Themes In Indian History I Chapter 4 Thinkers, Beliefs And Buildings

1. According to Jaina teachings, the cycle of birth and rebirth is shaped through karma.
2. Asceticism and penance are required to free oneself from the cycle of karma.
3. This can be achieved only when renouncing the world: therefore monastic existence is a necessary condition of salvation.
4. Jaina monks and nuns took five vows: to abstain from killing, stealing and lying; to observe celibacy and abstain from possessing property.

A woman surrounded by lotuses and elephants (in ancient paintings of India) depicts sprinkling water on herself as if performing an abhisheka or consecration. There are two opinions about this figure:

The groups are: 
1. Rulers or ruling class,
2. Rich class,
3.Grihpati,(Landowners),
4. Commoners,
5. Artisans,
6. Working class, and
7. Slaves.

The important teachings of Jainism are as follows:

(i) The entire world is animated. It is believed that even the stones, rocks and water have life.

(ii) No living-being should be injured. The basic philosophy of Jainism is not to harm or cause injury to human-being, animals, plants and insects. There is a great emphasis on the principle of ahimsa.

(iii) The cycle of birth and re-birth is shaped through Karma. If one is to escape this cycle of Karma, one must practise asceticism and penance. It is possible if one renounces the world. So one has to live in monastry to attain salvation.

(iv) Jain monks and nuns to take five bows such as (i) Not to kill anyone (ii) Not to steal anything (iii) Not to tell a lie (iv) Not to possess property (v) To observe celibacy.

The contribution of Shahjehan Begum and her successor Sultan Jehan Begum was praise-worthy in the preservation of the Stupas at Sanchi. Both these Begums were from Bhopal. Their contribution can be described as under:

(i) They donated money for the up-keep of the Stupas at Sanchi.

(ii) Sultanjehan Begum contributed a lot of money for the erection of a museum and a guest house.

(iii) They also funded for the publication of Marshalls book on sachi and other archaeological sites.

These steps were very important in preserving the sanchi stupa.

A. Dhanavati dated her inscription that she placed the inscription at Madhuvanaka in the first month of the hot season (i.e. summer) on the eighth day and in the year 33 of the maharaja (i.e. the emperor) named Huvishks.

B. I think that she (the bhikkhuni Dhanavati) installed an image of the Bodhisatta to show that Mahayana sect of Buddhism was becoming popular day by day and Bodhisattas were considered great personality in Buddhism during the reign of the Kushana rulers.
C. She had mentioned her own mother’s sister named Buddhamita. The lady was a bhikkhuni. She had also mentioned bhikkhuni Bala and her parents.
D. She knew the Tipitaka, the Buddhist text.
E. She learnt this text from bhikkhuni Buddhmita who was the female pupil of the bhikkhu Bala.

The men and women probably went to the Sanghas due to the following reasons:

1. They wanted to attain enlightenment, by staying away from worldly activities.

2. They could deeply study the Buddhist philosophy by staying in the Sanghas.

3. Many people entered the Sanghas to become teachers of dhamma. 

4. They also joined so as to free themselves from social constraints because after joining the Sanghas they were not known by their social name but from the name they get when entering the sanghas.

In both the figure we see depiction of a way of life. In figure 4.32 we see more depiction of animals and plants. The depiction of how houses are built in this figure are very rural in the depiction. Houses looks as if they are built of mud and the roof are made of thatch. The way they are drressed one can deduce that they are farmer or they are hunter. There is also a depiction of a man with a bow. he could be a hunter.

In figure 4.33 we see a very different depiction, with architecture that looks that of a town. The pillar and the person depicted inside seems to be of high status as there is someone carrying an umbrella on top of him. The sculpture also shows as if the depiction is of a palace ad its way of life. We are able to see some people in their activities.

from the above analysis we can safely presume tha the figure 4.32 depicts rural way of life whereas figure 4.33 depicts urban way of life.

Vaishnavism was a form of Hinduism. It believed in the worship of Vishnu as the principal deity. Similary Shaivism is a tradition of Hinduism in which Shiva is regarded as the chief god. In such worship, the emphasis was laid on Bhakti, that is, the bond between the devotee and the god was one of love and devotion.

Architecture: When the Stupas at Sanchi developed, the temples also came into existence. These temples were built to house images of gods and goddesses. The early temple was a small square room. It was called the garbhagriha. It had a single door-way from which the worshipper entered to worship the idol. Slowly and steadily a tall structure was built on the garbhagriha. It was known as the Shikhara. The walls of these temples were decorated with sculpture. But the later temples had an elaborate structure. They had assembly halls, huge walls, big gateways and arrangements for the supply of water.

