Ancient India and Hinduism

3. Pluralism: the belief that all religions are equally true, that one religion can be true for one person and not for another, and that it is wrong to call a religion ‘wrong’
7. a collection of hundreds or thousands of hymns from the Hindu religion
8. the Hindu god of creation, knowledge, and the vedas. He is the first god of Hindu triumvirate.
9. also known as Dalits, or outcasts, they are shunned by others and have to do the worst jobs.
11. a walled, fortified area built on a raised platform for protection against attackers and floods.
12. a river, and one of India’s holiest sites. Hindus bathe in it to wash away bad karma and cure disease
13. Hindu teachers and philosophers
15. the priests of Hinduism; the highest castle
16. in Hinduism, a person’s duty; what is right for them to do
18. the effect of a person’s actions in this life and in previous lives.
22. the Hindu god of destruction, and the third god of the Hindu triumvirate
24. the rulers and warriors of Hinduism; the second highest caste
25. seasonal winds which are dry in the winter and wet in the summer.

1. Subcontinent: A large landmass, shaped much like a triangle, in South Asia.
2. the Hindu belief that when a person dies their soul moves into a new body
4. a special building used to hold surplus crops.
5. the world’s longest poem; it teaches about Hindu morals
6. Hinduism’s most important and most widely read religious text
10. a fixed social class into which a person is born, affecting where a person lived, what jobs they could do, and with whom they could eat and marry.
14. landowners, bankers, and merchants; the third highest caste
17. liberation from reincarnation; the goal of Hinduism
19. System: a main river and all the streams and tributaries that drain into it.
20. a Hindu god who preserves and protects the universe. He is the second god in the Hindu triumvirate.
21. farmers, laborers, and servants; the second lowest caste
23. truthfulness, moderation, self control, and avoiding doing harm