India Vocab

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Jackie Levy

Study skills - G

3/29/17

India Vocab

Aryan - a group of Indo-Europeans nomadic herders who are believed by many scholars to have migrated to the Indian subcontinent

Sanskrit - an ancient language of India, first spoken by the Aryans

Dravidian - speakers of a language group found in India since earliest times; mostly spoken in South India today

Caste - a social class that a person belongs to by birth

Vedas - ancient Sanskrit writings that are the earliest sacred texts of Hinduism

Hinduism - the modern name for the major religion of India

Buddhism - a major religion based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama

Buddha - a name, meaning the “enlightened one,” used for Siddhartha Gautama

Golden age - a period during which a society attains prosperity and cultural achievements

Taj Mahal - a beautiful tomb built by the Mughal ruler Shah Jahan to honor his wife

Mohandas Gandhi - a 20th century Indian who helped lead his country to independence by using nonviolent resistance to colonial rule

Nonviolent resistance - a method of protest that draws attention to a problem without using violence

Bhagavad-Gita - one of the sacred writings of Hinduism

Reincarnation - the rebirth of a soul in another body

Karma - in Hinduism, the consequences of a person’s actions in life, which determines his or her fate in the next life

Nirvana - in Buddhism, a state of wisdom that breaks the cycle of reincarnation