Chapter 13 Chapter 9 Indian Civilization
When our research turns from Greece and Rome to India, we enter a completely different world.This difference is not merely that which naturally arises from a comparison of their natural surroundings, that is, differences in occupation, diet, habitation, clothing, etc.The difference is much more fundamental and broader.In the West, there are no slight analogies to basic Indian ideas and institutions such as caste, killing (non-violence), rebirth, and karma (the law of the consequences of moral behavior).These things are not just esoteric abstractions of Indian thought.Rather, they form the basis of Indian civilization and determine the thinking and daily life of all Indians.Therefore, the Indian model thus formed is also completely different, and it has lasted so long that Indian civilization still has distinctive features that distinguish it from all other Eurasian civilizations.
As will be discussed in the next chapter, this uniqueness is also characteristic of Chinese civilization, however, assuming that China was unprecedentedly isolated geographically and historically.India, on the other hand, seems to have had a similar early stage to that of the areas settled by Aryan invaders to the west—the Iranian plateau, the Balkans, and the Italian peninsula.As mentioned above (Chapter VI, Section 4), the Aryan tribes who settled in India around 1500 BC had the same physical characteristics, the same animal husbandry economy, and the same society as the Achaeans and Dorians. The same institutions, the same gods, and the same epic.Furthermore, the Indo-Aryans were far less isolated from the outside world in their subcontinent than the Chinese at the eastern end of Eurasia.The mountains of northwest India are not impassable, so armies, traders and pilgrims have come and gone over the mountains for many centuries.In fact, northern India interacted with the Middle East and Central Asia more than northern India interacted with the southern peninsula for most of the time.
The question naturally arises, then, why the Indo-Aryans were able to develop a civilization so radically different from their kin to the west.The evidence available is too scant to provide a concrete or definitive answer.However, the simplest and plausible explanation is that the Indo-Aryans were Indianized.Unlike the Achaeans, Dorians, or Latins who settled less civilized areas, the Indo-Aryans encountered a highly developed civilization with large metropolitan centers and dense populations in the Indus Valley.Although the indigenous people of the Indus Valley have been conquered and despised, due to their large numbers and advanced culture, they cannot be exterminated, driven away or assimilated, leaving little of the original culture.On the contrary, when Aryan pastoralists settled there and turned to agriculture, they had to live in close proximity to the original inhabitants.After centuries of such peaceful coexistence and intermarriage, the inevitable result is cultural fusion.The circumstances, nature and consequences of this cultural fusion are the subject of this chapter.
After the Yahean invaded the Indus Valley, they concentrated in the rainy areas of Punjab where there were large grasslands for grazing livestock.It is worth noting that in the ancient epic Rig Veda, the rivers of Punjab are mentioned frequently while the Ganges is mentioned only once.Gradually, however, the Aryans began to spread into the heavily forested Ganges valley.Their expansion was slow at first, as the only tools at hand were stone, bronze, and copper axes.But the introduction of iron around 800 BC accelerated the pace of expansion considerably.At this time, the main activity changed from animal husbandry to agriculture.In addition, the monsoon climate in the Ganges basin also makes it possible to grow rice.In Punjab, rice is much more productive than wheat and barley.Thus, the center of population density shifted from the northwest to the east, which became the seat of the original powerful kingdom.
The shift from animal husbandry to agriculture promoted the various industries necessary for the establishment of new villages, such as woodworking, metallurgy, textiles, and tanning.Agriculture also facilitated trade, with rivers serving as natural arteries for transporting surplus food.When the trade first began, barter was often practiced, with cows being the unit of value in larger transactions.It is worth noting here that when coinage came into existence, the earliest weights and measures were precisely those that were practiced before the Aryan Indian civilization.Cities developed from villages that were originally trading centers or specialized in certain industries.
Economic development in turn fostered political consolidation.Originally, the Indo-Aryans, like their Western kin, were organized by tribal chiefs assisted by councils of elders and tribal assemblies.As the economy developed, the tribes of the Ganges plain gave way to kingdoms, and the tribes of Punjab and the foothills of the Himalayas gave way to republics.Among these early countries, the Magadha Kingdom in the lower Ganges River region quickly became powerful and surpassed other countries because it was located on two major caravan routes and controlled iron-rich areas.With its own favorable conditions, Magadha later became the base for the formation of the Mauryan Empire and the Gupta Empire.Speaking of this, it is necessary to mention a famous saying by Kautilya, the chief minister of the first two emperors of the Mauryan Dynasty.He said: "The treasury is built on the basis of mining, the army is built on the basis of the treasury, and those who have the army and the treasury can conquer the entire earth."
The Nanda dynasty in the 4th century BC was the first dynasty to systematically exploit the resources of Magadha for the purpose of establishing a state.They built ditches, organized irrigation projects, and established an effective tax collection management system.The Nanyang kings are now said to be the creators of India's earliest empires.In fact, while they laid the foundations for the empire, they didn't actually build the first empire.It was a young adventurer named Chandragupta Maurya who completed this historical task. He seized the throne of Nanda in 321 BC and established the famous empire named after him.
Parallel to these economic and political developments were major changes in the structure of society.Initially, the Indian Aryans, like other Aryans, were divided into three classes: warrior nobles, priests and commoners.They do not have various restrictions related to social class, such as hereditary occupations, regulations limited to intermarriage within the same class, taboos when entertaining companions, and so on.But by 500 B.C. the caste hierarchy came into play with all its essential features.While many theories have been put forward regarding the origin of the caste hierarchy, it is generally agreed that skin color is an essential factor.In fact, the word varna in Sanskrit, the caste, means skin color.
The Aryan immigrants were very aware of the difference in skin color between themselves and the local black natives, and called the natives Dasai, that is, slaves.Because the Aryans had a strong sense of racial superiority, they tried their best to prevent mixing with their despised subjects, thus developing the system of four hereditary castes.The first three castes consisted of the Aryans' own occupational ranks, i.e., the sign (Brahmin), the warrior noble (Kshatriya) and the peasant (Vaiya).The fourth surname (Shudra) is reserved for the Dasai people.The Dace were not allowed to participate in religious ceremonies, nor did they have the social rights enjoyed by their conquerors.
Over time, this racial division no longer corresponds to reality.Aryan tribes often formed alliances with the Dace tribes to wage wars against other Aryan tribes.Moreover, Aryan immigrants mixed with natives who adopted Aryan promises and customs.In this case, the priests of the Dasai began to become Brahmins, and their leaders became Kshatriyas.For the above reasons, the dark-skinned Brahmins of southern India are equally aristocratic today, while the white-skinned, gray-eyed untouchables in certain parts of northern India are no longer elevated by their whiteness.In keeping with these realities, merchants and certain landowners were classified as Vaishyas, while cultivators and general laborers became Sudras.
Within these four divisions a bewildering variety of castes has grown up.They all have four basic characteristics.One characteristic is having a unique occupation, so bankers and merchants often belong to the Bark caste.Another feature is the principle of heredity, which is reflected in the complex regulations and restrictions on marriage.In addition, caste has further restrictions on the purity of food, water, contact and ceremonies.Finally, each caste has its own "law," or code of morals, which prescribes various duties and responsibilities, such as maintaining the family, performing ceremonies for marriage, birth, and death, and so on.