Most of these temples were carved out of huge rocks. The tradition of building artificial caves was quite old. In the 3rd century BCE, many such caves were built for those who renounced the world and for those who belonged to the Ajivika sect, on the orders of king Asoka. This tradition continued developing. Its most developed form can be seen in the Kailashnatha Temple of the 8th century. It was carved out of the single piece of rock. A copper plate inscriptions showed the amazement of the chief sculptor when he completed the temple at Ellora. He expressed his wonder saying: “Oh how did I make it!”

Sculpture: Many avatars have been shown as idols. Such idols have also been made of other gods. Shiva has been shown in the lingum form. But in many other images, Shiva has been shown in the human form. All these images were based on the depiction of gods. Many sculptures of gods and goddesses were grotesque figures as they had multiple arms and hands. They had also combination of human and animal forms.

1. India 2. Bhutan 3. Afghanistan 4. China 5. Japan 6. Korea 7. Thailand 8. Sri Lanka.

For self-attempt.

Self study: Take help of your teachers or parents. Your own text book or some other books can also be used to take zerox of the pictures or photographs.

The sources that we can use to reconstruct this exciting world of ideas and beliefs include Buddhist, Jaina and Brahmanical texts, as well as a large and impressive body of material remains including monuments and inscriptions. Among the best preserved monuments of the time is the stupa at Sanchi.

(i) Zarathustra in Iran.

(ii) Kong Zi in China

(iii) Socrates, Plato and Aristotle in Greece.

(iv) Mahavira and Gautam Buddha in India.

Agni, Indra and Soma.

Verses were composed in a special kind of Sanskrit, known as Vedic Sanskrit. They were orally taught to men belonging to priestly families.

Fatalists are those who believe that everything is predetermined hence there is no use in penance, god acts ets. Whereas materialists believed that there is no such thing as life after death, rebirth etc, people are made of four elements and when one die these elements go back to where they came from.

(i) Prakrit, (ii) Sanskrit and (iii) Tamil.

Lord Mahavira added as the fifth doctrine- To self-control and to be man of good character .

(ii) Two sects: (i) Digambara and (ii) Swetambara.

Ajivikas were those who believed that everything was predetermined. They are also known as fatalist.

(i) Pati (Siva), (ii) Pasu (Jeevatma), (iii) Pasa (Bondage).

1. Varaha, 2. Vaman, 3. Kurma, 4. Narsingh, 5. Matsya, 6. Ram, 7. Parsuram, 8. Krishna, 9. Buddha (Mahabharata mention of Hamsa not of Buddha), 10. Kali.

Bodhisattas were those compassionate beings who accumalted merits through compassionate act to others. But they wanted others to attain nibbana first and then they will strive to attain nibbana.

With advent of Greeks in India, Indian artists and sculptors learnt the Greek art of making images of Greek and the Roman gods. Indian artists working inTaxila, peshawar were interested in this new style of sculpture and were influenced by it. The statues of the Buddha and other scenes from Buddha’s life resembled Greek style and this type of art came to be known as Gandhara School of Art.

The two sources are:

(i) Buddhist Texts: We can know about the Buddha's teachings through the Buddhist-texts. These have been reconstructed by carefully editing, translating and analysis.

(ii) Historians have also tried to reconstruct details of his life from hagiographies. Many of these were written down at least a century after the time of the Buddhist, in an attempt to preserve members of the great teacher.

(i) Ananda, one of the Buddha's dearest disciples, persuaded Buddha to allow women into the sangha.

(ii) The Buddha's foster mother, Mahapajapati Gotami was the first woman to be ordained as a bhikkhuni.

1. Lumbini, 2. Shravasti, 3. Kushinagar, 4. Sarnath, 5. Bodh Gaya, 6. Sanchi.

Fig. Eastern Gateway of Stupa of Sanchi

Stupa of Sanchi was discovered in 1818 CE. It had four gateways. Three of these gateways were in good condition but fourth gateway was lying scattered at its actual place.

The two features are:

(i) The Stupa at Amaravati was the largest and magnificent Stupa of the Buddhists.

(ii) It has high gateways and beautiful statues.

