Across
- 1. called the world's "oldest religion" / the caste system is considered central to this religion / gradually displaced Buddhism as the most popular religion in India / attracted political support and patronage from the Gupta emperors
- 4. demands right belief, right resolve, right speech, right behavior, right occupation, right effort, right contemplation, and right meditation
- 5. kingdom in the central portion of the Ganges plain / emerged as the most important state in northeastern India by 500 BCE / conquered neighboring states and gained control of Indian commerce passing through the Ganges valley as well as overseas trade btw. India and Burma
- 7. some of Kautalya's advice to Chandragupta survives in this ancient Indian political handbook - a manual offering detailed instructions on the uses of power and principles of government
- 8. shrines housing relics of the Buddha and his first disciples that pilgrims venerated while meditating on Buddhist values
- 10. core of the Buddha's doctrine / teaches that all life involves suffering; that desire is the cause of suffering; that elimination of desire brings an end to suffering; and that a disciplined life conducted in accordance with the Noble Eightfold Path brings the elimination of desire
- 13. Hindu god and preserver of the world who intervened frequently on behalf of virtuous individuals
- 14. Macedonian Greek general and successor of Alexander the Great who went on to found an empire that controlled Asia Minor, Syria, Mesopotamia, and the Iranian plateau / little is known about the conflict between ___________ and Chandragupta over control of the Indus Valley and the region of Gandhara
- 16. Chandragupta and his adviser Kautalya built an extensive ___________ (system of government and organization where important decisions are made by non-elected state officials)
- 17. both the Mauryan and Gupta empires were located in the ___________ River Valley, with their power centers concentrated around the fertile plains of this region
- 19. island country in South Asia / major exporter of elephants, horses, and luxury goods during the Classical Age / Theravada Buddhism is practiced there
- 20. (375-283 BCE) Chandragupta’s guru who wrote the Arthashastra, a guide for statecraft that served as a foundation for future empires
- 21. (260 BCE) last major battle of Ashoka’s imperial expansion / after witnessing 100,000 dead on the battlefield, he converted to Buddhism
- 22. nomadic people from Central Asia who first occupied Bactria and then invaded northern India - weakening the Gupta state
- 23. basic doctrine shared by Buddhists of all sects / based on the actions and teachings of the Buddha, which Buddhist are encouraged to follow / Ashoka’s edicts promoted ___________, a moral code developed to promote social order
- 24. an ancient Indian religion that teaches the path to enlightenment through nonviolence and asceticism / Jains believe in reincarnation, karma, and that all living beings have souls / also strict vegetarians
- 25. (304-232 BCE) Chandragupta's grandson and the last major emperor of the Mauryan dynasty / his vigorous patronage of Buddhism furthered the expansion of that religion throughout India
Down
- 2. an account of the Mauryan Empire from the Greek historian and diplomat Megasthenes, the first person from the Western world to leave a written description of India
- 3. (340-295 BCE) laid the foundation for the first state to bring centralized and unified government to most of the Indian subcontinent / converted to Jainism towards the end of his life and died through a practice called sallekhana (fasting until death)
- 6. historic region in northwestern India and Pakistan that represented the easternmost extent of Alexander’s empire
- 9. short poetic work that best illustrates the expectations of Hinduism and the promise of salvation that it held out to them / Krishna, the human incarnation of the god Vishnu, advised the kshatriya warrior Arjuna that his caste imposed specific moral duties and social responsibilities upon him
- 11. (563-483 BCE) founder of Buddhism / came from a kshatriya family, but gave up his position and inheritance in order to seek salvation / wandered through the Ganges valley searching for spiritual enlightenment and an explanation for suffering
- 12. based on the concepts of varna and jāti, and divides Hindus into four main categories: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras / both Buddhism and Jainism emerged as reactions against this rigid social hierarchy and the authority and practices of Brahmins
- 15. like the Mauryans, this dynasty based their state in Magadha / arose on foundations laid by Chandra Gupta (not related to Chandragupta) / conquered many of the regional kingdoms in India and only the Deccan Plateau and the southernmost part of the subcontinent remained outside of their influence
- 18. what is today Afghanistan and was at the time controlled by the Greeks / fertile area and formerly a center of Iranian resistance to the Greek Macedonian invaders