Geoffrey Bernard, Whitney Mitchell, Allison Howard

ENGL 208

Dr. Martin

10 September 2009

India’s Heroic Age

            India’s heroic age lasted approximately from 3,000 B.C.E. to the second century A.D.  During this time, things like faith, education, roles of scribes and women, government, social classes, and other expressions of culture seemed stagnant but were in reality forever morphing and redefining themselves.

            The main religions of India’s Heroic Age, Buddhism and Hinduism, are built upon the concept of karma – the belief that an entity’s existential experience is solely the direct result of their actions (whether those be in the present life or a past life)  (Peterson 884).  This belief explains the existence of evil and suffering.  For example, the character Sita from the Ramayana attributes her captivity by Ravana to her own sin.  This order of existence (with every moral cause having an equal and appropriate moral effect) offered a sense of comfort – one’s existence is not simply a random event; there is a reason for what is going on (Wadia 145).  In addition to explaining the nature of reality, each religion defined the purpose and meaning of each Indian’s personal life.  All were expected to follow their own dharma, or sacred duty, in order to live in accordance with the universal dharma – the binding force of the universe (Peterson 883-884).

Education and social classes were inescapably intertwined.  Education focused on the Brahmans, or the elite upper-class priests, while it simultaneously marginalized the huge portion of the population that was deemed “untouchable.”  Cuneiform and Sanskrit were the focuses of education, keeping track of market transactions like the agrarian economy would suggest as well as transcribing holy texts and epics like the Vedas and Ramayana, respectively.  The propaganda with which everyone was educated at that time purported that Dalits, the “untouchables,” had no literature, no history, and no civilization to speak of.  An article published in the Language Forum journal in 2007 only just argued for the inclusion of Dalit literature into Indian universities.  The author writes that “a human being is not inherently Dalit, neglected or untouchable.  It is the system that degrades him in this fashion” (Palaka 129).

            In social classes, women formed a class unto themselves.  Their sole dharma in life was to be a good wife, exemplified by Sita in Ramayana.  Social classes were defined by marriage practices (e.g. arranged marriages), occupations and professions one held, and the company one kept, making for an acutely socially stratified society.  It was all extraordinarily hierarchical, starting at the top with the Brahmans, or priests, then the ksatriyas, or warriors and administrators, thirdly the vaisyas, or the productive community, and lastly the sudra, or laborers.  These were the untouchables, who carried with them the burden that they had no hope of salvation (Peterson 884).  Each different caste represented a different standard of culture, so one can only imagine the low self-esteem that plagued the laborers.  They eventually took on the name of the “depressed” caste, reflecting both their mood and their position in life (Mukerjee 377).

            The oldest and most sacred texts were recorded by the Brahmans, thanks to their education in cuneiform and Sanskrit, from the fluid oral tradition that pervaded the culture (Peterson 883).  Early vocabulary was developed by and for the elite, and it was only accessible by the scribes who made writing their life.  Once one was a scribe, it was no longer an option: once a scribe, always a scribe.  The writing took a lifetime to learn and practice, so that was always the scribes’ dedication (Allman 66).

The literature of India’s Heroic Age reflected the values of the people at the time.  The earliest writings were a recording of the oral tradition of Hinduism’s central scripture:  the Vedas. These writings took the form of hymns and poetry of praise.  The Upanisads which arose a few hundred years after the last verses of the Vedas (around 900 to 800 B.C.) were of a more philosophical genre and took the form of a dialogue between religious skeptics of different classes (Peterson 882).  The great epics of India, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, followed around 550 B.C.  Like the Vedas, they were slowly assembled based on their original oral tradition.  The epics are characterized by their fantastic content and legendary proportions; the narratives are filled with moral teachings and religious beliefs (Peterson 883).