Hagiorgraphy is a biography of a saint or religious leader. It generally praises the saint’s achievement and may not always be literally accurate. They are important because they tell us about the beliefs of the followers of that particular tradition.

Cole was totally against taking away of ancient monuments. He considered this loot as suicidal. He was of the view that museums should have plaster-caste facsimiles of sculpture where as the originals should remain at their actual place.

The three examples are:

(i) The empty seat indicated the meditation of the Buddha.

(ii) The stupas represented the mahaparinibbana of Buddha.

(iii) The wheel stood for the first sermon of the Buddha, delivered at Sarnath. Thus the early sculptors did not show Buddha in human form. If any historian wants to understand these symbols, he must familiarise himself with the traditions of Buddhist sculpture.

The differences between the two are:

(i) Hinayana was the traditional form of Buddhism whereas Mahayana developed later, around first century CE.

(ii) Hinayana believed in attaining the nibbana for the self whereas Mahayana strived for the nibbana of the whole sentient beings. 

(iii) Literally the Mahayana meant the “great vehicle” whereas the Hinayana meant the “lesser vehicle”.

Some historians believed that this is the figure of Maya, the mother of Buddha, while some identifed her with a popular goddess, Gaja Lakshmi. Gaja Lakshmi was the goddess of good fortune who is associated with elephants. However many believed that people of that period saw it as Gajalakshmi as well as Maya.

Two similarities between Jainism and Buddhism are as under:

(i) Both the religions were initiated by the princes. Both were the Kshatriyas. Both had left their homes in search of the truth. Both meditated a lot to attain enlightenment.

(ii) The aim of both the religions was nirvana or salvation.

The four noble truths of Buddhism are:

1. The truth of suffering (dukkha)
2. The truth of the cause of suffering (samudaya)
3. The truth of the end of suffering (nirhodha)
4. The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (magga)

The eight fold paths are.

1. Right View
2. Right Intention
3. Right Speech
4. Right Action
5. Right Livelihood
6. Right Effort
7. Right Mindfulness
8. Right Concentration

European scholars considered the images of buddha and bodhisatta as the best examples of Indian art of sculpture because they were familiar with the greek art which they considered to be best.  As these images were closest to the Greek statues these scholars were familiar with, they were considered to be the best examples of early Indian art.

Mahavira was a great thinker of his age. He was 24th Tirthankar of Jainism.

Buddha was the founder of Buddhism. His main teaching were, the world is transient (anicca) and constantly changing; it is also soulless ( anatta) as there is nothing permanent or eternal in it. Within this transient world, sorrow (dukkha) is intrinsic to human existence. It is by following the path of moderation between severe penance and self-indulgence that human beings can rise above these worldly troubles. 

Mahatma Buddha was the founder of Buddhism. He was born in Lumbini forest near Kapilavastu. His teachings are:

(i) The world is transient and constantly changing.

(ii) Within this transient world, sorrow is intrinsic to human existence.

(iii) Mahatma Buddha gave stress on nonviolence. He also opposed sacrifice of animals in yajnas.

it became popular because:

(i) Buddhism was a simple religion which had no place for superstitions and other rituals.

(ii) Buddhism was propagated in Prakrit language used by common masses.

(iii) Many kings became patrons of Buddhism.

(iv) Buddhist Bhikkhus were individuals with great character.

Ajivikas were those who believed in the idea that everything is predetermined. Hence they are also known as Fatalist.

The 19th century Europeans evinced keen interest in the Stupa at Sanchi. So the French sought the permission of Shahjehan Begum to take away its eastern gateway, which was best preserved. They wanted to display it in a museum in France. Similarly the Englishmen wanted to exhibit it in one of their museums. But fortunately both felt satisfied in getting carefully prepared plaster-cast copies of this stupa. So this Stupa remained at its place.

The rulers of Bhopal preserved the Stupa of Sanchi. Shahjehan Begum and her successor Sultan Jehan Begum provided finance to preserve this ancient site.

This is a sculpture from Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh, depicting the departure of the Buddha from his palace. It was made about 2000 years ago, nearly four hundred years after the time of the Buddha.

The significances are:

(i) The Stupa at Sanchi is the best preserved monument. It is a model of wonderful sculpture.

(ii) It has been an important centre of Buddhism. Its discovery has changed our perception about the early time of Buddhism.

Sanchi (Madhya Pradesh), Bharhut (Madhya Pradesh), Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) Sha-ji-ki-Dheri (in Peshawar (Pakistan).

