Chapter 3 Section 2 IndoAryan Migrants

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Chapter 3 Section 2Indo-Aryan Migrants
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• The Story Continues
• As the Harappan civilization was
• declining, a new warrior civilization was
• entering India. It is possible that this
• group destroyed what was left of the
• Harappan civilization. Whether or not they
• did, we know that these warriors soon
• came to dominate the region.

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I. The Nomadic Indo-Aryans

• About 1750 BC, Indo-European people crossed the
  Hindu Kush Mountains into India

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I. The Nomadic Indo-Aryans

• The Indo-Aryans were nomadic sheep and cattle
  herders as well as skilled warriors

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I. The Nomadic Indo-Aryans

• Indias rich pasturelands drew them south and
  their military conquered all of northern India

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A. The Vedic Age

• The literature of the Indo-Aryan religion is
  called the Vedas

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A. The Vedic Age

• The Indo-Aryans developed a system of writing
  called Sanskrit and recorded the Vedas

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A. The Vedic Age

• The period from 1500 B.C. to 1000 B.C. is called
  the Vedic Age

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B. Indo-Aryan religion

• The earliest gods in the Vedas were drawn from
  nature Earth, fire, light, rain, storms, sun,
  and water

What began as a celebration of natural elements
such as Air, Water and Fire was converted into
the worship of cosmic elements. And thus formed
the triad of the early Vedic Gods - AGNI, VAYU
and SURYA.
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B. Indo-Aryan religion

• One supreme god, Varuna, was guardian of cosmic
  order and a divine judge who punished sin

Varuna is one of the oldest Vedic gods. Varuna
is the genius of the waters, the regent of the
ocean and the creator and preserver of the heaven
and earth. He is also the governor of the
night/darkness and the lord of punishment.
Varuna is all encompassing, ocean sun, king of
the universe, the supreme divinity. In later
times he became lord of the sun gods, and still
later he became the god of the oceans and rivers,
a position he still occupies today.
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B. Indo-Aryan religion

• Only special priests called Brahmins knew the
  proper forms and rules of the Vedas

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II. Early Indo-Aryan Society

• Indo Aryans settled into an agricultural life and
  joined into small states

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II. Early Indo-Aryan Society

• They were governed by a raja who was also the
  military leader, lawmaker, and judge

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A. Indo-Aryan Society

• The Indo-Aryans brought a new social order, new
  language, and new religious ideas

Dancing Shiva, or Nataraja, king of dance
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A. Indo-Aryan Society

• Differences between Indo-Aryans and earlier
  residents developed into a complex system of
  social orders

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A. Indo-Aryan Society

• Social classes were more rigid and more
  identified with ritual purity

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A. Indo-Aryan Society

• Warriors and priests were at the top of the
  social structure, with merchants, traders,
  farmers, and servants below them

A Hindu priest at the Sri Ekambaranthar Temple
in Kancheepuram, India
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A. Indo-Aryan Society

• Rules restricted marriage among the social
  orders, and parents usually arranged marriages

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B. Indo-Aryan Economy

• The Indo-Aryans used irrigation and raised a
  variety of crops

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B. Indo-Aryan Economy

• Poor transportation limited trade, which was
  conducted by barter

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C. Southern India

• Southern India was isolated by the Vindhya Range
  and the people maintained their distinct ways of
  life

The Vindhya Range extends in a generally
east-west direction for a distance of about 675
mi. The range separates the drainage basin of the
Ganges River from the Deccan Plateau. Elevations
range from 1500 to 3000 ft and reach a maximum
3651 ft.
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C. Southern India

• People in Southern India remained divided into
  diverse social groups

Most of the South Indians with their dark color
and heavy lips belong to the Dravidian race or
Indo-Aryan stock.
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C. Southern India

• Through trade, southern Indians made contact with
  other civilizations in Southeast Asia