Outside this caste hierarchy are the untouchables, or untouchables, who today make up about one-seventh of India's population.They are destined only to engage in commerce or those trades which are considered unclean because they either defile certain ceremonies or take human or animal life.These occupations included hunters, fishers, butchers, executioners, gravediggers, undertakers, tanners, leather workers, and sweepers.The results of these occupations in turn lead to social isolation.The untouchables lived in secluded villages or houses outside towns and had only access to their own monasteries and wells.They must take great care not to contaminate members of the caste, that is, not to have any physical contact with the latter, and in extreme cases not even to enter the latter's sight.So, until recent decades, whenever they stepped out of their dwellings or villages, they had to tap a pair of clappers to warn others that they were approaching.
Dalits today suffer further psychological disabilities that are as crippling and degrading as physical disabilities.According to the doctrine of karma, a person's status in this world is determined by his actions in previous lives.Therefore, the Dalits are responsible for their present plight due to their past sins.Improving their status in the afterlife is the only hope for the Dalits, and this can only be achieved by respectfully fulfilling their duties and obligations in this world.
A combination of social and religious decrees has allowed the caste system to function to this day.It should be noted that the caste system also has provisions concerning mutual assistance so that a person can be safe as long as he obeys its provisions.Therefore, the caste system is still the steel-like framework of Indian society.Although it has now been attacked by reformers and undermined by the exigencies of modern industrial society, it still functions virtually in the rural areas where three-quarters of India's population lives.
Bronze sculpture circa 1000 BC: Nazaraja Shiva - Shiva known as the Lord of the Dance.
The caste system based on the principles of law, karma and rebirth is an integral part of the Indian religious system.Originally, the typical tribal gods believed by the Aryans were the embodiment of natural forces, such as Indra, the god of thunder and war, Agni, the god of fire, and Soma, the god of the sacred intoxicating soma liquid. .These gods of nature were well suited to pastoralists, but when the Aryans settled down to agriculture they had to turn to new gods.Thus, the "Three Great Gods" of Hinduism appeared-Brahma the creator, Vishnu the benevolent protector, and Shiva the powerful destroyer.It is no accident that these new gods, especially Shiva, bear a striking resemblance to those found at sites in the Indus Valley.At that time, the Aryans would naturally appropriate some of the religious ideas and customs that the local ancient agricultural civilization had formed and developed over thousands of years.
Relief, circa 600-700 AD: Brahma.
Accompanying these new gods was the increasing concentration of power in the hands of the priestly class, the Brahmins.This change may also have come from the previous religious tradition of the Aryans.Brahmins interacted with indigenous religious leaders in Indian civilization in some areas, and probably learned the latter's witchcraft and customs during the communication; some remains left at that time also showed a strong atmosphere of priestly group domination over everything .Whatever the historical archetypes in the distant past, the Brahmins made effective use of their mastery of the Vedas, the hymns.These hymns are recited aloud during religious ceremonies and sacrifices.They have been passed down orally from generation to generation, and because they are so sacred in people's minds, they are memorized word by word.As the custodian and transmitter of this precious heritage, Brahmins are able to declare and implement their own propositions and demands as leaders of Indian society higher than the secular chief Kshatriya.
Over time, Brahmins even challenged the status of the gods by emphasizing the importance of the rituals they presided over.They made their demands in the Brahmanjas, prose manuals used to interpret the Vedas and guide religious ceremonies.These demands were often the product of a combination of immature thinking and shrewd schemes in favor of priestly rights.On a more secular level, Brahmins enjoyed many privileges and immunities due to the sacred nature of their duties.Whereas those who give gifts to Brahmins are guaranteed that they will receive certain rewards in this life and in the next life.The "gift of the land" is the most highly regarded, because it "frees the giver from all sins."Thus, the Brahmins were given a large estate, including an entire village.In addition, the Brahmins are exempted from paying various taxes, because it is believed that the Brahmins have paid off this debt by their pious deeds.Since Brahmins are sacred and inviolable, they cannot be sentenced to death or any type of corporal punishment.Finally, the teachings of dhamma, karma, and reincarnation actually provided the Brahmins with irresistible means of controlling people's minds.For if a man's place in life is the necessary consequence of what he has done in the past, if a man's hopes for an afterlife depend entirely on his faithfulness to the prescribed duties of caste, however troublesome or If you are humble, then there will be no chance for individuals to make decisions in this world.
Brahmin demands and extortion were a factor in the Reformation in India in the sixth and fifth centuries BC.Another factor was the economic development mentioned above, which created a wealthy merchant caste, the Vaishya caste, which resented the privileges enjoyed by the two castes above it.Finally, the relationship between Brahmins and non-Aryans was very tense, because although non-Aryans could be absorbed into Hinduism, they resented the priestly dominance.It is now generally believed that the Shakya tribe in the mountains of Nepal to which the Buddha belonged belonged to the Mongol race.These factors combined to contribute to the turmoil in the religious and intellectual circles of India during those centuries.A claim is made for liberty—a liberty that is more meaningful and satisfying than prescribed rituals and rigid dogmas.
One manifestation of the turmoil was the emergence of ascetic tendencies.Among the most active and intelligent people there is a section that begins to withdraw from society and indulge in pure introspection.They have developed various methods of training (yoga practice) that the mind does not relax, and finally enters a state of ecstasy or ecstasy.That state of trance or ecstasy is what mystics call "enlightenment," and atheists call "self-hypnosis."Through inner reflection and contemplation, many reform movements were developed.Only two of these reform movements have survived to the present day, Jainism and Buddhism.The founders of these two religions, as may have been mentioned earlier, began as ascetics and later challenged the Brahmins in a more practical and organized manner.
The idea of Jainism spread as early as the 7th century BC; however, it was the leader Daxiong (about 540-467 BC) who formally formed Jainism and became a systematic organization.He was born into a non-Aryan aristocratic family. At the age of 30, he abandoned the material world and became a naked ascetic. After 12 years of wandering, he attained enlightenment.Members of the sect he founded are called Jains, followers of Jaina (Victor), Jain is his title.A fundamental principle in Jainism is that not only animals and insects but also "wood, rocks and trees" each have a separate soul.Therefore, he stresses the importance of respecting life in any form.When Jain priests go to perform their duties, they always clear the road first, so as not to step on any insects.Devout Jains also cover their noses with a cloth to prevent bugs from being sucked into the nostrils.Today, about 100,000 Jains live in West India (Gujarat), but their influence on Indian society is much greater than their numbers might suggest.The main teaching that killing is non-violence is due to the Jains and Buddhists; this teaching was finally accepted by the Hindu community in general.Although Mahatma Gandhi was not a member of Jainism, he was deeply influenced by its teachings.
Unlike Jainism, which never spread beyond India, Buddhism became a powerful force in Central Eurasia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia, and played a major role in the formation of the Eurasian core in classical times (see Chapter 7 Section III).As far as India is concerned, the significance of the Buddha's teaching is that it presents a more fundamental challenge to Hinduism than to Jainism.The Buddha could not accommodate caste or Brahmin, and, like later Protestants, he believed that the holy scriptures should also be understood by laymen.Therefore, he preached in the dialect of the Gangetic plain, and eschewed witchcraft, sacrifices, and obscure scriptures.
