Ancient India Test - 6

Rig Vedic Aryans worshipped the forces of nature, but at the same time, believed in the basic unity of nature. They worshipped many gods, not in fear of nature, but to gain nature's favour.

The social structure during the Rig Vedic period was patriarchal in character. The head of the family was the oldest male mem­ber, who enjoyed absolute control over his children. The relation between child and the parent was one of close affection and the father was regarded as the type of all those good and kind.

However, the courtesan and upper class women enjoyed freedom and were respected in society. Besides these women, a vast majority toiled in the fields and homes. Their condition worsened in the tenth century.

The religion of early Vedic Aryans was primarily of yajnas and worship of nature. The mode of worship was the performance of sacrifices (yajna) which included the chanting of Rigvedic verses. The main deities of the Vedic pantheon were Indra, Agni and Soma.

Samkhya is the oldest of the orthodox philosophical systems, and it postulates that everything in reality stems from purusha (self or soul or mind) and prakriti (matter, creative agency, energy).

Red colour was commonly used in Harappan pottery, especially in the north. In the Harappan civilisation, people made plain or decorated pots containing a variety of unglazed and glazed pottery.

Middle Path is the eight fold path of Buddhism regarded as a golden mean between self-indulgence and self-mortification, called also Middle Way. The choice of right effort is regarded as an ingredient of 'Middle Path' advocated by Buddha.

In Buddhism, right effort is closely linked to karma and its overall effect on the birth and rebirth of individual beings. The Buddha identified four types of right effort: the effort to avoid wrong actions, the effort to overcome evil actions, the effort to develop good conduct conducive to the practice of Dhamma and the effort to maintain the perfection that is already cultivated on the Eightfold Path.

Adi Shankara or Shankara was an early 8^th-century Indian philosopher and theologian who consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta. He is credited with unifying and establishing the main currents of thought in Hinduism.

Sangha is the Buddhist monastic order, traditionally composed of four groups: monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen. The Sangha is a part together with the Buddha and the dharma (teaching) of the threefold refuge, a basic creed of Buddhism.

Buddha's attitude on the subject of entry of women into the Buddhist Sangha was liberal. He gladly accepted women into the Sangha. Gautama Buddha first ordained women as nuns five years after his enlightenment and five years after first ordaining men into the Sangha. The first Buddhist nun was his aunt and foster mother Mahapajapati Gotami.