Tirthankara: The great Jain Dharmacharya (or the great teacher and preacher) of the Jainism is called Tirthankara.

The teachings of Lord Buddha, his preachings were simple, easy to practise and based on morality. It was also based on democratic principle, where everybody had equal rights without any distinction of caste, colour, creed or social status. His main teachings were the ‘Four noble truths’ and ‘Eight-fold path”.

(a) Four noble truths: When at Sarnath Gautama set in motion the wheel of the law, he specially stressed the four noble truths:

1. The truth of suffering (dukkha)
2. The truth of the cause of suffering (samudaya)
3. The truth of the end of suffering (nirhodha)
4. The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (magga)

(b) Eight-fold path:

(i) Right Views

(ii) Right Aspiration

(iii) Right Speech

(iv) Right Action

(v) Right Living

(vi) Right Efforts

(vii) Right Mindfulness

(viii) Right Contemplation.

The Buddha regarded the social world as the creation of humans rather than of divine origin. Therefore, he advised kings and gahapatis to be humane and ethical. Individual effort was expected to transform social relations. The Buddha emphasised individual agency and righteous action as the means to escape from the cycle of rebirth and attain self-realisation and nibbana, literally the extinguishing of the ego and desire – and thus end the cycle of suffering for those who renounced the world.

Around the time that the stupas at sites such as Sanchi were acquiring their present form, the first temples to house images of gods and goddesses were also being built. The early temple was a small square room, called the garbhagriha with a single doorway for the worshipper to enter and after worship to the image. Gradually, a tall structure, known as the shikhara was built over the central shrine. Temple walls were often decorated with sculpture. Later temples became far more elaborate with assembly halls, huge walls and gateways, and arrangements for supplying water.

One of the unique features of early temples was that some of these were hollowed out of huge rocks, as artificial caves.

The mid first millennium BCE is often regarded as turning point in World History: it saw the emergence of thinkers such as Zarathustra in Iran, Kengzib China, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle in Greece, and Mahavira and Gautama Buddha, among many others in India. They tried to understand the mysteries of existence and the relationship between human beings and the cosmic order. This was also the time when new kingdoms and cities were developing and social and economic life was changing in a variety of ways in the Ganga Valley. These thinkers attempted to understand these developments as well.

The stupa (a Sanskrit word meaning a heap) originated as a simple semi-circular mound of earth, later called the anda. Gradually it evolved into a more complex structure, balancing round and square shapes. Above the anda was the harmika, a balcony like structure that represented the abode of the gods. Arising from the harmika was a mast called the yastii, often surmounted by a chhatri or umbrella. Around the mound was a railing, separating the sacred space from the secular world outside.

The early stupas at Sanchi and Bharhut were plain except for the stone railings, which resembled a bamboo or wooden fence, and the gateways which were richly carved and installed at the four cardinal points. Worshippers entered through the eastern gateway and walked around the mound in a clockwise direction keeping the mound on the right, imitating the sun’s course through the sky. Later, the mound of the stupas came to be elaborately carved with niches and sculptures as at Amaravati, and Shah-ji-ki-Dheri in Peshawar (Pakistan).

Buddha’s teachings have been reconstructed from the stories of Sutta Pitaka. We can mention two stories given in Sutta Pitaka some:

There is a story of how grief stricken woman comes to buddha after her son dies and pleads to buddha to raise him from death, but instead of showing some miraculous power buddha gives her a teaching of inevitability of death. 
In one of the other story we find that how buddha advices a wealthy householder how to treat his servants and clansmen how to treat Samanas ( those who have renounced the world)

Thus through story as above we can reconstruct the teaching of buddhas through stories presented in Sutta Pitika.

The 6th century BC is considered most important in the history of India on account of the following reasons:

(i) The Vedic tradition lost its grip in the 6th century BC. There was an importance of meditation because of the increasing significance of Upanishads. The people were curious to find new ways of seeking nirvana or salvation or self-realisation. Consequently many new philosophical ideas emerged in the society.

(ii) Because of the emergence of new philosophical ideas, many new religious communities took birth. They were about 62 in number. Out of these, Jainism and Buddhism influenced the people the most. As a result, there was a change in the nature of the Indian society.

(iii) Jainism and Buddhism emphasised meditation and self-control. Their views were synonym to the views expressed in the Upanishads. So the philosophy of the Upanishads had become quite popular.