Apart from its astonishing success in the outside world, Buddhism has also been an important rival of Hinduism in India itself for centuries.But it never became the dominant religious belief, and from AD 600 onwards, it gradually declined.By the end of the 12th century, when the Muslim Turks arrived, it existed in only a few places and was in a state of decline.One of the causes of this great religious movement's uncharacteristic disappearance from its birthplace was its failure to prepare itself for the crises of ordinary life, its failure to prepare for birth, marriage, death, and other pivotal events in layman life. The transformation of the gods provides various rituals.Brahmins, by contrast, prepared their own rituals.This fact guaranteed their survival despite the attacks of the reformers.Also, and more importantly, the Brahmins themselves engaged in reforms.In the philosophical classics, the Upanishads, they set forth their own path to freedom and liberation.
They teach that the supreme spirit that pervades the universe is Brahman - a living being possessed of all knowledge and sentience.He is the cosmic soul and all-pervasive spirit, and all else is but an illusion.The individual soul, the "self," is a spark of God.It keeps changing states through samsara until it is liberated by being reabsorbed as Brahman.The identification of the personal soul and the universal soul is the ultimate goal that the religious devotee seeks to achieve through practice, introspection, and withdrawal from the world of sensations.Thus the truth-seeker among the Hindu followers is able to renounce the world.
Portrait from the 15th century: Nobita and his mother as a child.It was Daxiong (c. 540-467 BC) who unified the thinking of Jains and made Jainism an institutional organization.
Although Buddhism has disappeared in India as a living religion, it still exists today because its basic tenets were absorbed by Hinduism.The Hindu counter-reformation was victorious precisely because it accepted Buddhist ideas.Primitive Hinduism, which practiced nature worship, sacrifice and power atonement, has been transformed by the philosophy of the Upanishads, the mercy of killing, and the spiritual and moral precepts of Dhamma.
From religious movement to political development, a prominent event was the emergence of India's first empire - the Maurya Empire.As mentioned earlier in this chapter, when the Aryans moved to the Ganges River Valley, they also shifted their focus to this area, especially to the Magadha Kingdom in this area.At the time, the North West Territory was acting on its own, separated from the rest of India by virtue of its close ties to Persian civilization.In fact, around 518 BC, Emperor Darius had crossed the Hindu Kush, making the western Punjab the twentieth domain of his empire.
According to Herodotus, this is very beneficial.He said: "The Indians are more numerous than any other nation of which we know, so they pay more tribute than every other nation." Herodotus also tells us that in 480 BC , When Zells invaded Greece, there were also Indians in his army "wearing cotton clothes, shoulder bamboo bows and iron-headed bamboo arrows".These narrations by Herodotus are very meaningful, and they illustrate the fact that we can grasp the real and concrete information about the early history of India today only on the basis of foreign invasions and historical reports left by foreigners.A civilization that sees the entire physical world as nothing more than an illusion would understandably be uninterested in such minutiae as time and place.Indian history is only concerned with bringing clearly to light the eternal truths of Indian philosophy.Thus, in the few Indian sources available, history, myth, and imagination are inseparably combined.Therefore, the narratives left by foreign visitors who pay more attention to materialism and historical development are particularly important.
After the Persian invasion, the mists of history settled again until the arrival of Alexander two centuries later, in 327 BC.Alexander's invasion was more of an assault than a formal invasion.He remained in India for only two years, and within a decade of his death the Greek regime in the Punjab had completely disappeared.No mention of Alexander has been found so far in Indian literature of the time.However, the war he launched did have a major impact on India's subsequent development.
Impressions of India left by Alexander's companions.Arguably the least important.Unfortunately, none of these things have survived, and only some of them have been handed down in fragments through the writings of later historians and geographers.These describe the ports, the goods traded, the appearance of the cities, the attire of the natives, and such exotic customs as polygamy, caste laws, and cremations of the dead.But these factual reports also spice up the storytelling with bizarre stories about men ten feet tall and six feet wide at the shoulders, mouthless men who live on steam, raining copper balls , a 300-foot snake-like fish in the Ganges, and so on.
The contribution made by Alexander's army and navy in opening up or increasing land and sea trade routes is more effective.It led to the rapid development of east-west trade from northwestern India through Afghanistan and Iran, and then to Asia Minor and the ports of the eastern Mediterranean.The Greek colonies that Alexander established throughout the Middle East undoubtedly contributed greatly to this trade as well.The Hellenistic states after Alexander facilitated this trade for two hundred years.
Most important to Indian history is Alexander's role in the abolition of several local kingdoms and republics in northwest India, creating a political vacuum.Chandragupta Maurya quickly filled this vacuum, building the empire that bears his name.Three years after Alexander's evacuation, in 322 BC, Chandragupta was still an ambitious young general who seized the throne of the Nanda dynasty in Magadha and established his own dynasty.Over the next few years he steadily expanded his rule northwestward, until his empire stretched from the Ganges to the Indus and included the deltas of these two great rivers.At the same time, he organized a strong army and an effective government to maintain his land.Thus even when Seleucus became king of the Middle East as one of Alexander's heirs, and tried to regain Alexander's India, Chandragupta had no trouble repelling the Greek army.
A year later, in 304 BC, Seleucus was forced to make peace, ceding India to the Mauryan Emperor and marrying him a Greek princess.In return Seleucus received 500 elephants, with which he succeeded in repelling his opponents in the Hellenistic world.The peace between Seleucus and the Mauryan Emperor marked the establishment of the Mauryan Empire as a great power at that time.A Greek envoy named Megasthenes lived for several years in Fahrenheit, the capital of the Maurya Empire, and his observations, although now only available in second-hand form, are valuable information.Chandragupta's son Pundusara (c. 298-273 BC) seems to have conquered the Deccan, while his grandson, the famous Ashoka (273-232 BC) conquered Kalinga, the Eastern India.Thus, under the latter's rule, the Mauryan Empire included the entire Indian peninsula except the southern tip.
The structure of the Mauryan Empire and the functions it performed have been elucidated in the book Arthashastra [Political Economic Theory] by Laodhilia, Chandragupharata's personal tutor.A thoroughgoing realist, Kautilya dedicated himself to "the Goddess of Wealth rejected by thousands of kings".His purpose was to transform the wasteland, which was "barren like bad cows," into a "good country," which he explained as follows:
In any case, some of these advantages can be seen in the Maurya Empire.The well-kept roads, with their constant traffic of hordes of merchants, soldiers, royal messengers, and begging dervishes, necessitated formal road laws.The conquest of Kalinga on the east coast facilitated trade, and a maritime ministry maintained the shipping lanes and ports.Inscriptions from many monasteries attest to the wealth and generosity of the chambers and guilds that donated to the monasteries.The capital, Fahrenheit City, is known as the "Flower City" and is famous for its parks, public buildings, nine-mile-long riverside, and educational system that attracts domestic and foreign students.
All this was supported by the "sixth of the king's extraction" of the harvest, which in practice was often increased to a quarter, leaving only enough for the peasants to subsist.The laws are harsh, and the means of maintaining order are ruthless.The army claims to have 700,000 men, equipped with 9,000 elephants and 10,000 chariots.Efficient spies were everywhere, sending streams of reports to the capital by courier and carrier pigeon.Harsh punishments are listed in the book "Arthashastra" [Political Economic Theory] of 18 kinds, which are often used as a means of punishment and to extract confessions.All in all, it was an efficient, draconian, bureaucratic society, embodying Kautilya's famous dictum: "Politics is the science of punishment."
