Boddhisatva – Buddhism – religion
A Song Dynasty statue of the boddhisatva Guanyin What is a boddhisatva? A boddhisatva, in Buddhist religion, was a holy man or woman. They were special, closer to God than other [...]
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07, 2017
The Blind Men and the Elephant
Mughal painting of the blind men and the elephant, from the 1600s AD (now in Walters Art Museum) A story that's a metaphor Once there was an elephant, a tame [...]
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07, 2017
Bhagavad Gita – Religion in India
What is the Bhagavad Gita? The Bhagavad Gita is part of a longer poem, the Mahabharata, that was written in India probably about 300 BC. Historians disagree about the date though. The Bhagavad Gita (BA-ga-vad GEE-ta [...]
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07, 2017
Slavery in medieval India
Dancing woman from Mohenjo Daro, in what is now Pakistan Slavery in ancient India There were probably always slaves in India, but until about 1000 AD there were only a few people who were enslaved, [...]
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07, 2017
Caste system in ancient India
Indian people partying: members of a high caste Why is caste important? Castes were the central feature of people's identities in ancient India. Beginning soon after the Yamnaya arrived in India, about 1500 [...]
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07, 2017
Friendship in ancient India
Duryodhana (Cambodia, ca. 900s AD) - friendship in ancient India Friendship between men We don't know very much about friendships among poor people in ancient India, or among women. But [...]
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07, 2017
Caste project – ancient India
Put the slips of paper in a jar To see how caste worked in ancient India, try dividing your class or your family into castes. Take a box or a [...]
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07, 2017
The Ramayana – A Hindu story – India
A scene from the Ramayana: Rama in the forest (a Gupta carving of the 400s AD, now in New Delhi) What is the Ramayana? The Ramayana is a story from [...]
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07, 2017
The Monkey and the Crocodile – Jataka Tales
A monkey eating a mango Crocodile's mother asked him to bring her Monkey's heart to eat, so Crocodile tried to trick Monkey and get his heart. "Hey Monkey!" he said, "Let me [...]
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07, 2017
The Mahabharata – Ancient India
Pandava brothers from the Mahabharata What is the Mahabharata? The Mahabharata is a collection of many different stories around one central story. That's something like the Jewish Bible, or the [...]