Many new religious sects emerged during 6th century BCE. Following were their main reasons of their emergence:

(i) Complexity in Vedic religion: Vedic religion which were written in sanskrit were very complex for people to understand and so were its practices.

(ii) Caste system and Untouchability: In the vedic religion people were divided according to their caste which was by birth, where braahmans were at the top and shudra at the bottom. There also was untouchables which were outside the fringes of Varna system as they were considered very impure.

(iii) Many rites and rituals- Another reason was because of the existence of so many rites and rituals, birth, death, marriage so many. Which was a burfen to many economically weaker sections.

(iv) Less importance to the people- Another reasons was, in the vedic religion there were so many gods, and individuals were looked down when compared to the gods. Action of individuals became secondary as it was described as the wish of gods.

Amaravati stupa was discovered accidentally. In 1796, a local raja who wanted to build a temple stumbled upon the ruins of the stupa at Amaravati. He decided to use the stone, and thought there might be some treasure buried in what seemed to be a hill. later in 1854, Walter Elliot, the commissioner of Guntur (Andhra Pradesh), visited Amaravati and collected several sculpture panels and took them away to Madras. He also discovered the remains of the western gateway and came to the conclusion that the structure at Amaravati was one of the largest and most magnificent Buddhist stupas ever built. By the 1850s, some of the slabs from Amaravati had begun to be taken to different places: to the Asiatic Society of Bengal at Calcutta, to the India Office in Madras and some even to London. 
HH Cole tried his best to save it but he could not save Amaravati but his word was able to save Sanchi. It is because when Amaravati was discovered the value of it was not known and how important it was to keep the thing where it was. Hence for now as Amaravati stupa all we ahve is a mound.

In the early period, the central points of development in the temple sculpture were as under:

(i) The temples come into existence almost at the same time when the stupas were developed at Sanchi.

(ii) The early temples were in the form of a small square room which was called the Garbhagriha. It had as single door way through which the worshippers entered the temple to worship the images of gods or goddesses.

(iii) A tall structure was gradually built over the central shrine. It was called as Shikhara.

(iv) The walls of the temples were often decorated with beautiful sculptures.

(v) Some of these temples were hollowed out of huge rocks, they looked like artificial caves. In the 8th century, the temple of Kailashnatha was the culminated form of such temples. It was developed by cutting the whole hill.

it is said that when the chif sculptorfinished sculpting the temple said 'Oh how did I make it!'

The Stupa of sanchi survived because ruler of Bhopal provided financial support as well as protected it from it being taken away from the sites.
We find that nineteenth-century Europeans were very interested in the stupa at Sanchi. In fact, the French sought Shahjehan Begum’s permission to take away the eastern gateway, which was the best preserved, to be displayed in a museum in France. For a while some Englishmen also wanted to do the same, but fortunately both the French and the English were satisfied with carefully prepared plaster-cast copies and the original remained at the site, part of the Bhopal state.

The rulers of Bhopal, Shahjehan Begum and her successor Sultan Jehan Begum, provided money for the preservation of the ancient site. No wonder then that John Marshall dedicated his important volumes on Sanchi to Sultan Jehan. She funded the museum that was built there as well as the guesthouse where he lived and wrote the volumes. She also funded the publication of the volumes. So if the stupa complex has survived, it is in no small measure due to wise decisions, and to good luck in escaping the eyes of railway contractors, builders, and those looking for finds to carry away to the museums of Europe.

It is considered so because:

(i)  It saw the emergence of thinkers such as Zarathustra in Iran, Kong zi in China, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle in Greece, and Mahavira and Gautam Buddha, among many others in India. They tried to find answers to fundamental questions about the meaning of existence and the relationship between human beings and the cosmic order.

(ii) In the subcontinent this was also the time when new kingdoms and cities were developing and social and economic life was changing in a variety of ways in the Ganga valley. These thinkers attempted to understand these developments as well.

There were several pre-existing traditions of thought, religious beliefs and practices. For example the beliefs in varieties of gods, such as indra, soma, Varun etc all arebeliefs that existed prior to the coming of buddhism and jainism.
The notion of Karma an rebirth is not a new to jainism and buddhism. This notion existed in the vedic tradition way before the two.
The notion of stupa is sometime is argued to be taken from the idea of Chaitya or pyre.

Thus we can see that there are many traditions that existed in the vedic traditions prior to the coming of Buddhism and jainis.