Ashoka's reign demonstrates a fundamental and unique change in the traditional type of imperial rule.He underwent a change of heart after conquering the kingdom of Kalinga through a particularly brutal war, and he writes in his rock-cut thirteenth edict:
From then on, Ashoka devoted himself to promoting and fulfilling the teachings of the Buddha.He aspires to a future of "safety, sanity, peace of mind and gentleness for all."Following the example of the Persian rulers, he carved his edicts into rocks, caves, and purpose-built pillars.These edicts are not so much formal decrees as they are in the nature of national exhortations.What they all have in common is that they exhort people to promote great virtues—simplicity, compassion, mutual tolerance, and respect for all kinds of life.Ashoka was different from Khaodi and Yaya, who first considered the interests of the country. He cared more about the people.Therefore, he set up many public works that did not bring direct benefits to the country—hospitals and public medical treatment, orchards and rest places on both sides of the road, distributed alms to various sects, and sent Buddhist missions to foreign countries.
Ashoka was not the Constantine of India, as is sometimes claimed.He did not make Buddhism the state religion, nor did he persecute other sects.On the contrary, he also gave generous donations to Brahmanism and Jainism, and helped outstanding people of all religions and sects.This is not a change in religion, but a change in attitude in general.His greatest emphasis was on tolerance and nonviolence, not only because they were morally desirable but because they would promote harmony in his vast and complex empire.This proved successful during Ashoka's reign as he ruled for 41 years to the cheers of the people.However, in the half century after his death, his dynasty was overthrown and his empire was wiped out.
This has been a pattern in Indian history up to modern times.India is different from China. In China, there were long periods of imperial unification followed by short breaks; in India, the rule was just the opposite—short unification and long breaks.This is not to say that India was not united.India has unity but it is cultural not political.Indian culture emphasizes loyalty to the social order rather than to the state, as evidenced by the fact that the caste hierarchy outranks any political system.Thus, a culture that increases unity in one domain destroys unity in another.
At the beginning of the 2nd century BC, with the collapse of the Mauryan Empire, chaos and darkness lasted for 500 years.During this period, however, one factor that was often seen to be at play was India's growing interaction with the outside world, with multifaceted implications in the political, economic, and cultural spheres.
Originally from the influence of the Greeks, known in India as the Yavanas, remained a force in northwestern India for two centuries after Alexander.As discussed in Chapter 7, Section 3, the Greeks developed Gandhara art, provided models for Indian coinage, and, most importantly, facilitated trade between India and the Middle East.Then came waves of invaders who replaced the Greeks and in some cases pushed further south.The Parthians, known to the Indians as the Pallavas, originated in the Caspian region, first wresting control of Iran and Mesopotamia from the Seleucids; then, from about 140 BC, Gangs infiltrated northwestern India, forcing the Greeks to go north, and finally occupied the lower Indus region.
After the Parthians came the Scythians, or Shakas as the Hindus called them.They left Central Asia under the persecution of the Yuezhi people, subdued the Greeks in Bactria around 130 BC, then crossed the Hindu Kush Mountains, entered Punjab, and finally settled in Gujarat.There, they mixed with the indigenous people to form the Maratha nation, which later occupied an important place in Indian history.
The last ones to come are the Guishuang people.The Guishuang people were originally a branch of the Yuezhi, and they successfully unified the Yuezhi nomads; then in the 1st century BC, they crossed the Hindu Kush Mountains and entered Punjab.During the next century they extended their rule southward, possibly as far as the Nabata River between Hindustan and the Deccan.Under their famous ruler Kanishka (who ruled from about 130 to 160 AD), their empire included Punjab, Kashmir, the Indus Valley, the Upper Ganges region, Afghanistan and Turkistan in present-day China. In some areas.The empire spanned some of the busiest trade routes of the time, so that the regions of the country were heavily influenced by the Indians, the Hellenistic countries, the Persians, and to a lesser extent the Chinese.Kushan coins have now been unearthed in Scandinavia, Ethiopia, Roman provinces, and countries in Asia.These coins bear the names and statues of some of the gods of the Greeks, Persians, and Hindus.Kanishka depicted Buddha and Persian gods on his coins, while at the same time defending Jainism and Brahmanism impartially.Likewise, he adopted both the Indian emperor's title maheraja ("great king") and the Parthian title ajatiraja ("king of kings") in Sanskrit, as well as the Chinese title, namely devaputra ("Son of Heaven") in Sanskrit.
The lion-headed stigma on the Ashoka column in Luyewan.This work from the dynasty of Ashoka (273-232 BC), one of many pillars ordered by the Mauryan ruler to honor Buddha, is now on display in the New Delhi Museum.
In the 3rd century, the Guishuang Empire gradually declined.The immediate cause of this seems to be the emergence of a powerful Sasanian dynasty in Persia (226 AD).The Sasanian dynasty extended its influence eastward to Afghanistan, which severed the connection between the Kushan people's original base in Central Asia and their provinces in India. At the end of the 3rd century, the Guishuang Empire collapsed, leaving a power vacuum between the Ganges River Basin and the border areas of Persia.This cleared the way for the rise of the Guptas, India's second great empire, just as a similar vacuum had heralded the Mauryan Empire earlier.
