of Buddha, sewn into the side of a cliff.
It reminded all of a time when
there was peace in the world thanks to the way of the Buddha.
Before the USA moved into Afghanistan
in 2002 and dismantled its government,
the great statues were destroyed
by the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban on purpose
The most famous of Buddha's
sculptures, at Kamakura in Japan, has withstood many earthquakes
The great Buddhist Temple of
Saigon, Vietnam (Ho Chi Min City)
A young Buddhist monk inside
the Temple in Saigon
The stunning Buddhist shrine
in Bangkok, Thailand almost seems from another world
Hindu temple painted in white
in Calcutta, India
Famous Buddhist statue from
Ceylon (Sri Lanka)- at peace and in focus
This Temple of Codai in Vietnam
almost seems like an oriental cathedral!
Mandalay in Burma has a complex
temple guarded by these creatures
Recently, the Cambodian Gov't
and UNESCO have cleared the foliage for tourism
The great temple of Angkor Wat
in Cambodia has lain in the jungle untouched for centuries
In Thailand's countryside lies
this Buddhist temple, part ruin and part solitary shrine
Inner Peace is the key concept
in Buddhist philosophy, and here in Bangkok, Thailand
This temple in Vietnam is famous
for its detail as well
At the top of the world lies
Tibet, and the Buddhist shrine of the Dalai Lama at Lhasa