Performance of sacrifices: In the beginning sacrifices were performed collectively. Later (C. 1000 BCE-500 BCE onwards) some were performed by the heads of households for the well-being of the domestic unit. More elaborate sacrifices, such as the rajasuya and ashvamedha, were performed by chiefs and kings who depended on the Brahmana priests to conduct the ritual.

Importance of sacrifices: This sacrifices were considered important because:

1. First, it was believed that performing this sacrifices appeased the gods.

2. secondly it was believed that it fulfilled your wish.

By looking at two verses we at find out what is meant by self and what true sacrifice is,

(i) As stated in the quote, it looks like self's has no ultimate size, it could be smaller as a millet, or barley and on the other hand it could be as big as earth, or space. Ont the other hand it could also mean that there is no such thing as self.

(ii) Here the idea of sacrifice seems to be connoted to action, a pious action which when done make other things pure by the action. Like the moving wind.

We get a glimpse of lively discussions and debates from Buddhist texts, which mention as many as 64 sects or schools of thought. The founders of these sects travelled from place to place, trying to convince one another as well as laymen and women, about the validity of their philosophy or the way they understood the world. The debates took place in special places such as the kutagarashala, literally a hut with a pointed roof, or in groves where travelling mendicants halted. If any one of the philosophers succeeded in convincing the others, the rest became his disciples. So support for any particular sect could grow and shrink over time.

At the age of 30 years Gautam left his father's palace. After a number of experiments with bodily mortification and near death he finally attained enlightenment—that is he found a way out of the misery that had affected him so deeply when he was first confronted with the pain of old age, disease, and death.
After this he came to be known as the Buddha or the Enlightened One and as a teacher taught the dhamma or the path of righteous living.

The advices are

To the rich Householder he adviced that he should be assigning work to his srvants according to their strength, by supplying them with food and wages, by tending them in sickness; by sharing delicacies with them and by granting leave at times.

And for the clansmen he adviced, to look after the needs of samanas (those who had renounced the world) and brahmanas: by affection in act and speech and mind, by keeping open house to them and supplying their worldly needs.

Buddha was a great religious teacher as well as pioneer social reformer. He did not favour casteism. He believed in equality of all human being.

The Buddha's followers came from many social groups. They included kings, wealthy men, and gahapatis, and also humbler folk: workers, slaves and craftspeople. Once within the sangha, all were regarded as equal, having shed their earlier social identities on becoming bhikkhus and bhikkhunis. The internal functioning of the sangha was based on the traditions of the gana sanghas where discussions took place to forge a consensus. If that failed decisions were taken following a vote on the subject.
Moreover the Buddha regarded the social world as the creation of humans rather than of divine origin. Individual effort was expected to transform social relations. The Buddha emphasised individual agency and righteous action as the means to escape from the cycle of rebirth and attain self-realisation and nibbana, literally the extinguishing of the ego and desire – and thus end the cycle of suffering for those who renounced the world.

Various factors played role in keeping the stupa of sanchi intact at the place where it was built which did not exist for Amaravati:

1. Ruler of bhopal played a crucial role in protecting the ancient sites by providing funds for its reconstruction and studies. Whereas for Amaravati no one paid any attentions.

2. When Amaravati ws discovered no one knew the value of it and keeping it at the place where it was found. But luckily for Sanchi there were scholars who voiced against taking away of its parts.

The reasons are:

(i) The sixth century B.C. may be regarded as an important landmark in the history of Indian culture. The old ritualistic Vedic tradition were questioned and so were the authority of it.

(ii) The Upanishads had initiated freedom of speculation into the fundamental problem of life.

(iii) The brooding over the ills and sorrows of life, a passionate desire to remove them by finding out new mode of salvation became the concern of the learned. It created a ferment of new ideas and philosophic principles leading to the establishment of numerous religious sects, which had never occurred in India before or since.

(iv) We come to know of about 64 such religious sects, many of which were based on local customs and rituals.

(v) Of these religious sects, which may be regarded as direct or indirect products of thought currents of this period, Jainism and Buddhism were two main sects and influenced India’s all major aspects of culture and life.

Causes for the spread of Buddhism:

(a) Buddhism made a kind of revolution in the history of Indian religions by not recognizing the existence of God and soul of man.

(b) Early Buddhism was not enmeshed in the clap-trap of philosophical discussion, it appealed to the common people.

(c) As it attacked the fundamentals of Varna system, it particularly won the support of lower orders. Women and men were taken into the Buddhist order without any consideration of caste.