In retrospect, the unprecedented interaction between India and the outside world during the 500 years between 200 B.C. and A.D. 300 clearly stands out.At least the empires of the Greeks, Pallavas, Sakas, and Kushans were all based in India as well as in Central Asia or the Middle East.它们都促进了沿着由印度北部向西到中东、向北到中亚和中国的路线而进行的有利可图的贸易。这也是一个使罗马商人来到印度南部和西部、使印度商人来到东南亚的对外贸易欣欣向荣的时期（见第七章第二节）。
在文化领域，印度佛教传教士也在这些世纪里将他们的教义传播到周围所有的国家。以乞讨为生的祭司们可以泰然地周游于彼此敌对或秩序混乱的诸民族中间，因为他们太穷了，不值得抢劫，而且，他们周身又为一种超自然的献身气氛所环绕。抢劫或伤害这种人的动机也是不存在的，因为唯一的报答只是有可能遭到来自上天的惩罚。因之，印度的佛教和婆罗门教传播到周围所有的国家，并在传播过程中，使一切文化获得大发展（见第七章第三节）。文化的交流决不只是单向的。来自北方的一批批入侵者随身带来了希腊、波斯和中亚的种种影响。公元1世纪时，一个新的宗教——基督教——由海路传入印度。据传说，圣多马于52年前后抵达印度西南部的马拉巴尔海岸，在那里他建立了许多教堂。然后从那里经陆路旅行到东海岸，不过到东海岸后，他的布道遭到强烈反对，并于68年在马德拉斯附近被人杀害。但是，他在马拉巴尔地区的工作结下了丰硕成果，那里有相当多的基督教团体一直存在至今无。
公元4 世纪时，伟大的笈多时代——个前几个世纪中的入侵者被同化、各种文化潮流结下丰硕成果的时代——开始了。这是印度文明的古典时代，可与西方的早期帝国或奥古斯都时代相比。笈多帝国同孔雀帝国一样，以恒河流域的摩揭陀国为根据地。这一国家在孔雀帝国崩溃后设法维持了自己的独立，然后乘贵霜帝国溃灭，开始再一次将势力扩张到由贵需帝国溃灭所造成的权力真空地区。
笈多时代开始于约320 年旃陀罗笈多一世登基之时，笈多帝国在他孙子旃陀罗笈多二世（375至415年在位）的统治下，臻于极盛。旃陀罗笈多二世极力扩张，直到将他的帝国从印度河扩展到孟加拉湾、从北部山区扩展到纳巴达河为止。这些疆界构成印度斯坦传统的边界线——这是值得强调的一点。在政治上，笈多帝国是一个北印度帝国，并未包括整个半岛。实际上，当时的南印度在许多方面是与世隔绝的，因为温迪亚山脉仍是将半岛一隔为二的有效屏障。南方诸民族操的是德拉维语，包括泰米尔语、泰卢固语和卡纳拉语，与北方人所操的印度雅利安语不同。另一方面，南方又接受印度教、佛教及其社会习俗，并将梵语作为其经文和学习的用语。这样，形成一个单独的文明，它不管诸民族根本不相同的种族和语言背景，也不管南方数国独立并存的局面，牢牢地将形形色色的民族结合在一起。
笈多帝国似乎享有过引人注目的繁荣，而这一繁荣由于旃陀罗笈多二世实行货币改革、采用标准的金币和银币而又得到进一步的促进。当时，无论半岛内的贸易还是对外贸易，其贸易量均达到新的高度。没多统治之际，安全的程度也有了提高，这在对外贸易贷款的利息率的降低这一点上反映出来：孔雀时期，贷款的利息率为240% ；笈多时期，降为20％。当时，最重要的一个工业是纺织业。纺织品包括丝绸、平组细布、印花布、亚麻布、毛织物和棉布。这些东西由于国内外市场的需要而被大量生产。其他重要的行业有治金业、制陶业、雕刻业和宝石切割磨光业。
从中国佛教朝圣者的报告判断，笈多帝国的统治比孔雀帝国温和。法显曾在401至410年间在印度逗留，周游了一所所寺院；印度礼仪周到的服务和普遍的繁荣给他留下了深刻印象。他发现，虽然王朝信奉印度教，但并不歧视佛教徒。乡村是—派安宁、繁荣的景象，不象在孔雀帝国统治时，受到警察和密探的骚扰。法显还注意到：
在语言学和文学方面，这是梵语获得成功的时代。从前婆罗门学者使用的颇为陈旧的语言——梵语，现又卷土重来，传播到政府和世俗文学中。诗歌和散文由于王室的慷慨资助而欣欣向荣。其中最杰出的是“印度的莎士比亚”迦梨陀婆的著作，他把古代传说和民间故事改编成戏剧和抒情诗。18 世纪后期，他的七幕剧《沙恭达罗》被译成英语，从此以后，一直受到普遍的喝采，并被搬上外国舞台。将《摩呵婆罗多》和《罗摩衍那》这两部伟大的民族史诗编成定本，可能是笈多时代最大的文化成就。这两部史诗的早期改编本虽然在公元前的许多世纪以前就有了，但现在已完全失落。今天只能看到以笈多作家赋予的样式出现的编定本。这些编定本仍是印度文学的经典和印度传统的宝库。书中的男女主人公是人民生活中的一部分，书中大量的故事为世世代代作家所采用，书中的哲学诗《薄伽梵歌》成为印度教最重要的圣典。
在科学方面，笈多时代的成就也是很杰出的。与希腊人的交往使双方的思想发生有益的交流。公元476 年生于华氏城的阿耶波多是天文学史上最伟大的人物。他教导说，地球是一个球体，它围绕地轴自转；月食是地球的阴影落在月亮上所引起的；太阳年的长度为365．3586805天——这一计算的误差极小。另一位伟大的科学家彘田精通希腊科学，而且极有天赋，他实际上对所有各门自然科学都作出了重要贡献。
无疑，最伟大的贡献是提出了“0” 的理论和作为演算基点的十进制。这—基点可以是任何数；印度人选取10大概是因为他们靠10个手指计数。有了十进制，需要的单数仅为0，1，2，…9。而古代希腊人则不同，对他们来说，888中的每一个8都是不同的。对罗马人来说，888就是DCCCLXXXVIII。若应用这些进位制，要进行乘、除法运算显然是很困难的。这些简单的印度数字被阿拉伯商人和学者传到西方，并被称为“阿拉伯数字”。尽管这些数字具有明显的优点，却长期受到藐视，被认为是异教徒的东西，而且太易伪造了，因为短短的一划可以把0变成6或者9。直到15世纪后期，印度阿拉伯数字才在西方流行，打开了现代数学和现代科学的大门。现在回顾起来，印度的这一贡献是很突出的，可与轮子、杠杆或字母表这些发明相媲美。
Bronze sculpture circa 1000 BC: Nazaraja Shiva - Shiva known as the Lord of the Dance.
The caste system based on the principles of law, karma and rebirth is an integral part of the Indian religious system.Originally, the typical tribal gods believed by the Aryans were the embodiment of natural forces, such as Indra, the god of thunder and war, Agni, the god of fire, and Soma, the god of the sacred intoxicating soma liquid. .These gods of nature were well suited to pastoralists, but when the Aryans settled down to agriculture they had to turn to new gods.Thus, the "Three Great Gods" of Hinduism appeared-Brahma the creator, Vishnu the benevolent protector, and Shiva the powerful destroyer.It is no accident that these new gods, especially Shiva, bear a striking resemblance to those found at sites in the Indus Valley.At that time, the Aryans would naturally appropriate some of the religious ideas and customs that the local ancient agricultural civilization had formed and developed over thousands of years.
Relief, circa 600-700 AD: Brahma.
Accompanying these new gods was the increasing concentration of power in the hands of the priestly class, the Brahmins.This change may also have come from the previous religious tradition of the Aryans.Brahmins interacted with indigenous religious leaders in Indian civilization in some areas, and probably learned the latter's witchcraft and customs during the communication; some remains left at that time also showed a strong atmosphere of priestly group domination over everything .Whatever the historical archetypes in the distant past, the Brahmins made effective use of their mastery of the Vedas, the hymns.These hymns are recited aloud during religious ceremonies and sacrifices.They have been passed down orally from generation to generation, and because they are so sacred in people's minds, they are memorized word by word.As the custodian and transmitter of this precious heritage, Brahmins are able to declare and implement their own propositions and demands as leaders of Indian society higher than the secular chief Kshatriya.
Over time, Brahmins even challenged the status of the gods by emphasizing the importance of the rituals they presided over.They made their demands in the Brahmanjas, prose manuals used to interpret the Vedas and guide religious ceremonies.These demands were often the product of a combination of immature thinking and shrewd schemes in favor of priestly rights.On a more secular level, Brahmins enjoyed many privileges and immunities due to the sacred nature of their duties.Whereas those who give gifts to Brahmins are guaranteed that they will receive certain rewards in this life and in the next life.The "gift of the land" is the most highly regarded, because it "frees the giver from all sins."Thus, the Brahmins were given a large estate, including an entire village.In addition, the Brahmins are exempted from paying various taxes, because it is believed that the Brahmins have paid off this debt by their pious deeds.Since Brahmins are sacred and inviolable, they cannot be sentenced to death or any type of corporal punishment.Finally, the teachings of dhamma, karma, and reincarnation actually provided the Brahmins with irresistible means of controlling people's minds.For if a man's place in life is the necessary consequence of what he has done in the past, if a man's hopes for an afterlife depend entirely on his faithfulness to the prescribed duties of caste, however troublesome or If you are humble, then there will be no chance for individuals to make decisions in this world.
