Ancient India Vocabulary

  1. Buddhism – A religion founded in India by Siddhartha Gautama which teaches that the most important thing in life is to reach peace by ending suffering.
  1. Monk – A man who devotes his life to a religious group, often giving up all he owns.
  1. Karma – In Hinduism and Buddhism, the end result of all a person’s good and bad acts, which determines his or her rebirth.
  1. Four Noble Truths – In Buddhism, the principles that rule life and promise an end to suffering.

5. Eightfold Path – In Buddhism, the basic rules of behavior and belief leading to an end of suffering.

  1. Middle Way - In Buddhism, a way of life, neither too strict nor too easy, that results from following the Eightfold Path.

7. Caste System – The social system in Hindu society in which a person’s place is determined by the rank of the family into which he or she is born.

  1. Citadel – A walled fort that protects a city.

9. Dharma – In Hinduism, the laws and duties that guide the behavior of each caste member.

10.Hinduism – The religion of India that grew out of the beliefs of the ancient Aryan people; it stresses that one main force connects all of life.

  1. Migrate – To move from one place to another to live, especially a large group of people.

12. Reincarnation – A Hindu belief that people move in a constant cycle of life, death, and rebirth.

13. Subcontinent – A large land mass that is connected to the rest of a continent.

14. Vedas – In Hinduism, the ancient books of sacred songs on which much of its religious beliefs are based.

Places

  1. India – The largest nation of the Indian subcontinent; became independent from British rule in 1947.

2. Indus River - A river that flows from Tibet, through the Himalayas and Hindu Kush into the Arabian Sea.

  1. Himalayas – The world’s highest mountain range, forming the northern border of the Indian subcontinent.
  1. Indus Plain – A vast, dry region south of the Himalayas that is made fertile by deposits of silt from the Indus River; birthplace of the ancient Harappan civilization.
  1. Harappa- A city of the ancient Harappan civilization; located in the Indus Valley of South Asia.
  1. Mohenjo-Daro: A city of the ancient Harappan civilization, located in the Indus Valley.
  1. Kosala – An ancient kingdom in northern India where Siddhartha Gautama is said to have been born.

People

  1. Siddhartha Gautama - Ancient Indian religious leader known as the Buddha, or Enlightened One, who founded Buddhism (563?-483? B.C.).