(d) The personality of Buddha and the methods adopted by him to plea his religion helped the spread of Buddhism.

(e) Buddha tried to fight evil by goodness and hatred by love. He maintained peace and calm under difficult conditions, and tackled his opponents with wit and presence of mind.

(f) The use of Pali, the language of the common people also contributed to the spread of Buddhism.

There are many similarities as well as dissimilarities between the two religion,

Similarities- for example buddhism has lots of similarities with the Upanishaic tradition of hinduism. The concept of Karma, life after death, the idea of non violence and even the certain aspects of Nibbana has similarities.

Dissimilarities- However there are dissimilarities that makes the two very distinct. 
1. The idea of caste system- buddhist thoroughly denied it and beleived in the individual action.

2. Sacrificial tradition- Another dissimilarities was on the issue of sacrifice to which buddhist vehemently opposed.

3. Idea of god- here buddha did not say anything but endorsed the importance of individual action,whereas in hinduism, there are innumerable gods and goddesses.

The differences are:

Hinayana

Causes for the decline of Buddhism in India are mentioned below:

Tips: -

V. Imp.

Tips: -

M. Imp.

Tips: -

M. Imp.

After the death of Gautam Buddha, four Buddhist councils were called to compile the teachings of Buddha and to make changes which had become necessary with the change of the time.

A brief description of the Buddhist councils:

Hinduism is the most ancient religion of the world. It is the alone religion of the world which was not stated by any particular individual. It is the collection of experiences and knowledge of ancient rishis-munis and philosophers. Its nature and different sects are given below:
Nature of Hinduism

Buddhist religious literature is also an important source of knowledge for ancient Indian history. This literature consists of (i) Pitakas (ii) Nikayas and (iii) Jatakas.

Tips: -

M. Imp.

Sutta Pitaka reconstructed the philosophy of Buddhism as:

(i)Buddha’s teachings have been reconstructed from stories found mainly in the Sutta Pitaka. These stories describe his miraculous powers other suggest that the Buddha tried to convince people through reasons and persuation rather than display of supernatural power.

(ii)The world is transient and constantly changing ; it is also soulless as there is nothing permanent.

(iii)Sorrow is intrinsic to human existence. It is by following the path of moderation between severe penance and self-indulgence that human beings can rise above these worldly troubles.

(iv)In the earliest form of Buddhism existence of god was irrelevant. Buddha regarded the social world as the creation of humans rather than of divine origin. Therefore, he advised kings to be humane and ethical. Individual effort was expected to transform social relations.

(v)The Buddha emphasized individual agency and righteous action as a means to escape from the cycle of rebirth and attain self-realisation and nibbana.The extinguishing of the ego and desire would thus end the cycle of suffering.

Buddhist Tipitakas:

It means three baskets which hold three types of texts. They were first transmitted orally and then written and classified according to the subject matter.

(i)The Vinaya Pitaka included rules and regulations for those who joined the sangha or monastic order.

(ii)The Sutta Pitaka which contains the teachings of Buddha

(iii)The Abhidhamma Pitaka dealt with philosophical matters. 

Buddha’s teaching:

 (i) The world is transient and constantly changing; it is also soulless as there is nothing permanent.

 (ii) Sorrow is intrinsic to human existence. It is by following the path of moderation between severe penance and self-indulgence that human beings can rise above these worldly troubles.

 (iii) In the earliest form of Buddhism existence of god was irrelevant. Buddha regarded the social world as the creation of humans rather than of divine origin. Therefore, he advised kings to be humane and ethical. Individual effort was expected to transform social relations.

 (iv) The Buddha emphasised individual agency and righteous action as a means to escape from the cycle of rebirth and attain self-realization and Nibbana.

 (v) The extinguishing of the ego and desire would thus end the cycle of suffering. 

The most important idea in Jainism is that:

(i) The entire world is animated: even stones, rocks and water have life.

(ii) Non-injury to living beings, especially to humans, animals, plants and insects, is central to Jaina philosophy.

(iii) According to Jaina teachings, the cycle of birth and rebirth is shaped through karma.

(iv) Asceticism and penance are required to free oneself from the cycle of karma.

(v) This can be achieved only by renouncing the world; therefore, monastic existence is a necessary condition of salvation.

(a) The advice given by Buddha to Sigala regarding relationship between a master and his servants. :

(i) By assigning them work according to their strength.

(ii) By supplying them with food and wages.

(iii) By tending them in sickness.