Brahmin demands and extortion were a factor in the Reformation in India in the sixth and fifth centuries BC.Another factor was the economic development mentioned above, which created a wealthy merchant caste, the Vaishya caste, which resented the privileges enjoyed by the two castes above it.Finally, the relationship between Brahmins and non-Aryans was very tense, because although non-Aryans could be absorbed into Hinduism, they resented the priestly dominance.It is now generally believed that the Shakya tribe in the mountains of Nepal to which the Buddha belonged belonged to the Mongol race.These factors combined to contribute to the turmoil in the religious and intellectual circles of India during those centuries.A claim is made for liberty—a liberty that is more meaningful and satisfying than prescribed rituals and rigid dogmas.
One manifestation of the turmoil was the emergence of ascetic tendencies.Among the most active and intelligent people there is a section that begins to withdraw from society and indulge in pure introspection.They have developed various methods of training (yoga practice) that the mind does not relax, and finally enters a state of ecstasy or ecstasy.That state of trance or ecstasy is what mystics call "enlightenment," and atheists call "self-hypnosis."Through inner reflection and contemplation, many reform movements were developed.Only two of these reform movements have survived to the present day, Jainism and Buddhism.The founders of these two religions, as may have been mentioned earlier, began as ascetics and later challenged the Brahmins in a more practical and organized manner.
The idea of Jainism spread as early as the 7th century BC; however, it was the leader Daxiong (about 540-467 BC) who formally formed Jainism and became a systematic organization.He was born into a non-Aryan aristocratic family. At the age of 30, he abandoned the material world and became a naked ascetic. After 12 years of wandering, he attained enlightenment.Members of the sect he founded are called Jains, followers of Jaina (Victor), Jain is his title.A fundamental principle in Jainism is that not only animals and insects but also "wood, rocks and trees" each have a separate soul.Therefore, he stresses the importance of respecting life in any form.When Jain priests go to perform their duties, they always clear the road first, so as not to step on any insects.Devout Jains also cover their noses with a cloth to prevent bugs from being sucked into the nostrils.Today, about 100,000 Jains live in West India (Gujarat), but their influence on Indian society is much greater than their numbers might suggest.The main teaching that killing is non-violence is due to the Jains and Buddhists; this teaching was finally accepted by the Hindu community in general.Although Mahatma Gandhi was not a member of Jainism, he was deeply influenced by its teachings.
Unlike Jainism, which never spread beyond India, Buddhism became a powerful force in Central Eurasia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia, and played a major role in the formation of the Eurasian core in classical times (see Chapter 7 Section III).As far as India is concerned, the significance of the Buddha's teaching is that it presents a more fundamental challenge to Hinduism than to Jainism.The Buddha could not accommodate caste or Brahmin, and, like later Protestants, he believed that the holy scriptures should also be understood by laymen.Therefore, he preached in the dialect of the Gangetic plain, and eschewed witchcraft, sacrifices, and obscure scriptures.
Apart from its astonishing success in the outside world, Buddhism has also been an important rival of Hinduism in India itself for centuries.But it never became the dominant religious belief, and from AD 600 onwards, it gradually declined.By the end of the 12th century, when the Muslim Turks arrived, it existed in only a few places and was in a state of decline.One of the causes of this great religious movement's uncharacteristic disappearance from its birthplace was its failure to prepare itself for the crises of ordinary life, its failure to prepare for birth, marriage, death, and other pivotal events in layman life. The transformation of the gods provides various rituals.Brahmins, by contrast, prepared their own rituals.This fact guaranteed their survival despite the attacks of the reformers.Also, and more importantly, the Brahmins themselves engaged in reforms.In the philosophical classics, the Upanishads, they set forth their own path to freedom and liberation.
They teach that the supreme spirit that pervades the universe is Brahman - a living being possessed of all knowledge and sentience.He is the cosmic soul and all-pervasive spirit, and all else is but an illusion.The individual soul, the "self," is a spark of God.It keeps changing states through samsara until it is liberated by being reabsorbed as Brahman.The identification of the personal soul and the universal soul is the ultimate goal that the religious devotee seeks to achieve through practice, introspection, and withdrawal from the world of sensations.Thus the truth-seeker among the Hindu followers is able to renounce the world.
Portrait from the 15th century: Nobita and his mother as a child.It was Daxiong (c. 540-467 BC) who unified the thinking of Jains and made Jainism an institutional organization.
Although Buddhism has disappeared in India as a living religion, it still exists today because its basic tenets were absorbed by Hinduism.The Hindu counter-reformation was victorious precisely because it accepted Buddhist ideas.Primitive Hinduism, which practiced nature worship, sacrifice and power atonement, has been transformed by the philosophy of the Upanishads, the mercy of killing, and the spiritual and moral precepts of Dhamma.
From religious movement to political development, a prominent event was the emergence of India's first empire - the Maurya Empire.As mentioned earlier in this chapter, when the Aryans moved to the Ganges River Valley, they also shifted their focus to this area, especially to the Magadha Kingdom in this area.At the time, the North West Territory was acting on its own, separated from the rest of India by virtue of its close ties to Persian civilization.In fact, around 518 BC, Emperor Darius had crossed the Hindu Kush, making the western Punjab the twentieth domain of his empire.
According to Herodotus, this is very beneficial.He said: "The Indians are more numerous than any other nation of which we know, so they pay more tribute than every other nation." Herodotus also tells us that in 480 BC , When Zells invaded Greece, there were also Indians in his army "wearing cotton clothes, shoulder bamboo bows and iron-headed bamboo arrows".These narrations by Herodotus are very meaningful, and they illustrate the fact that we can grasp the real and concrete information about the early history of India today only on the basis of foreign invasions and historical reports left by foreigners.A civilization that sees the entire physical world as nothing more than an illusion would understandably be uninterested in such minutiae as time and place.Indian history is only concerned with bringing clearly to light the eternal truths of Indian philosophy.Thus, in the few Indian sources available, history, myth, and imagination are inseparably combined.Therefore, the narratives left by foreign visitors who pay more attention to materialism and historical development are particularly important.
After the Persian invasion, the mists of history settled again until the arrival of Alexander two centuries later, in 327 BC.Alexander's invasion was more of an assault than a formal invasion.He remained in India for only two years, and within a decade of his death the Greek regime in the Punjab had completely disappeared.No mention of Alexander has been found so far in Indian literature of the time.However, the war he launched did have a major impact on India's subsequent development.
Impressions of India left by Alexander's companions.Arguably the least important.Unfortunately, none of these things have survived, and only some of them have been handed down in fragments through the writings of later historians and geographers.These describe the ports, the goods traded, the appearance of the cities, the attire of the natives, and such exotic customs as polygamy, caste laws, and cremations of the dead.But these factual reports also spice up the storytelling with bizarre stories about men ten feet tall and six feet wide at the shoulders, mouthless men who live on steam, raining copper balls , a 300-foot snake-like fish in the Ganges, and so on.
The contribution made by Alexander's army and navy in opening up or increasing land and sea trade routes is more effective.It led to the rapid development of east-west trade from northwestern India through Afghanistan and Iran, and then to Asia Minor and the ports of the eastern Mediterranean.The Greek colonies that Alexander established throughout the Middle East undoubtedly contributed greatly to this trade as well.The Hellenistic states after Alexander facilitated this trade for two hundred years.