The art and architecture of India’s heroic age was also highly influenced by the religious beliefs of the time.  According to the Hindu sage Sukracharya, “the artist should attain to the images of the gods by spiritual contemplation…” (Havell 331).  Images and sculptures of the Buddha are extremely prevalent during this time and represent the “divine ideal” (Havell 333).

In ancient India there were various tribal leaders and kings. Therefore, the type of government that was most prevalent was monarchy.  “In the beginning of the Vedic age people did not have a settled life and were nomads but with development in agriculture people started to settle down in groups. The organization was mainly tribal and the head of the tribe was supposed to be the raja or the King, though the concept of King had yet not developed. With the passage of time large kingdoms started to grow and by the 6th century B.C. there were 16 Mahajanapadas” (Kingdoms).  However, the monarchy was not absolute. While the king was the supreme ruler he often had advisers and officials who helped him make decisions. In addition, religion played a part in the development of their government. The caste structure derives from Hinduism. Therefore, a person's place in life (and his chances to obviously participate in politics) is determined by what caste he is born into.

The role of women was closely tied to the dominant religion of this age. In “Ramayana” we see several different types of women in various roles. It was closely tied to the beliefs and practices of the dominant religion, Hinduism.  We see different types of women in “Ramayana” who represent women from different castes.  But overall, women in this society are seen as inferior to men.  “Women form a class in themselves, for a woman's dharma is defined as that of a wife, allowing women no identities or aspirations apart from their allegiance to their husbands” (Peterson 884).  However, apart from other societies some women were given the opportunity to learn. Women who were born into higher caste systems were often granted the chance to learn how to read the Veda hymns. 

During this time period it is unclear what the Ancient Indians knew about the size of the world that they lived in or if they even concerned themselves with that. However, in regards to geography the size and shape of India has changed somewhat from then to now.  “In ancient times, India was much more extended to the North West and west (consisting of parts of modern Pakistan and Afghanistan). The Himalayas lay to the north as they are today” (“Ancient India Geography”).  One of the most important geographical features that spurred such a growth of Ancient Indian civilization was the vast bodies of water that their land was surrounded by. The bodies of water greatly aided the developing agrarian culture. It helped the growth of the land and this civilization.

WORKS CITED

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"Ancient India Geography." Cultural India. 06 June 2008. CulturalIndia.net. 9 Sep 2009 <http://www.culturalindia.net/indian-history/ancient-india/ancient-geography.html>.

"Ancient India Government." Cultural India. 06 June 2008. CulturalIndia.net. 9 Sep 2009 <http://www.culturalindia.net/indian-history/ancient-india/ancient-government.html>.

"Ramayana." The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2002. Sarah Lawall. New York: Norton & Company, 2002. Print.

Allman, William F.. "The Mother Tongue." U.S. News & World Report 05 Nov. 1990 60-70. Web.6 Sep 2009. <http://0-sks.sirs.com.library.winthrop.edu/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SSC1043-0-8800&artno=0000001865&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=&title=The%20Mother%20Tongue&res=Y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=Y&ic=Y>.

Havell, E.B.. "The Symbolism of Indian Sculpture and Painting ." The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs 15(1909): 331-345. Print.

Mukerjee, Radhakamal. "Caste and Social Change in India." The American Journal of Sociology Vol. 43 No. 3Nov. 1937 377-390. Web.7 Sep 2009. <http://0-www.jstor.org.library.winthrop.edu/stable/pdfplus/2768625.pdf>.

Palaka, Pravakar. "Teaching of Dalit literature in higher education." Language Forum 33.1Jan.-June 2007 129. Web.6 Sep 2009. <http://0-go.galegroup.com.library.winthrop.edu/ps/tab.do?sort=DA-SORT&inPS=true&prodId=LitRG&userGroupName=winthropudl&tabID=T001&searchId=R2&prevSubject=&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&searchTerm=>.

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Wadia, A.R.. "Philosophical Implications of the Doctrine of Karma ." Philosophy East and West 15(1965): 145-152. Print.