(b) List the instructions given by Buddha to the clansmen for Samanas & Brahmanas:

(i) By affection in act and speech and mind.

(ii) By keeping open house to them.

(c) The suggestion Buddha would have advocated regarding parents and teachers:

(i) To be respectful towards them.

(ii) Affection in action and speech.

(iii) Love and care for them.
                                                                       OR

(a) Rigveda describes the sacrifice of Purusha as all the elements of the universe and all the four social categories, were supposed to have emanated from his body.

(b) According to Rigveda the elements of universe and four social categories emanated from his body. The Brahmana was his mouth, -his arms were made the Kshatriya. -His thighs became the Vaishya – off his feet the Shudra was born.

(c) The Brahmanas enforced these norms in the following ways:

(i) Advised kings to ensure that these norms were followed within their kingdoms.

(ii) They attempted to persuade people that their status was determined by birth.

Lingayats challenged the idea of caste :
(i)They challenged the idea of pollution attributed to certain groups by Brahmanas.
(ii)They encouraged the practices disapproved in Dharma shastras like post-puberty marriage & re-marriage of widows.

The teaching of the Buddha:

(i) The world is transient (anicca) and constantly changing.

(ii) It is also soulless (anatta) as there is nothing permanent or eternal in it.

(iii) Within this transient world, sorrow (dukkha) is intrinsic to human existence.

(iv) It is by following the path of moderation between severe penance and self-indulgence that human beings can rise above these worldly troubles. In the earliest forms of Buddhism, whether or not god existed was irrelevant.

(v) The Buddha regarded the social world as the creation of humans rather than of divine origin.

The reasons: 

i. Emergence of various thinkers like Socrates, Buddha etc in different parts of the world

ii. Development of kingdoms and cities
iii. Changes in social and economic life

iv. Emergence of Upanishads in India and compilation of Rig Veda.

Siddharta as Buddha:

(i) Siddhartha as the Buddha was named at birth, was the son of a chief of the Sakya clan.

(ii) He had a sheltered upbringing within the palace, insulated from the harsh realities of life.

(iii) One day he persuaded his charioteer to take him into the city.His journey into the world outside was traumatic. He was deeply anguished when he saw an old man, a sick man and a corpse.

(iv) He realized in that moment that the decay and destruction of the human body was inevitable. He left the palace and set out in search of his own truth, he meditated for several days and finally attained enlightenment .

After this he came to be known as the Buddha or the Enlightened One. For the rest of his life, he taught dhamma or the path of righteous living.

Folowers of the Buddha:

(i) Monks, disciples of the Buddha, lived simply, possessing only the essential requisites for survivals, such as one bowl to receive food once a day from the laity.

(ii) They lived on alms, they were known as bhikkhus.

(iii) Initially, only men were allowed into the sangha, but later women also admitted. Many women who entered the sangha, an organisation of monks, became teachers of dhamma and went on to become theirs, or respected women who had attained liberation.

(iv) The Buddha’s followers came from many social groups like kings, wealthy men and gahapatis , and also humbler folk, workers, slaves and craftspeople Once within the sangha , all were regarded as equal, having shed their earlier social identities on becoming bhikkhus and bhikkunis.

Buddha laid emphasis on righteous conduct and values because:

(i) The world is transient and constantly changing, it is also soulless as there is nothing permanent or eternal in it. It is by following the path of moderation between severe penance and self-indulgence that human beings can rise above these worldly troubles.

(ii) The righteous actions is the mean to escape from the cycle of rebirth and attain self- realisation and nibbana, literally the extinguishing of the ego and desire-and thus end the cycle of suffering for those who renounced the world.

The growth of Puranic Hinduism:

(i) It included Vaishavism and Shaivism in which there was growing emphasis on the worship of a chosen deity.

(ii) In such worship the bond between the devotee and the god was visualised as one of love and devotion, or bhakti.

(iii) In the case of Vaishnavism, cults developed around the various avatars of incarnations of the diety. Ten avatars were recognised within the tradition.

(iv) Some of these forms were represented in sculptures, as were other deities. Shiva, for instance, was symbolised by the linga, although he was occasionally represented in human form too.

According to Jainism:

(i) The cycle of birth and rebirth is shaped through karma.

(ii) Asceticism and Penance are required to free oneself from the cycle of karma.

(iii) This can be achieved only by renouncing the world.

(iv) Therefore, monastic existence is a necesary condition of salvation.