Most important to Indian history is Alexander's role in the abolition of several local kingdoms and republics in northwest India, creating a political vacuum.Chandragupta Maurya quickly filled this vacuum, building the empire that bears his name.Three years after Alexander's evacuation, in 322 BC, Chandragupta was still an ambitious young general who seized the throne of the Nanda dynasty in Magadha and established his own dynasty.Over the next few years he steadily expanded his rule northwestward, until his empire stretched from the Ganges to the Indus and included the deltas of these two great rivers.At the same time, he organized a strong army and an effective government to maintain his land.Thus even when Seleucus became king of the Middle East as one of Alexander's heirs, and tried to regain Alexander's India, Chandragupta had no trouble repelling the Greek army.
A year later, in 304 BC, Seleucus was forced to make peace, ceding India to the Mauryan Emperor and marrying him a Greek princess.In return Seleucus received 500 elephants, with which he succeeded in repelling his opponents in the Hellenistic world.The peace between Seleucus and the Mauryan Emperor marked the establishment of the Mauryan Empire as a great power at that time.A Greek envoy named Megasthenes lived for several years in Fahrenheit, the capital of the Maurya Empire, and his observations, although now only available in second-hand form, are valuable information.Chandragupta's son Pundusara (c. 298-273 BC) seems to have conquered the Deccan, while his grandson, the famous Ashoka (273-232 BC) conquered Kalinga, the Eastern India.Thus, under the latter's rule, the Mauryan Empire included the entire Indian peninsula except the southern tip.
The structure of the Mauryan Empire and the functions it performed have been elucidated in the book Arthashastra [Political Economic Theory] by Laodhilia, Chandragupharata's personal tutor.A thoroughgoing realist, Kautilya dedicated himself to "the Goddess of Wealth rejected by thousands of kings".His purpose was to transform the wasteland, which was "barren like bad cows," into a "good country," which he explained as follows:
In any case, some of these advantages can be seen in the Maurya Empire.The well-kept roads, with their constant traffic of hordes of merchants, soldiers, royal messengers, and begging dervishes, necessitated formal road laws.The conquest of Kalinga on the east coast facilitated trade, and a maritime ministry maintained the shipping lanes and ports.Inscriptions from many monasteries attest to the wealth and generosity of the chambers and guilds that donated to the monasteries.The capital, Fahrenheit City, is known as the "Flower City" and is famous for its parks, public buildings, nine-mile-long riverside, and educational system that attracts domestic and foreign students.
All this was supported by the "sixth of the king's extraction" of the harvest, which in practice was often increased to a quarter, leaving only enough for the peasants to subsist.The laws are harsh, and the means of maintaining order are ruthless.The army claims to have 700,000 men, equipped with 9,000 elephants and 10,000 chariots.Efficient spies were everywhere, sending streams of reports to the capital by courier and carrier pigeon.Harsh punishments are listed in the book "Arthashastra" [Political Economic Theory] of 18 kinds, which are often used as a means of punishment and to extract confessions.All in all, it was an efficient, draconian, bureaucratic society, embodying Kautilya's famous dictum: "Politics is the science of punishment."
Ashoka's reign demonstrates a fundamental and unique change in the traditional type of imperial rule.He underwent a change of heart after conquering the kingdom of Kalinga through a particularly brutal war, and he writes in his rock-cut thirteenth edict:
From then on, Ashoka devoted himself to promoting and fulfilling the teachings of the Buddha.He aspires to a future of "safety, sanity, peace of mind and gentleness for all."Following the example of the Persian rulers, he carved his edicts into rocks, caves, and purpose-built pillars.These edicts are not so much formal decrees as they are in the nature of national exhortations.What they all have in common is that they exhort people to promote great virtues—simplicity, compassion, mutual tolerance, and respect for all kinds of life.Ashoka was different from Khaodi and Yaya, who first considered the interests of the country. He cared more about the people.Therefore, he set up many public works that did not bring direct benefits to the country—hospitals and public medical treatment, orchards and rest places on both sides of the road, distributed alms to various sects, and sent Buddhist missions to foreign countries.
Ashoka was not the Constantine of India, as is sometimes claimed.He did not make Buddhism the state religion, nor did he persecute other sects.On the contrary, he also gave generous donations to Brahmanism and Jainism, and helped outstanding people of all religions and sects.This is not a change in religion, but a change in attitude in general.His greatest emphasis was on tolerance and nonviolence, not only because they were morally desirable but because they would promote harmony in his vast and complex empire.This proved successful during Ashoka's reign as he ruled for 41 years to the cheers of the people.However, in the half century after his death, his dynasty was overthrown and his empire was wiped out.
This has been a pattern in Indian history up to modern times.India is different from China. In China, there were long periods of imperial unification followed by short breaks; in India, the rule was just the opposite—short unification and long breaks.This is not to say that India was not united.India has unity but it is cultural not political.Indian culture emphasizes loyalty to the social order rather than to the state, as evidenced by the fact that the caste hierarchy outranks any political system.Thus, a culture that increases unity in one domain destroys unity in another.
At the beginning of the 2nd century BC, with the collapse of the Mauryan Empire, chaos and darkness lasted for 500 years.During this period, however, one factor that was often seen to be at play was India's growing interaction with the outside world, with multifaceted implications in the political, economic, and cultural spheres.
Originally from the influence of the Greeks, known in India as the Yavanas, remained a force in northwestern India for two centuries after Alexander.As discussed in Chapter 7, Section 3, the Greeks developed Gandhara art, provided models for Indian coinage, and, most importantly, facilitated trade between India and the Middle East.Then came waves of invaders who replaced the Greeks and in some cases pushed further south.The Parthians, known to the Indians as the Pallavas, originated in the Caspian region, first wresting control of Iran and Mesopotamia from the Seleucids; then, from about 140 BC, Gangs infiltrated northwestern India, forcing the Greeks to go north, and finally occupied the lower Indus region.
After the Parthians came the Scythians, or Shakas as the Hindus called them.They left Central Asia under the persecution of the Yuezhi people, subdued the Greeks in Bactria around 130 BC, then crossed the Hindu Kush Mountains, entered Punjab, and finally settled in Gujarat.There, they mixed with the indigenous people to form the Maratha nation, which later occupied an important place in Indian history.
The last ones to come are the Guishuang people.The Guishuang people were originally a branch of the Yuezhi, and they successfully unified the Yuezhi nomads; then in the 1st century BC, they crossed the Hindu Kush Mountains and entered Punjab.During the next century they extended their rule southward, possibly as far as the Nabata River between Hindustan and the Deccan.Under their famous ruler Kanishka (who ruled from about 130 to 160 AD), their empire included Punjab, Kashmir, the Indus Valley, the Upper Ganges region, Afghanistan and Turkistan in present-day China. In some areas.The empire spanned some of the busiest trade routes of the time, so that the regions of the country were heavily influenced by the Indians, the Hellenistic countries, the Persians, and to a lesser extent the Chinese.Kushan coins have now been unearthed in Scandinavia, Ethiopia, Roman provinces, and countries in Asia.These coins bear the names and statues of some of the gods of the Greeks, Persians, and Hindus.Kanishka depicted Buddha and Persian gods on his coins, while at the same time defending Jainism and Brahmanism impartially.Likewise, he adopted both the Indian emperor's title maheraja ("great king") and the Parthian title ajatiraja ("king of kings") in Sanskrit, as well as the Chinese title, namely devaputra ("Son of Heaven") in Sanskrit.
The lion-headed stigma on the Ashoka column in Luyewan.This work from the dynasty of Ashoka (273-232 BC), one of many pillars ordered by the Mauryan ruler to honor Buddha, is now on display in the New Delhi Museum.
