| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Hinduism | the main religion in India, it emphasizes reincarnation, based on the results of the previous life, and the desirability of escaping this cycle. Its various forms feature both asceticism and the pleasures of ordinary life, and it encompasses a multitude of gods as different manifestations of ultimate reality |
| Indus | a river in Pakistan that flows into the Arabian Sea |
| Jainism | a religion that branched off from Hinduism and was founded by Mahavira; its belief is that everything has a soul, and its purpose was to cleanse the soul. Some were extreme aesthetics |
| Jati | sub castes; were groups of people within each caste that worked together for one economic function |
| Karma | consequences of actions that determine your reincarnation |
| Kautilya | political advisor to the Mauryans |
| Krishna | in Hinduism, the seventh incarnation of the god Vishnu |
| Kshatriya | the warrior caste |
| Law of Manu | a book in which the rules for social behavior were written down; Manu is the mythical founder of India |
| Majaraja | an Indian king or prince that was ranked higher than a raja |
| Mohenjo-Daro | a city in the Harappan civilization that is located on the Indus River |
| Monsoon | strong winds that change with the seasons. Monsoons symbolize the great god Indra |
| Mahavira | an extreme aesthetic who founded the religion Jainism and thought of several Hindu concepts, such as karma, in a very concrete way |
| Mahabharata | one of the two Sanskrit epics of Ancient India. It is the longest epic poem in the world. It is translated as "Great India" and is primarily about wars |
| Moksha | in Hinduism, it is seen as the liberation of the soul from the body |
| Nirvana | the Buddhist belief of the extinction of desire and individual consciousness, also spiritual enlightenment |
| Pariahs | the name of the group of people outside the caste system; they were the outcasts of society and untouchables, were not considered part of Indian society or the caste system |
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