In the 3rd century, the Guishuang Empire gradually declined.The immediate cause of this seems to be the emergence of a powerful Sasanian dynasty in Persia (226 AD).The Sasanian dynasty extended its influence eastward to Afghanistan, which severed the connection between the Kushan people's original base in Central Asia and their provinces in India. At the end of the 3rd century, the Guishuang Empire collapsed, leaving a power vacuum between the Ganges River Basin and the border areas of Persia.This cleared the way for the rise of the Guptas, India's second great empire, just as a similar vacuum had heralded the Mauryan Empire earlier.
In retrospect, the unprecedented interaction between India and the outside world during the 500 years between 200 B.C. and A.D. 300 clearly stands out.At least the empires of the Greeks, Pallavas, Sakas, and Kushans were all based in India as well as in Central Asia or the Middle East.它们都促进了沿着由印度北部向西到中东、向北到中亚和中国的路线而进行的有利可图的贸易。这也是一个使罗马商人来到印度南部和西部、使印度商人来到东南亚的对外贸易欣欣向荣的时期（见第七章第二节）。
在文化领域，印度佛教传教士也在这些世纪里将他们的教义传播到周围所有的国家。以乞讨为生的祭司们可以泰然地周游于彼此敌对或秩序混乱的诸民族中间，因为他们太穷了，不值得抢劫，而且，他们周身又为一种超自然的献身气氛所环绕。抢劫或伤害这种人的动机也是不存在的，因为唯一的报答只是有可能遭到来自上天的惩罚。因之，印度的佛教和婆罗门教传播到周围所有的国家，并在传播过程中，使一切文化获得大发展（见第七章第三节）。文化的交流决不只是单向的。来自北方的一批批入侵者随身带来了希腊、波斯和中亚的种种影响。公元1世纪时，一个新的宗教——基督教——由海路传入印度。据传说，圣多马于52年前后抵达印度西南部的马拉巴尔海岸，在那里他建立了许多教堂。然后从那里经陆路旅行到东海岸，不过到东海岸后，他的布道遭到强烈反对，并于68年在马德拉斯附近被人杀害。但是，他在马拉巴尔地区的工作结下了丰硕成果，那里有相当多的基督教团体一直存在至今无。
公元4 世纪时，伟大的笈多时代——个前几个世纪中的入侵者被同化、各种文化潮流结下丰硕成果的时代——开始了。这是印度文明的古典时代，可与西方的早期帝国或奥古斯都时代相比。笈多帝国同孔雀帝国一样，以恒河流域的摩揭陀国为根据地。这一国家在孔雀帝国崩溃后设法维持了自己的独立，然后乘贵霜帝国溃灭，开始再一次将势力扩张到由贵需帝国溃灭所造成的权力真空地区。
笈多时代开始于约320 年旃陀罗笈多一世登基之时，笈多帝国在他孙子旃陀罗笈多二世（375至415年在位）的统治下，臻于极盛。旃陀罗笈多二世极力扩张，直到将他的帝国从印度河扩展到孟加拉湾、从北部山区扩展到纳巴达河为止。这些疆界构成印度斯坦传统的边界线——这是值得强调的一点。在政治上，笈多帝国是一个北印度帝国，并未包括整个半岛。实际上，当时的南印度在许多方面是与世隔绝的，因为温迪亚山脉仍是将半岛一隔为二的有效屏障。南方诸民族操的是德拉维语，包括泰米尔语、泰卢固语和卡纳拉语，与北方人所操的印度雅利安语不同。另一方面，南方又接受印度教、佛教及其社会习俗，并将梵语作为其经文和学习的用语。这样，形成一个单独的文明，它不管诸民族根本不相同的种族和语言背景，也不管南方数国独立并存的局面，牢牢地将形形色色的民族结合在一起。
笈多帝国似乎享有过引人注目的繁荣，而这一繁荣由于旃陀罗笈多二世实行货币改革、采用标准的金币和银币而又得到进一步的促进。当时，无论半岛内的贸易还是对外贸易，其贸易量均达到新的高度。没多统治之际，安全的程度也有了提高，这在对外贸易贷款的利息率的降低这一点上反映出来：孔雀时期，贷款的利息率为240% ；笈多时期，降为20％。当时，最重要的一个工业是纺织业。纺织品包括丝绸、平组细布、印花布、亚麻布、毛织物和棉布。这些东西由于国内外市场的需要而被大量生产。其他重要的行业有治金业、制陶业、雕刻业和宝石切割磨光业。
从中国佛教朝圣者的报告判断，笈多帝国的统治比孔雀帝国温和。法显曾在401至410年间在印度逗留，周游了一所所寺院；印度礼仪周到的服务和普遍的繁荣给他留下了深刻印象。他发现，虽然王朝信奉印度教，但并不歧视佛教徒。乡村是—派安宁、繁荣的景象，不象在孔雀帝国统治时，受到警察和密探的骚扰。法显还注意到：
在语言学和文学方面，这是梵语获得成功的时代。从前婆罗门学者使用的颇为陈旧的语言——梵语，现又卷土重来，传播到政府和世俗文学中。诗歌和散文由于王室的慷慨资助而欣欣向荣。其中最杰出的是“印度的莎士比亚”迦梨陀婆的著作，他把古代传说和民间故事改编成戏剧和抒情诗。18 世纪后期，他的七幕剧《沙恭达罗》被译成英语，从此以后，一直受到普遍的喝采，并被搬上外国舞台。将《摩呵婆罗多》和《罗摩衍那》这两部伟大的民族史诗编成定本，可能是笈多时代最大的文化成就。这两部史诗的早期改编本虽然在公元前的许多世纪以前就有了，但现在已完全失落。今天只能看到以笈多作家赋予的样式出现的编定本。这些编定本仍是印度文学的经典和印度传统的宝库。书中的男女主人公是人民生活中的一部分，书中大量的故事为世世代代作家所采用，书中的哲学诗《薄伽梵歌》成为印度教最重要的圣典。
在科学方面，笈多时代的成就也是很杰出的。与希腊人的交往使双方的思想发生有益的交流。公元476 年生于华氏城的阿耶波多是天文学史上最伟大的人物。他教导说，地球是一个球体，它围绕地轴自转；月食是地球的阴影落在月亮上所引起的；太阳年的长度为365．3586805天——这一计算的误差极小。另一位伟大的科学家彘田精通希腊科学，而且极有天赋，他实际上对所有各门自然科学都作出了重要贡献。
无疑，最伟大的贡献是提出了“0” 的理论和作为演算基点的十进制。这—基点可以是任何数；印度人选取10大概是因为他们靠10个手指计数。有了十进制，需要的单数仅为0，1，2，…9。而古代希腊人则不同，对他们来说，888中的每一个8都是不同的。对罗马人来说，888就是DCCCLXXXVIII。若应用这些进位制，要进行乘、除法运算显然是很困难的。这些简单的印度数字被阿拉伯商人和学者传到西方，并被称为“阿拉伯数字”。尽管这些数字具有明显的优点，却长期受到藐视，被认为是异教徒的东西，而且太易伪造了，因为短短的一划可以把0变成6或者9。直到15世纪后期，印度阿拉伯数字才在西方流行，打开了现代数学和现代科学的大门。现在回顾起来，印度的这一贡献是很突出的，可与轮子、杠杆或字母表这些发明相媲美。